need allergy advice

Avatar for rnin2003
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
need allergy advice
3
Sun, 09-12-2004 - 3:20pm
Hello there,

I'm Jen, 23 and an allergy sufferer. I'm allergic to pollen, mold, dust, horse, dog and cat. I have been tested and I did a few months of shots, then I moved. When I went to the new allergist, I was having no sypmtoms so we decided to wait until I was having problems again to start any treatment. Lately I have had some environmental allergies but I have been coping fine without taking anything over the counter.

Why I am writing here is because I have been thinking about getting a kitty for the past six months or so. My experiences around cats varies from no reaction, to sneezing or scratchy eyes to wheezing. If I remember correctly the two times I wheezed were around fluffy cats. I know that it has to do with their dander, not their hair. I did a search for allergies on all the cat boards here and mostly I have heard that the people that have posted were able to cope and they eventually had little to no symptoms with their cats. I have read to bathe the cat in plain water, to keep it out of the bedroom, to have an air filter and a HEPA vacuum cleaner, to have someone else brush the cat and change the litter box.

Today I went to play with the little kitty that I have in mind. I had some sneezing and runny nose from petting him. He is really adorable and I'd really like to bring him home. I have to let the shelter know by Tuesday if I am going to take him or not. Does anyone have any advice or would you please share your experiences. Thank you, Jen
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-01-2003
Sun, 09-12-2004 - 4:42pm
My dd has been having some trouble and we have did all the the things you mentioned and it has not gotten any worse. I have been giving her benadryl and giving her allergy eye drops. Go to the top of this page and punch in allergies and there is a page of topics,hope you find it or email me...I would wonder about the wheezing..I hate for you to get and cannot keep so have a backup in mind

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sun, 09-12-2004 - 10:31pm

Hi Jen.


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Avatar for rnin2003
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 7:49am
Hi everyone, thank you for your responses! I'm still not sure what I am going to do and the shelter is supposed to be calling me back today. I feel that I should say no because it wouldn't be fair to the kitty or I if I were to get sick. On the other hand, I feel that if I don't take the chance I will never know. He would have a good home here with us. We have already went out and bought a lot of the supplies (and held onto all of the receipts). Thank you for your encouraging stories. I am going to think about it for awhile longer. Jen