dd possibly asthmatic and we have a cat!

Croatoan

I had asthma brought on by an allergy to house dust mite as a kid and young adult. Dreadful. I was given a course of injections when I was in the RAF which I'm led to believe are no longer offered because some people died - I remember having to stay in the surgery for half an hour after having each injection in case of seizures. Anyhow 30-odd years later I'm still asthma free and still thank the gods I was given them.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Person_one wrote: »

I'm really glad you were one of the lucky minority and I hope the OP's daughter is too.

Skin testing is a good idea if the OP can afford it, I don't think many NHS GPs can offer it sadly.

I have however known parents who stubbornly refuse to get rid of the cats and let their children suffer. Having known people who've died of asthma attacks, and knowing myself how horrible it can feel at times I hated seeing that. I think the OP has the right idea, try every option to see if the cats can stay, but if her daughter's health suffers then rehome.

Referral to a hospital allergy clinic.


No need for risky skin testing, one blood test and they use that instead.

elfen

OP, it might not be the cat! What are the guineas bedded on, if it's sawdust or anything dusty, you may need to swap it for something that isn't (my rats live on biocatolet cat litter becasue of this) as se may be what I am.....allergic to the sawdust and the dust is aggravating it.

Adult onset asthmatic here, lived with cats/dogs/various animals, and the only thing that sets me off is the sawdust (and dust in general, and cold weather, and when it's really humid)

chocdonuty

I'm not so worried about the guineas, if it turns out to be them then they can be popped in my room, whereas morris has almost free run of the whole house and confining him to a room is not an option, i'm going to push for allergy testing so I know for sure and can avoid the triggers as much as possible.

maskerade

I'm asthmatic and like many on here I have cats and they aren't the trigger - dust/pollen/household chemicals...

However even if cats had been the trigger I'd have kept them and just cleaned even more because I love them. And no my asthma isn't mild, I've nearly died of it. I don't agree with doctors insisting you get rid of animals on a diagnosis of asthma - they should advise it could be that and the potential consequences but shouldn't bully people into decisions by scaremongering.

Interesting how many people find cows milk a trigger. I think I'm going to try avoiding that for a few weeks and see what happens