Allergic to cats - Any advice?

[katkin 10]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

From that and from advice elsewhere on the net I plan to:

Thoroughly vacuum and steam clean the house.

Furminate and petalcleanse the cat.

Restrict the cats access to certain places.

Take child to GP. He's already on salbutemol inhalers and over the counter piriton, will see if the GP has any other ideas.

 

Im alleric to pet dander, dust pollen, you name it and my other half is asthmatic. We have 9 cats, a dobermann and gerbils and we foster for CP. We keep soft furnishings to a minimum, furrminate the cats outside (the wheelie in is the purrfect height for grooming); use a Polti steam cleaner and a Miele or Sebo vacuum cleaner (both recc for pet owners) and we are both on medication. Different people are affected by different parts of their pets but it tends to settle down eventually ad a degree of immunity kicks in - but brief exposure to other pets can set it off agaun (going to the vets, a pet store or visiting friends with pets).

 

One thing that helps in our house: we feed our cats and dog on a good quality complete dried food: this improves coat and skin condition so that fur loss, dandruff and dander are reduced and usually it is those aspects that irritate and trigger the allergy

[katkin 10]

just a word of hope. when my friend got her dog some years ago i found i couldn't go to visit her without needing my inhaler (blue one) and i'd come out in a rash on my hands and arms (where i'd cuddled the dog - just couldn't resist her) and eyes swelled up. without the help of anything other than my usual asthma medication (the brown one) i've gradually been better and better with the dog. she now comes to my house to stay quite regularly and we sleep cuddled up in bed together. no sign of a problem.

 

i don't know why - i still have asthma. and i'm not saying it will work this way for everyone. but i thought it worth sharing just to say its possible things will settle down for you all.

 

It is possible through repeated exposure to develop a degree of tolerance/ immunity

[katkin 10]

I have less of a problem visiting the inlaws since she bought a Sebo vacuum cleaner. The cat actually likes being vac'ed with it too

 

Top tip for Piriton purchase - order the 500 tab tubs from the pharmacist. I think it costs about the same as 60 in bubble packs

 

Ive got video of Alfie our barmy bengal being vaccd with the Sebo Felix: he loves it!

 

Daft thing: Im allergic to Piriton (brought me out in a rash) so Im on Loratadine

[Chez2 10]

I have severe allergies to cats but still manage to have 4 of my own. Limit soft furnishings (have wooden floors and blinds rather than carpet and curtains), damp dust and hoover daily (hoover with a hepa filter) and get him to take piriton before he visits. A steroid inhaler will also help if he's asthmatic, it keeps inflammation down rather than treating the inflammation when it happens (which is what the blue ones do). The more time he spends with the cat the less sensitive he will be to it, so rather than avoiding it, get him to spend more and more time with it (obviously have antihistamines first and monitor his health throughout the contact). Desensitization does work, when i go on hols I'm really bad for a week on my return, but then I'm fine again once I've built up my contact. Other people's cats kill me!!

 

Thats similar to what I was going to post. We have mainly wooden or laminate type flooring and mainly blinds not curtains. We buy quilts and pillows that have special coverings on them to reduce allergy problems. We throw away pillows on a regular basis if they can't be washed at home in the washer. The seat and back cushions are taken off the sofa and vacuumed on a weekly basis.

 

Forgot to add...

 

 

I open the windows every morning when we get up to let the air circulate. If there is any condensation on the winows and window frames you can get mould growing. The fresh air circulation stops this happening. I wipe all the paintwork on a weekly basis with a mild detergent. I dust the walls and light fittings weekly with an antistatic duster.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Chez2
forgot....

[scoop 10]

Thats similar to what I was going to post. We have mainly wooden or laminate type flooring and mainly blinds not curtains. We buy quilts and pillows that have special coverings on them to reduce allergy problems. We throw away pillows on a regular basis if they can't be washed at home in the washer. The seat and back cushions are taken off the sofa and vacuumed on a weekly basis.

 

Forgot to add...

 

 

I open the windows every morning when we get up to let the air circulate. If there is any condensation on the winows and window frames you can get mould growing. The fresh air circulation stops this happening. I wipe all the paintwork on a weekly basis with a mild detergent. I dust the walls and light fittings weekly with an antistatic duster.

 

Oh blummin heck. How can I put this? Whilst I'm not a trollop, housework is not my favorite pastime - so long as things are moderately clean and tidy, I'm happy.

 

I can see my life altering into one of complete and utter domestic drudgery. Gutted.

[mc55 10]

lots of good suggestions - would definitely keep the cat out of the child's bedroom if possible (our cats favourite places are snuggling on the beds, rotating through all the rooms ) and keep that room aired.

 

I think it's the saliver that causes the issues and of course cats are constantly grooming.

 

My god-daughter has various allergies including hay fever (so airing the room makes things worse !!) and she always takes some allergy tablets (piriton I think) when she comes to stay - she's also got a nasal spray thingy in case things get really bad.

[scoop 10]

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit gutted really - I'm really busy at the minute and the thought of having to declutter the whole house so I can be in a position to blitz the whole place once a week is really depressing me.

 

the bedroom is not so much of a problem, but downstairs is open plan - I can't really segregate the cat to one room.

 

Nightmare.

[mc55 10]

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit gutted really - I'm really busy at the minute and the thought of having to declutter the whole house so I can be in a position to blitz the whole place once a week is really depressing me.

 

the bedroom is not so much of a problem, but downstairs is open plan - I can't really segregate the cat to one room.

 

Nightmare.

 

nightmare indeed ... might be time to nudge your OH in the direction of the hoover as it's their kid.

 

How about some temporary throws to put over the settee etc for when the child is visiting - they can easily be washed between visits and stored somewhere out of the cat's reach ??

[SpeedDemon 10]

Ah my dad is allergic to anything and everythin so I read this post with interest. I certainly couldnt find the time (nor the inclination) to be constantly cleaning. Thank god it's my dad n not anyone who lives with me! We tried the Petal cleanse but it made no difference. He can just about manage to stay here about 15-20 minutes before he has to leave cos he's sneezing all over the place n giving my animals his germs

[Strix 11]

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit gutted really - I'm really busy at the minute and the thought of having to declutter the whole house so I can be in a position to blitz the whole place once a week is really depressing me.

 

the bedroom is not so much of a problem, but downstairs is open plan - I can't really segregate the cat to one room.

 

Nightmare.

make sure you do a particularly good job of down the back of the radiators. At this time of year the central heating thermal draught draws the allergens up the back of the rads and circulates them back into the air. I hate central heating for the dryness of the heat it outputs, and the difficulty of keeping the darn rads clean

 

the fact that cats often like lying along a rad make them even worse culprits for you scoop

[Chez2 10]

lots of good suggestions - would definitely keep the cat out of the child's bedroom if possible (our cats favourite places are snuggling on the beds, rotating through all the rooms ) and keep that room aired.

 

I think it's the saliver that causes the issues and of course cats are constantly grooming.

 

My god-daughter has various allergies including hay fever (so airing the room makes things worse !!) and she always takes some allergy tablets (piriton I think) when she comes to stay - she's also got a nasal spray thingy in case things get really bad.

 

Opening the windows would not make hayfever worse if you did it first thing in the morning. We live in a rural area and there are crops planted for miles around our house. First thing in the morning the dew keeps the pollen count down. I had a really bad asthma attack due to rape seed pollen about four years ago and couldn't even call an ambulance. I had tests at hospital to see what I was allergic to. I've cut down on the working hours and driving and followed this cleaning routine and I don't need any medication or an inhaler now. I do spend over fifteen hours a week cleaning (as well as working at least fifty hours a week). I still get allergy symptoms but nothing more than you would have if you had a common cold. I have to cut the stamens off some lily plants in the garden and take care what I plant.

 

Medical advice usually follows the lines of hard furnishings and airing the room daily.