I went to see an allergy/asthma specialist because my asthma has been bad lately, mostly due to the incompetence of one of the doctors at my local clinic who basically threw pills and inhalers at me when I came in complaining of congestion and tight-chestedness. The consensus from the good doctor I saw was that I really should see a specialist who deals in allergies and asthma and that I was probably allergic to my cats. I was skeptical because I’ve had cats since I was born and I would have manifested an allergy by now.
Well… I saw the allergist and they did a skin test on my back. I’m allergic to multiple types of grasses, dust mites, oat pollen, and… mildly allergic to cats. She was not happy to hear about my feline herd and explained that I would have to ban them from the bedroom. We also talked about my asthma and came up with a game plan for how to deal with it. She’s keeping me on my meds as I’ve not really had all that much stability and it would be good if we could have me on something long enough to make a difference. (I’m also getting sick of having pills and inhalers thrown at me every time something new comes out on the market.)
I explained to my cats (who were all sitting on the bed when I got home) that I was allergic to them. They stared at me as if to say “and this is our problem???” *sigh* I can’t really ban them from the bedroom so I think I’ll have to clean like a banshee and get some old sheets to use as cat spreads.
when I lived with Mike’s family and his two cats, his mom did a few things to make my life easier. I think I’m a lot more allergic to cats than you are, but they might help some too 🙂 my bedroom was *always* a cat-free zone (which won’t work for you). she put HEPA filters on all the heater vents in the house and vacuumed the entire house every other day. (Mike and I have a vacuum with a HEPA filter in it because – you guessed it – I’m allergic to my own dog! and that filter helps SO much.) with Sirius, I wash our bedding at least once a week. our comforter came in one of those sheet sets at Wal-mart, so it’s not a down comforter or anything and can be tossed in the machine. Sirius gets bathed every two weeks and brushed every night before he’s allowed up on the bed. trying to keep the amount of hair and dander in the environment at a low level has helped me out so much. I hope you feel better – allergies are no fun at all. I’m allergic to basically everything, according to the skin test I had a few years ago. *wheeze*
oh, and about having grown up with cats and being unsure if you’re actually allergic to them –
my parents have always had dogs – I grew up with them. then I went to college and wasn’t around them all the time. when I came home to visit, I noticed my chest got tighter and I was more wheezy and watery-eyed. then Mike and I got Sirius and BOOM! allergy attack. with time, it toned down; I think I got somewhat desensitized by living with dogs for so long when I was younger, and then being away from them for a while got rid of that desensitization I had. coming back to live with my family and their three dogs was doubleplusungood for a while, but now I’m doing a lot better, thanks to the vacuum and other cleaning we’ve done.
Like Krissy, I’m extremely allergic to cats… and I’d have to go with the recommendation that you have somewhere that’s a cat-free zone if you can… but as we all know, this is a pretty unreasonable request (as was giving up my stuffed animals when I found out i was severely allergic to dust mites), getting a HEPA filter would really help, I know it’s made a difference for me when I visit Matt’s house because they have a cat, and washing your bedding once a week helps. 🙂
I probably developed the allergy in college and seminary or something. Oh well…