Aaaagh

[kitty]

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hello everybody.

I got a lovely whippet at the end of november. she is one year old, a blue. we got her from a rescue centre. she is such a sweet girl.

since getting her I got allergic to her and it developed into asthma. I've been wheezing and breathless for about a five weeks, I think. I had a full blown asthma attack when I gave her a bath, after she'd been with us about 10 days.

I have asthma medicine from the doctor.and ~i take a anthistamine each day. I bought an allergy vacuum cleaner and some powerful air purifiers. I've doused her with petalcleanse. I've steam cleaned the furniture and sprayed it with allerpet. the carpet too.

I've taken a homeopathic de sensitiser remedy.

she doesnt come into my bedroom.

But I feel ill. I cant breathe properly. I feel so unfit, because my heart beats too fast just carrying stuff upstairs. ( I'm not unfit at all.. its the allergy!) I guess I need stonger asthma medication.

But I think all this means I have to re - home our dog. It is a bit hard to face this. It's silly to be emotional isnt it. But..

Oh dear. I thought if I told you all it would help me face up to the situation and stop being so head in the clouds about it.

 

[dessie]

That's awful for you Kitty, have you not had a dog before so didn't know you were going to react like this??

Not being an asthma sufferer, I don't know what to suggest but I know Cleopatra on here suffers like you but works through it. Maybe you could PM her to pick her brain, I am sure she wouldn't mind.

 

[kim & Tilly]

Oh thats really sad, i hope you can work things out without rehoming the dog....

Good luck :luck:

 

[pegun1]

Hi Kitty

i know what you are going through i have lung disease (copd) my dogs play havoc with my chest :- " , i have been taking MSM its a natural remedy i think its sulphur,i take the tablets but you can get it in powder form,before i started takeing it i couldnt get upstairs i was so breathless,i used to have to do a few at a time and keep stopping,since i have been takeing these my output has gone up and i can now walk around quite normally,still can't run lol but the improvement is amazing,i used to have to use a mobility scooter i don't use it now and determined not too lol.

Put a search in google and check it out for yourself and read up on it its great for quite a few things,including lung diseases and arthritis,its worth a try,it doesnt work straight away but a couple of weeks you will be shocked what a difference there is,

hope this is helpfull to you

 

[kitty]

hi dessie, no, I didnt know I was going to react like this, or I wouldnt have done it.

I had a poodle when I was a child, that's all.

pegun1 - I have heard of MSM! so glad its working for you - I wonder if it works for allergy related conditions? my lungs - thank god - are fine without the allergen... I'll investigate it, thanks for the tip.

I'm impressed with you resisting the mobility scooter, wow!

 

[kitty]

I just found this info! so I will give it a try and order some right now. thanks so much pegun1."

"How does MSM help with allergies?Allergies are reactions set off by a breakdown in the normal functioning of the body's immune system. When this happens, a varied range of symptoms are manifested, including sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, headaches, and sleepiness, other reactions include hives, stomachache, and sore throat. MSM goes straight to the cause of allergic reactions. In this website you learned that MSM softens the skin. It does this by softening the walls of the body's cells, which are then more easily penetrated, allowing enemy substances to be flushed out. Flushing these allergens out of the body eliminates the need for the body to react allergic ally to get rid of them. This process cannot happen when the cell walls are hard and impenetrable. MSM prevents allergic reactions by coating the gastrointestinal tract in a way that makes allergen bonding impossible. Research has shown that daily doses of MSM have substantially increased resistance to environmental, food, or drug allergens."

 

[Janimal]

Sorry Kitty what a terrible situation to be in. My sons friend (their family) had to rehome their little terrier because of the very same reasons - they were heartbroken, but it was the only solution.

Good luck with the rehoming. :luck:

 

[Paula Roberts]

Really sorry for you Kitty, you where probably ok with the poodle as they dont moult do they? i know quite a few people who are allergic to other breeds of dog but with poodles are fine.

 

[pegun1]

:huggles: Good luck with it let me know how you get on,i cant sing its praises enough (w00t)

 

[Lolcoe]

Ive had asthma for 10 years and i am o.k now with my dogs, i must be immune, which is suppose to happen over a period of time. Things like birds and cats though send me into a wheezing fit, along with common house dust, when ive top and bottomed the house.

I lived on Piriton for a while and then found that i didnt need it. If you are on anthistamines, are you sure they arent making you drowsy and groggy. They do come in non drowsy.

Asthma itself makes you feel rubbish if you are wheezing but increase your steroid inhaler if you feel you need to and that should help to keep your airways open, this is the worst time of year and after an attack in November im starting to fell breathless again.

I hope you can work things out with your dog, remember there are other environmental factors to take account of as well as the dog as i know a lot of Gp's are quick to tell you to get rid.

 

[*Lesley*]

What an awful situation for you to be faced with, no-one on here would think you sill quite the opposite we understand what a heartbreaking decision rehoming would be, I do hope you can find a solution :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[Luci's Mum]

Hi Kitty,

I'm so sorry, I really hope you find something soon that helps. I've nothing to suggest, I hope the MSM works. Both my brothers & mum have asthma and were all allergic to dogs, but now they are fine. As Lolcoe said I think they've just become immune over time. My friend who I used to go riding with years ago has suddenly become extremely allergic to horses. It's so sad, she loved riding. Infact I got hay fever for the first time 5 years ago, and now I get it badly. Though medication really helps.

Hope you can keep your girl. Any chance of posting a pic of her?

Good luck! :luck:

 

[~whitecross whippets~]

hi

hi i used to be a vet nurse and work with pets all day with no problems until i became pregnant when i developed an allergy to cats

i was told it would improve after the baby was born and it didnt...it got worse and dogs started causing problems then rabbites then bird dust....etc....

at the time i had a huge amount of animals...64 in fact.... (w00t) most were in a purpose built outbuildings and my husband took over all their care but i had 4 indoor cats and 3 dogs in the house...i struggled on doing all the things you have

...i really do do not think you can do anymore than you have done....i did persevere however and 12 years down the line i now have 2 whippets which i can cope with(cats still kill me though and would not ever have one again) but my birds/rabbits are outside and my husband cleans them out

i still do all the things you are doing but i am now off medication...my doctor seems to think i have developed kind of ability to overcome my dog allergy...i am not perfect but it is bearable....i dont know how long you can carry on but that is a possibility maybe ...i have heard that peolpe who can be allergic to dogs somehow still manage to overcome their allergy to their own...so fingers crossed but you have to do what you think best...if anyone has ever had an asthma attack it is truly terrifying...good luck :luck:

 

[Juley]

Hi, so sorry to hear you are suffering. There was a similar discussion on another list about a child who developed asthma. The parents got rid of the carpets (w00t) and put down those wooden type floors, they now hope to keep their dog as he is a lot better. It might help. Good luck :luck:

 

[kitty]

thankyou for your answers everyone. It is interesting to hear of people overcoming their dog allergy asthma.

I am allergic to cats, and had asthma for 18 years whilst living with cats! ( then again - there was one cat I WASNT allergic to..mystifyingly) and of course, when living without animals, I have no asthma at all. the idea of going back to all the discomfort and getting flu and bronchitis and ending up periodically on nebulisers doesnt seem put - up - able with now I have two sons to look after.

I dont know what to do really. I dont think the antihistamines are groggy making ones but I will check that with the doctor. maybe I can blame the antihistamines for my foggy brain.... :b

 

[wilfred]

Hope you can find a solution Kitty.

It is weird though isn't it how allergies and so on develop? I never had any allergies at all (I'm 44 now) - but 7 years ago developed hayfever. When the GP told me that's what I'd got my first reaction was disbelief. "I can't have", I said, "I've never had hayfever in my life!!" (ie, me thinking - this is utterly ridiculous - someone find me a real doctor!).

He assured me that, I might never have had hayfever before, but I certainly had it now. and so it really gets on my nerves for a good few months of the year. Like I said, weird, isn't it? At the time I remember being anxious in case I was allergic to our dog's hair.

Hope you get sorted out Kitty. Let us know how you get on please?

Gill

 

[kitty]

yes, I will let you know. At the moment my family are all in favour of re homing the dog before we all get even more attached to her.

It's a difficult thing to have to do.

allergies are very umpredictable, yes! when I asked my GP to test me for dog allergy ( before getting a dog) she said it just wasnt worth it, as a dog alllergy can develope at any time, and the allergy reading is notoriously innnacurate. she said the only way to tell if you are allergic to a particular dog, is to live with it!

 

[jaq]

Hi Kitty

I am so sorry to hear about your problem. Don't know if you ha tried it - but Liquorice Tea works very well with allergies and asthma. You can get it in most supermarkets and healthfood shops now. I got my brother in-law to use it when he came round to our house as normally he starts to wheeze with cats or dogs and it's working a treat - tastes lovely too!!!!

Jaq x

 

[Indee]

Allergys are funny things, I'm incredibly allergic to cats and rabbits, but 100% fine with all other furry animals.

I hope you are able to find a solution, best of luck :luck:

 

[~elizabeth~]

So sorry to hear of this, I had the same problem when I got my current cat. Having had cats all my life, I couldn't believe it was happening. We should really have taken her straight back to the breeder, but crazily we didn't, and after about 18 months of full-blown, flu-symptoms and rashes I seemed to build up immunity and it gradually passed off. I tried injections as well, but they didn't work. Yes, GP was completely dismissive, couldn't really understand why the inability to keep cats and dogs would diminish my quality of life so markedly either :rant:

I took Beconase/various antihistamenes for most of that time and reduced the doses gradually over that time, and after about 18 months came off them completely. Now I sleep with the cat curled up under my nose all night, every night, with no ill effects, something I never thought would be possible. I had a slight reaction to the dog when we first got him, but it was much milder than the initial episode.

That said, the asthma element of what I had was quite mild, and I have a feeling this huge allergy episode was related to an autoimmune flareup (which explains why it came out of the blue), so I don't know if this would be the same for other people with the problem. I worry about it coming back, but hopefully now I've had the condition I'm suffering from properly diagnosed they can pre emt any further attacks with medication.

Goodluck either way, I know it's a very difficult decision :luck: