Baby, eczma, cat allergy AHHHH!!!!

jacqhale

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any experience of cat allergies in babies. DD is 5 months old and has quite bad eczma. There is no history in the family and it's breaking my heart. She is constantly itching and if I let her get to her legs she scratches until she bleeds (so obviously I try not to but in the bath, changing clothes etc it's difficult). Nothing I can get from the doctors seems to be working and it's stopping her sleeping properly at night as well.

We went away for a week over Christmas and while it didn't completely go it was definitely clearing up. Come back to the house and within 5 minutes her face is red, dry, blotchy and puffy.
We have a very long haired cat (and a horse but he's not in the house )

I think it would be very difficult to get rid of the cat and I certainly couldn't send him to the RSPCA as we got him from there so would be too cruel.
I am hoovering everyday and she doesn't come in our bed as the cat sleeps on the covers
I think from the quick reaction from being in the house keeping him downstairs wouldn't really help.

Is there anything out there that anybody has tried that would be worth a go? We have 2 options I suppose, rehome the cat or keep him and hope she builds up a tolerance.

Any thoughts more than welcome. Thanks!

RadoJo

What does your doctor say about it? Have you asked about prevention rather than cures?
Having experienced similar reactions from a young age and never grown out of the allergies, I suspect that if it hasn't improved after 5 months, you might have to look into alternative solutions. I can understand that it would be heartbreaking to rehome your cat, but if it's a question of your daughter's health, there may not be any other solutions.

Apricot

Does your baby sleep in your room? If so, I would think keeping the cat out of that room completely would be advisable. Also - is it possible that the cat is getting into the baby's crib/bouncy chair/pram when you are not around?

A you haven't "proven" a cat allergy is there someone who could look after it for a few days so you can see if baby's skin improves? With the cat gone and all cat hair and skin flakes removed from the house you should be able to see pretty quickly whether it is in fact the cat causing the problem.

I agree with the other poster that baby would have built up an immunity to the cat by now so if you prove that it is a cat allergy rehoming may be your only choice. Im a cat owner and also pregnant and as heartbreaking as it would be you cannot reasonably expect your daughter to have to suffer due to a cat.

dizziblonde

This thread will rapidly descend into a bloodbath - long as you're prepared for that

For what it's worth - my brother had really really horrid eczema as a child (it's very very strong genetically in our family from both sides), and the doctors, like all doctors do advocated giving the cats the boot as a first course of action. My mum's of the opinion that you don't give up on your family (furry or fleshy) and I think a younger me threatened to move out too if she got rid of the cats... I'm slightly allergic to cats but I'm fine around my own and I just cope with the itchy sneezies... and my brother largely was desensitized over time to the mogs (he still had eczema - but his was so severe he was always going to) and he opposed getting rid of them too!

Fast forward to him moving out to uni, losing the continual exposure and when he moved back in - he did suffer more having lost that desensitization... again, he stood by the furboys and he's coped (his decision) by making sure he washes his hands straight after stroking them, and making his room a complete cat no-go zone. Initially they were on kitchen-only status but gradually things have relaxed so it's downstairs and parents bedroom only now.

Another side-note you might not have been told... if her eczema is that bad... you can claim Disability Living Allowance for it - if you add in the extra costs you'll be having with washing (eczema creams can't half wreck your clothes), making sure you keep to things like cotton clothes etc - my mum got it for my brother for years but no one told her about it - until she met some woman in the park one day and got chatting.

Like I say - I'm mildly cat allergic myself (and dog allergic judging by my itching since we got muttsworthy at the weekend) but the animal lover in me gives in and I just push through the itch phase to the point where the cat doesn't set me off at all anymore (and she should do considering she spent all night sleeping on my head - stupid cat) and I know it's just a case of waiting out the doggy itches... I do however steer clear of longhairs as I don't fancy pushing my luck and thankfully Suki is as sleek and smooth a cat as you can get!

Only you can make the judgement call on it - it could be non cat related at all after all... bizarrely - kiwi fruit is a massive trigger for my brother, stress is my big trigger (it's actually a very good tool for me to manage my anxiety problems - if I get itchy, a meltdown's on the way - back off and cool it woman!) or have you used a different washing powder while you've been away? (I have to be very very careful chopping and changing brands - for me I tend to stick religiously with Daz as I've found one that works) The soap powder factor can be instant with mine (I didn't inherit it as bad as my brother thankfully) - within 5 minutes of putting something on washed in the wrong powder I'm writhing at my elbows and neck to the point of drawing blood.

jacqhale

The doctors just say to keep trying different creams and that she should probably grow out of it by the time she is 2. I am going back to see dr tomorrow as he wanted to see how a week away from the cat worked. I want to ask if there is something I can give her to relieve the itching as the creams to stop her skin being dry don't seem to work. I wondered about something like calamine lotion?
I have heard things about medi honey or manuka honey so will give them a go although you can't get them on prescription but cost isn't an issue, just need to get it sorted for her. I have seen about 5 different doctors plus health visitors and they just don't seem concerned and think she will grow out of it. Fingers crossed but it doesn't help at the moment!

I don't think the eczma would go completely if we got rid of the cat, it was still there when we were away but it does seem that it's her face that has the worst reaction.

I sound like I'm clutching at straws!! Dr will be sick of the sight of us by the time I've finished pestering them.

I would rehome the cat if I thought it would help her but don't want to be hasty if having him around will help build up a tolerance. I guess it's one of those things that you don't know what the future holds so just have to make the best decision for the moment .......

jacqhale

Ohhh quick replies - many thanks!!

Apricot - no, baby is in her own room and the cat doesn't go in there. He only sleeps in our room or in the hallway and I don't have her in our room anymore even to lay in the bed. He used to sleep in the cot if she wasn't in there but now she is older he keeps well away (used to do it to DS as well but now keeps well clear, he likes his own space!) I always check for hair just in case and wash blankets straight away but all clear at the moment.

I don't expect my daughter to suffer to keep the cat at all, I would rehome him today if I thought it would make the difference to her, but I just wondered if anyone had any experience of keeping the cat and building up a tolerance to be a good thing. If not then he will have to go.

Dizziblonde - I'm not sure how it could be anything but the cat. Especially not food as I have only just started weaning her. She is now fully on formula milk but she had it before even when I was breastfeeding. Mum brought the same washing powder as us so we could wash her clothes. I changed it after she flared up but calmed down when I put her in a babygrow that my sister had given me that had been washed in non bio etc.....
Didn't know that about the DLA but not sure how bad it would need to be and who would make that decision? You're not wrong about the creams, totally wrecked my lovely black jumper with epaderm I think!!

dizziblonde

You basically have two different types of cream on the go for eczema - you've got stuff to get moisture back INTO the skin (emollients - so things like your Aqueous, E45, Diprobase and the stuff you can put in your bath to make it nicely treacherously slippy - Oilatums and Balneiums - still can't spell that) and then if it flares up you've got the stuff to stop the itch and cool the redness back down (which is where the steriod creams like hydrocortisone, HC45 - the same stuff but branded, Betnovate and the like come in) - they come in different strengths for different parts of the body and you end up being very good at working out what you need and when... if it gets infected (you'd know if it had) then you get other stuff which is absolutely delightful and stains all your towels yellow!

She WILL probably grow out of it (my brother had what a consultant described as the worst case of childhood eczema he'd ever seen, to the point he was head to toe in bandages at times, and now you'd never know looking at him as a burly twentysomething... I had such bad skin as a baby that my mother was told to rub olive oil into me!)... but that's naff all consolation when you yourself aren't getting the night's sleep because you're trying to stop the scratching! Don't worry about pestering the doctors - my mum hit the point with ours where she'd ring him, say she thought Fras needed X Y or Z cream and he'd just leave the prescription ready for her because he knew she knew what was best - but it took a lot of time before they took his issues seriously and got him onto a regime which managed it all.

ali-t

http://www.shelfpharmacy.co.uk/products/more/Petal-Cleanse-Cat/175.aspx This product apparently works really well. there is a dog version as well and on another forum I use the dog one has had rave reviews.

Tulip

I have just pmed you Jacqhale

RadoJo

In fairness, my eczema came with asthma, so it was always a much bigger problem than the itching and dry skin as I would get to the point where I couldn't breathe, which was obviously a concern!
If your doctor is behind you keeping the cat and hoping she grows out of it, then it's worth a try, because presumably the docs believe that this will actually desensitise her, but it must be really hard to see her suffer in the interim, so I can completely understand your dilemma.
As other posters have said it will be a case of keeping 'her' areas scrupulously clean to ensure that her skin isn't irritated any more than necessary - have you tried covering your soft furnishings in throws or similar which can be washed more frequently and stop the fur etc getting embedded into the cushions? Also, have you tried steam cleaning carpets, furniture and anywhere else the cats might go to really blast the allergens away?
Obviously making everything sterile defeats the object of the 'desensitisation' but if you can do what you can to ease your daughter's symptoms for the time being, it will make it easier to manage.

jacqhale

Well I will see what the dr says tomorrow but he wasn't keen on changing things, diet etc - his view is where do you stop? and I tend to agree a little bit although if it relieves the symptoms even a little bit does it matter (thinking out loud!)
another concern was that if she is allergic and has eczma it could turn into asthma as well which obviously I really don't want, I thought it all went hand in hand.... Will keep on with the cleaning and hoovering in the mean time and hope it makes a difference and I think there are a few more creams we could try. A friend works in a pharmacy and she mentioned someting that might be worth a try - eurax I think.

ali-t - do you put that cleanser on the cat and/or the carpets and surfaces? Assuming it's totally natural and won't hurt??

Thanks for your thoughts!