Someone I work allerginc to pets - reaction to "me"

moggymutt

Has anybody started horse riding? People who have been in contact with horses can badly affect those with animal allergies. (some of whom have never realised that they are allergic to horses because they don't normally come into contact with them). I think horses can provoke more of a reaction than cats, if I remember correctly.

gettingready

No, nobody horse riding.

Got to be be me and/or the new guy.

As Person One says - I will do what I have been doing so far and can not figure out what else I can do TBH....

She had no reaction so far (over 2 months) so I kind of think it is the new guy, perhaps not so particular about his clothes as I am etc ....or whatever else?

Fosterdog

Surely if she so badly allergic that even just working with someone who has animals causes a flare up then she needs medication or a new job.

I do sympathise with her, I know how horrible allergic reactions can be.

I also agree that it could be the start of a cold, especially if there is air con in work circulating all of the cold germs in the air. Two people in work with me had a cold two weeks ago, another five had it last week, three more this week and I've got it starting too, it's just that time of year.

rising_from_the_ashes

I agree that you can't be the only person with pets

So .... it could actually be caused if there's several people and the intolerance gets to a certain level and .... boom!

BUT - if she is that allergic, then she should be prepared to take precautions herself as it's just not possible to avoid things like people with pets in the general population ...

How does she get to work - bus, train etc - no one on there have a pet?

I have severe allergies (some really bad ones are strawberries, oranges, some perfumes etc) and it's not possible to avoid them, especially as I also work in a large open plan office, so, as a precaution I take anti-histamines every day.

They will stop most reactions and will make severe ones less bad (and also give me time to take more anti-histamines if required before it gets really bad)

Person_one

Fosterdog wrote: »

Surely if she so badly allergic that even just working with someone who has animals causes a flare up then she needs medication or a new job.

I do sympathise with her, I know how horrible allergic reactions can be.

I expect she probably started taking something not long after it started.

A new job though? How on earth can she bring up in an interview that she doesn't want to work near anyone who has a cat? :eek:

moggymutt

Who is to say it's a person causing it-could be a change in what stuff your company's cleaners are using- it could be almost anything.

sulkisu

gettingready wrote: »

Oh dear,,,,

Is it possible?

One of the girls I work with is severely allergic to ALL pets.

All was good till today when she says she is feeling very unwell and thinks it is due to me having my dog/cats.

So I wonder....

I am NOT covered in cat/dog hair etc but is it possible that she can react like that? Can I be making her unwell somehow?

We work in a massive open plan office. Air conditioned etc. I never wear same clothes twice, everything goes in the wash every day. But still....

Realy worried if I could be making her ill?

It is possible that you are making her ill, but TBH (sounds cold, I know ), managing her allergies is her problem, not yours. She needs to ensure that she has been prescribed and is taking appropriate medication. If her allergy is this bad, I doubt that this is the first time that it has happened.
I am allergic to cats and react pretty much every time I get close to someone who has been in contact with cats - that's my problem to solve, not theirs.

calicocat

If she has an allergy from the time scale it does sound as if it could be the new bloke if you have worked around her for a while with no problems, unless you have a new bod to the clan recently.

I don't understand why she may have asked you in particular other than having lots of furries , but anyone with pet allergies would know that it only takes one.

There is the other scenario or course that all of a sudden she has become allergic to something new and pinning it on old allergies. So I wouldn't assume it is you or your pets at all as yet....if at all

gettingready

Thanks - I have to say I was a bit shocked with her coming up with this directly at me TBH.

Not in any nasty way but still.

Asking me if I have any cat hair on me (!!!) as she is feeling unwell and so it must be me as I have cats and a dog. Or have I changed anything (clothes etc) as she was fine so far and today she was feeling so bad and did not have her inhaller with her.

Felt a bit crap myself for a while but then asked the new guy if he has a cat to which he replied yes he has two.

Hmmmm

I guess she will have to sit somewhere else. We are all contractors and do not have permanent desks just sit with laptops wherever there is a free desk on the day so I guess she will have no problem avoiding me if she feels she needs to...

meames_2

Sometimes, there is no real cause, I am allergic to cat and dog fur, but have a dog, proximity has actually helped resistance, it wan't until I went to uni then home for Xmas and back to the dogs again I found out.

About 2 weeks ago I had a terrible reaction to something, my eyes were watery, sore and the eyeballs swollen. Even went to the opticians and diagnosed as 'the worst reaction' she'd ever seen. Nothing had changed, no different animals, people, washing powder. Then two weeks later all clear!

Hope she is ok though.