allergic to cats- need medication advice

[Guest guest]

hi everyone,

i'm allergic to cats and need medication advice.

i'm going to spending 2 weeks in a house with 6 cats.

mostly i get itchy eyes and a scratchy throat.

what has worked for you?

thanks,

amy

[Guest guest]

--- Amy wrote: i'm allergic to cats and need medication advice...

what has worked for you?

 

Hi, Amy.

 

Many people who have cats think that they can help the allergy

sufferer by putting the cats into another room. This really doesn't

help much. It is the cat dander (flaked off skin) that causes the

allergy. The dander is all throughout the house, everywhere the cat

has been. Minimizing the amount of dander will help, so thorough

vacuuming and dusting of all carpets and furniture prior to the

allergic person's arrival will be of more help than almost anything.

And keeping the cats out of the room where you will be sleeping while

you are visiting is a good idea, also.

 

I am very allergic to cats. I sometimes get a reaction when my

friend who has many cats visits my house. I guess it is the dander

still present on her clothes that causes it.

 

I hope that someone else has found a medication that helps and lets

you know about it. I've never found anything that did.

 

Karen

(One who must admire cats from afar)

[Guest guest]

, amy <veggiegrrrl@c...> wrote:

>

> i'm allergic to cats and need medication advice.

> i'm going to spending 2 weeks in a house with 6 cats.

> mostly i get itchy eyes and a scratchy throat.

> what has worked for you?

 

I know this might not be helpful to Amy, but I know there's others

out there who could use some cat allergy advice.

 

I didn't know I was allergic to cats until I adopted a 2nd cat 5

years ago. I was okay living with just 1 cat, but the 2nd one became

too much for me. I was not about to " get rid " of my cats, that was

never an option, despite constant allergy symptoms and sinus

infections every month and asthma. So, I decided to do acupuncture

and got a HEPA air filter. These both helped so much that I later

adopted a 3rd cat and now live, most of the time, allergy symptom-

free with my 3 cats. My symptoms do occasionally flare up, mainly

when it's been too long since I vacuumed, cleaned, changed the

sheets (they sleep in the bed), and then the vaccuuming itself,

causes symptoms (kicking up all the dander, dust, etc.) But I have

less symptoms today with 3 cats then I did with 2 cats prior to

getting acupuncture and the air filter.

 

Another thing for itchy eyes that works great is Similason

homeopathic eye drops.

 

Hope thats helpful,

 

Melissa

[Guest guest]

In response to Amy, Melissa wrote:

 

 

(I didn't know I was allergic to cats until I adopted a 2nd cat 5

years ago. I was okay living with just 1 cat, but the 2nd one became

too much for me. I was not about to " get rid " of my cats, that was

never an option, despite constant allergy symptoms and sinus

infections every month and asthma. So, I decided to do acupuncture

and got a HEPA air filter. These both helped so much that I later

adopted a 3rd cat and now live, most of the time, allergy symptom-...)

 

My partner Robin, who adores animals, is totally allergic and has severe

asthma to boot. Our solution was to have a separate space (actually a

remodeled garage) for our 4 felines. Each of the 2 rooms in the house has

a HEPA filter, and unless Robin is ill, she can usually spend time in our

cats' house, up to a few hours at a sitting. We also discard our cat-hair

and dander-covered clothes when we return to the " main " house.

 

In addition, Robin takes Zolaire, a newer med that seems to be allowing her

to reduce her dependency on steroids, and an assortment of asthma meds. We

also have 3 HEPA's in the house, one for camping (small trailer) and even

one designed for the car. I realize that most people do not have the option

of a sealed off/separate place for their companion animals, but the

alternative would be to try HEPA's in most/all rooms (HEPA's usually list

the square footage they cover, so one should try to attain that level of

coverage), keep kitty/pup out of sleeping areas, vacuum frequently with a

HEPA-filter vacuum (like Dyson) and avoid exposure to companion animals

during allergy flare-ups or colds.

 

I also recommend an allergy specialist for medical assessment, and am happy

to discuss this off-list. However, beware that the so-called allergy shots

administered to prevent cat allergies are formulated from real (former,

i.e.: dead) felines! I am not kidding, we researched this.

 

Best of luck,

 

Shelley, co-Mom of Jerry, Jesse Diana, Ivan and Sandy; all rescued and now,

very well loved.

 

Shelley M. Samuels

 

Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result,

one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the room.

 

--Simone Weil