My boyfriend of three years just moved in
with me (finally!) and i’m having some
unforeseen difficulties. Specifically, I
can’t breathe. At first I thought I had a
head-cold and tried to wait it out, but as
it lingered I began to have feelings of
ill-will toward his short-haired siamese
cat. I have
stayed at his apartment many times and
didn’t notice anything before. I don’t
know what to do. My boyfriend is very
attached to his cat. Are there shots I
can get or pills I can take- or maybe some
kind of air-filter?
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wakkochic17
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 494 Location: South Carolina
Posted: 11-08-04 14:53pm
There are several things you can do. The
first thing I would do is go to a doctor..
Or even better would be an allergist.
They can specifically test you to find out
if you are allergic to cats or not.
Depending upon how allergic you are..
They will probably just start you on a
daily prescription allergy pill. Shots
are an option, but take a lot of
dedication. You have to get them several
times a week at first.. Then once a week
(i get 3 shots once a week for the last 2
years for my allergies). So I would
start with allergy medicine. An air
filter is also great. You'd probably
want one in your main living area and your
bedroom since this is where you'd probably
spend the most time. Also be sure that
things are kept clean. Get your
boyfriend to make sure he changes out any
air filters in the house regularly and
keep the place swept and sheets or
fabrics, including sofas, clean of cat
hair. Good luck!
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TracyC
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 1
Cat Allergy? Posted: 11-09-04 14:54pm
Strange that you didn’t notice your
allergy before. I can’t get within ten
feet of the little furballs without
sneezing and tearing up. You should
definitely go to an allergist just to find
out for sure. They just give you a simple
prick test to see if you react. If you do
find that you are allergic then you should
make sure that the cat doesn’t sleep in
your bed and try to keep it out of your
room as much as possible. An air filter
could help, but the main problem is with
the cat hair. Become an obsessive
vacuumer. Or get a rooma discovery
robotic vacuum and keep it on all the
time. If it doesn’t cure your allergy
symptoms at least you won’t have to spend
time vacuuming.
i would love to have a cat but the strange
thing is.. Even though I had several cats
as a child and grew up around family and
friends who also owned cats, I have since
developed an allergy :( I am not
allergic to any other pet.. And the only
other thing that gets me sneezing is
dust.. Im also allergic pennicillin.. I
developed my allergy at age 14/15 and at
the time I lived with a cat.. It wasnt to
bad unless I kissed or hugged her.. But
now I live away from home I can't hug her
and have to wash my hands every time I
touch her.. And even then my chest
tightens.. Its really frutrating since I
absolutely adore cats.. Is there anything
I can do? Is there any reason why I might
have developed such a late-startign
allergy?
I have
stayed at his apartment many times and
didn’t notice anything before. I don’t
know what to do. My boyfriend is very
attached to his cat. Are there shots I
can get or pills I can take- or maybe some
kind of air-filter?
