asthma sufferer looking for advice re pets

Hi,

I am new to this site but at first glance it looks a great support network for people suffering from what can be a terrible condition when out of control.

My asthma has been reasonably control over the last year or two and over the last 12 months I have been doing a lot more sport and really found myself becoming fitter and healthier even though it has been hard work and at points felt like giving up feeling that I am never going to get better at certian sports etc but have kept going and have now started to notice the benifits, i rarely woke in the night with an episode of asthma, took my blue inhaler at night before bed but that was habbit rather than needing it and just used it before sports or during if I was having a bad day, that was until we brought a puppy into the family home just 6 days ago. Now I feel I have taken a big step backwards. My peak flow has dropped, I am using my blue inhalor more often during the day, sometimes it doesn't feel it has made any relief and I am having a good old wheeze.

I am doing all the basics, handwashing after touching pup, pup only staying downstairs, hoovering everyday (new pet and allergy hoover!), sweeping kitchen floor, windows open etc. I know some peoples advice would be to remove the pup from the home but I am very reluctant to do this unless it is the very last straw. I have had dogs previously of the same breed (boxer) but not for 6 or so years and have missed having one so much, now I felt my health has improved i felt it would be ok.

So I am asking if there is anyone out there that could maybe help with any suggestions or ideas? I'm sure I am not the only asthma sufferer that has a pet that they are very reluctant to remove from the home so advice on how you cope would be greatly recieved.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Pebbles x

[Lil_tinx66]

welcome pebbles , love your name my mum used to call me that when i was a little girl !

i hope the site provides you with all the info you may need and you find everyone as friendly as i did when i first joined

right glad to hear you are reasonably well ,i dont no much on the situation with pets but i can advise you of what i no. during my time as a asthmatic i have only ever had the one pet as i no from being round friends houses that they arent to great with my asthma but we all cope differently , personally i had a hamster so it wasnt that much of a prob, my mates all have some form of cat or dog etc, of which most im allergic to , my mates are actuaklly incrediably understanding! the two im good with are a chihuahua and a boxer dog , so i guess we all cope differently

sorry i cant shed much light on your question im sure that someone far more experience will help you soon , in the meantime i would say you are doing the right things and can understand it is difficult for you as you dont want it to leave your home .

lauren xx

[Hidden]

Hi Pebbles

I see you've had asthma for a long time and had dogs before, so for now I'd put it down to the weather, several people have been suffering lately. Give it a few weeks, see if you get better or worse and take things from there.

chris

[Hidden]

Hi Pebbles

It might be that because you haven't had a dog for quite some time, that you have become a tad sensitive, my sister and I grew up with a Dachshund, and yet now when she visits me the poor lass sneezes, wheezes and itches if she touches my current Dachshund. I am allergic to dogs and refuse to get rid of Lottie Dog because the benefits of owning Lottie far outweight the allergy problems. From reading your post you are doing nearly everything right, but the one thing that I would advise you to do is not sweep any of the floors and only use the hoover, sweeping just pushes the allergens into the air and of course you breathe that in. Another thing that I do is that I bathe Lottie regularly, this helps remove things like pollen off her coat. But like someone else has mentioned here it might well be the weather we have had recently and it is purely by chance that the dog arrived more or less at the same time. It might be worth you going to the ""Healthy House"" website, they sell a product that you can put on pets on a weekly basis to cut down the allergic response in humans, its not cheap but if it solves your problems great. I have never tried it myself, because with regular cleaning, I manage Lottie's hairs fine, though god knows what I will be like next weekend when I have 2 labs staying as well. Glutton for punishment me, whats a sniffle and wheeze when you are dog crazy. And finally damp dust all surfaces, and wash pup's bedding once a week on a hot wash to destroy dustmites. Good luck, hope if it is pup's fault that you build up a tolerance to their allergens.

Katina and Lottie Dog

[Hidden]

thanks

Thanks for the messages and advice, I have ordered the product, petal cleanse, awaiting it to arrive, hopefully this will help and also hoping I will build up a tolerance to her.

I am glad i'm not the only sufferer that needs a doggy in their life!

Fingers and paws crossed, thanks again

Pebbles and poppy x

[Hidden]

Hi

I have suffered with asthma now for all my life that is 52 years I do have the allergic reaction from pets yet I do have 3 cats, and like everybody else I don’t want to part with them, I have found that my own cats don’t bother me any more yet when I go in other people’s houses there cats do. I don’t know if my body has learned to tolerate my cats or what. But I do not have carpets in the house so the dust is kept to a minimum and the floors are damp mopped every day by my wife when I go out as I am not to be in the house when sweeping and dusting takes place.

I must also say that part of my medication is motilucast I think that’s how it is spelt and that is an anti-allergy tablet

I hope what I have stated helps you but after all our bodies are different.