Allergic to Cats, Dogs etc

[croyde]

From the age of 18 I suddenly become allergic to household pets, especially cats and dogs. Within 10 minutes of entering a house where they live I get asthma like symptoms and if I stay I can barely breathe with loads of sneezing and eye tearing thrown in.

Means that when I go and visit family/friends with pets, I have to stay in a hotel nearby and although nice, it is getting too expensive.

Now some cat owners have been telling me that if I were to get kittens my symptoms should go within a month but could this be cat lovers propaganda.

I only ask as I have 3 kids who have been badgering me for years to get kittens so wondered if anyone here had tried that cure?

I did spend NYE at friends who have 2 kittens and a dog but they are confined to the big kitchen dining area so the bedrooms were safe and I spent the week before inhaling beconase, which I use in the summer for hayfever.

I did hold the kittens and did not have any bad effects apart from a slight itching but then do I want to take an inhaler everyday of my life?

Any ideas or experiences? Cheers.

[renmure]

I have been allergic to cats and dogs (and horses) since childhood and still suffer if I end up in confined rooms when visiting friends who have pets and who let them run daft in the house. But, I have 3 big dogs who do get into the house and since they are don't get to misbehave, run about or get all up-close and cuddly with me then I find there is no problems. That might be me getting "resistant" to my own dogs or (more likely) just having more control over the envirnoment they are in. I preume it would be the same for cats.

[Salgar]

I always keep a pack of benedryl with me when I go visiting people, helps me, although I'd love a cat of my own one day. Long ago they used to give my brother weekly injections for his hay fever allergies (he was asthmatic too), and they helped him a lot to get over his allergies. I think they were weekly for a few months and then slowly less and less over around 3 years.

I wouldn't mind doing the same thing but convincing someone on the NHS to give me this will be like drawing blood from a stone. Last time I tried they wouldnt even give me an allergy test! So i'm not even sure what I'm allergic to! At the moment i've got it down to summer and cats.