catlover dilemma

azzu02 · #1 10-11-2010, 05:49 AM

Hi,

to all catlovers, i have some sort of a dilemma. I have been living with three cats for a year now and as much as i enjoy having them around, i have been under constant asthma attacks lately. and it is getting worse. Its rarely nowadays that i wake up with a clear chest. I end up most of the time being forced to wake up earlier than im supposed to due to stuffy nose, wheezing cough, a very tight chest and constant phlegm spitting.

I try to avoid the idea or deny the idea that the asthma is triggered by the cats fur, since that when i took them in a year ago i have no such problem.

I believe it is an accumulation of many things such as, my working condition, current health condition, lack of exercise and cat fur triggered my asthma.
I used to have asthma when i was little, and it disappeared during my teenage years up till now due to me being active in sports esp swimming. but as i grow older, esp the last 5 years i became less active. thus the old illness returned slowly. i never resorted to using the inhaler when i was young but now, i think it is a saviour.

i constantly clean the house, mopping and vacuuming. i have a DMH and two DSH and i let them roam everywhere.I need to find a solution fast, especially in eradicating the cat fur or i might possibly have to part ways with my cats

as my health should come first.

Nur_illiyana · #2 10-11-2010, 10:00 AM

hi azzu,

i have same problem as u..
so apa yg i buat, my fur kids are NOT allowed to enter my bedroom.
they already understand that..
so bulu diorang tak kena pada baju dan katil i..

sekarang, i cuba guna "breath right" masa tidur..
recommended by my mum sebab my little brother asthma sangat teruk dan breath right banyak tolong dia masa bangun pagi..
i dah guna seminggu dan mula rasa ok..

for us yg ada asthma ni, i think we cant stop being active..
maybe u boleh cuba aktif balik.. i dah mula berenang 3 kali seminggu..

anizarina · #3 10-11-2010, 11:17 AM

alamak..dh 2 weeks rina ada simptom mcm nie..but i never had athsma before this..hurm...

azzu02 · #4 10-11-2010, 08:06 PM

dear catlovers,

thx for the reply and the tips. Today i went to my clinic to visit my doctor and she has slapped me cold with a very very bad news. I have always been a mild to moderate asthma sufferer, in which i'm allergic to dust and such. The bad news is that i'm no longer in that level anymore. My illness has notched up to a certain level up to a point of just below being seriously fatal.The doctor told me that my condition now is severe. And i was ordered to give away my cats

. Maybe i will try to restrict the cats boundaries like Nur_illiyana has recommended but only time will tell.

Lets hope that i recover well so i could still take care of my cats.

nurkasih · #5 10-11-2010, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzu02

dear catlovers,

thx for the reply and the tips. Today i went to my clinic to visit my doctor and she has slapped me cold with a very very bad news. I have always been a mild to moderate asthma sufferer, in which i'm allergic to dust and such. The bad news is that i'm no longer in that level anymore. My illness has notched up to a certain level up to a point of just below being seriously fatal.The doctor told me that my condition now is severe. And i was ordered to give away my cats

. Maybe i will try to restrict the cats boundaries like Nur_illiyana has recommended but only time will tell.

Lets hope that i recover well so i could still take care of my cats.

I have been keeping cats for 3 years plus. Mine are DLH, DSH and also DMH. Runny nose, blocked nose, red eye, itchy eyes and skin.. tell me about it..I have it all. I do not have asthma.. yet my sis is having it. She had been hospitalized before and my mum slapped me saying I was the one responsible. I got over that with keeping the DLH off the house ( caging them outside in big house cage with weekend sleeping in house..) and till now, I have DSH roamed around the house. Last Feb, I developed heavy chest, scared that it might be asthma.. gone for treatment but I never ever ever told the doc that I have cats in the house as I knew they will definitely pin it on the cats ( they are no Dr House and will pin up to easy target)..I got on and off and been having runny nose and blocked nose for 3 months.. and my mum constantly tried to convince me my cats are making me sick until now.. I am cleared with the nose problems and breathing problems . What did I do? I got to know that I am more sensitive to temperature changes,and I am voluntarily avoiding ice creams and cold ice. I just take fresh juices and it works wonders. Plus, I started on Vitamin C + Primrose Oil + Vitamin E. And everything is gone. I am no longer that sensitive and yeah..I do get my ice creams once in a while now with no more difficulties. I do not get runny nose while dealing with my DLH anymore and they can roam around freely in the house during weekends with me being healthy. And I am still on the supplements. That's what I do.

Maneki Neko · #6 10-12-2010, 07:33 AM

Hi, Azzu02,

My experience has been very similar to Nurkasih's.

I know that I am allergic to cats as well as other things, and doctors and pharmacists are always quick to give the easy answer: don't keep a cat! In my case, I had to calculate how much health benefit and peace of mind I gain from my cat vs. how much my nose runs, eyes itch, and so on. The cat stays.

Over time, it has gotten much better. If I touch other cats (not my own), I have immediate reaction. With my own cat, though, I think my body has lost its sensitivity. I take a mild antihistamine very rarely, when the symptoms are really bad.

I hope you can find some way to treat your allergies without giving up your cats. One of my friends swears by the Ayurvedic practice of sinus flushing. Nurkasih gave her ideas below. Maybe a Chinese medicine shop would have some wonder herb... Best of luck to you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nurkasih

I have been keeping cats for 3 years plus. Mine are DLH, DSH and also DMH. Runny nose, blocked nose, red eye, itchy eyes and skin.. tell me about it..I have it all. I do not have asthma.. yet my sis is having it. She had been hospitalized before and my mum slapped me saying I was the one responsible. I got over that with keeping the DLH off the house ( caging them outside in big house cage with weekend sleeping in house..) and till now, I have DSH roamed around the house. Last Feb, I developed heavy chest, scared that it might be asthma.. gone for treatment but I never ever ever told the doc that I have cats in the house as I knew they will definitely pin it on the cats ( they are no Dr House and will pin up to easy target)..I got on and off and been having runny nose and blocked nose for 3 months.. and my mum constantly tried to convince me my cats are making me sick until now.. I am cleared with the nose problems and breathing problems . What did I do? I got to know that I am more sensitive to temperature changes,and I am voluntarily avoiding ice creams and cold ice. I just take fresh juices and it works wonders. Plus, I started on Vitamin C + Primrose Oil + Vitamin E. And everything is gone. I am no longer that sensitive and yeah..I do get my ice creams once in a while now with no more difficulties. I do not get runny nose while dealing with my DLH anymore and they can roam around freely in the house during weekends with me being healthy. And I am still on the supplements. That's what I do.

FurKids · #7 10-12-2010, 08:42 AM

Sinus flushing? I thought Wasabi does pretty good .... it smokes you right up the nose and travels into the ears, even now I can imagine my ears popping and clearing .... heheh!

Maneki Neko · #8 10-12-2010, 09:20 AM

Ah, yes, that's the Japanese version! Most effective.

The Ayurvedic folks just use saline solution. It's 'sinus flushing for weenies'.

Actually, they use a special little pitcher-thing to pour warm saline into one nostril, and it's supposed to come out the other.

I have such terrible memories of getting sea-water up my nose as a child that I think the wasabi method sounds less stressful.

Seriously, though, I have some highly allergic friends who swear by this technique. They never take pharmaceutical allergy remedies. I suppose one day I'll get over my phobia and give it a try myself. I'll probably end up drowning myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FurKids

Sinus flushing? I thought Wasabi does pretty good .... it smokes you right up the nose and travels into the ears, even now I can imagine my ears popping and clearing .... heheh!