Central Florida Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
I'm allergic to my dog.
I have been sick for five weeks. I get sick a lot. I've always said that I never had allergies until I moved to Central FL....well, that's not exactly true, it's just because I never had a dog before moving here. I went to an ENT Specialist a couple weeks ago and he scheduled me for an allergy pr!ck test (yesterday) and a nose scope (today). Well, the thing that I'm most allergic to is dogs. We have a 72 lb. yellow lab that sheds like crazy, no wonder I get headaches all the time! So, we're going to rip up the carpet in the bedrooms (it's pretty nasty anyway), put a different kind of filter in the A/C, and just try and stay on top of cleaning. When I told my mom about my allergy her response was, "Well, I guess Duke is going to have to take a long walk off a short pier." 
I hope she was joking! My allergies aren't SO bad that we would get rid of him. Just needed to vent. Oh, I'm also allergic to feathers (so our comfy-cozy down comforter will probably have to go away). Anyone else have allergies? What do you do about them?
I hope she was joking! My allergies aren't SO bad that we would get rid of him. Just needed to vent. Oh, I'm also allergic to feathers (so our comfy-cozy down comforter will probably have to go away). Anyone else have allergies? What do you do about them? 4 years TTC including countless tests, 2 surgeries, and one failed IUI
Scheduled IVF for April 2013--SURPRISE, don't need it! EDD 9/6/13
Scheduled IVF for April 2013--SURPRISE, don't need it! EDD 9/6/13
Re: I'm allergic to my dog.
When I had allergy testing done I was most allergic to dogs also...even though they dont seem to bother me in person the way cats do. When Sophie was younger she seemed to irritate my sinuse more than she does now. Maybe I am immune
I do notice that when she is freshly bathed she makes my nose itch a little.
I vacuum, change our bed sheets and clean house pretty regularly and that helps, along with claritin or benedryl on occasion. Honestly, I really do think I have become immune to her....hehe! GL!
I'm allergic to most animals, so I don't have any pets. DH and I want one, but it's just not worth my health.
I agree with Mrs.DMC, though - you should end up becoming immune to the dog. It may take awhile (it would take me over a year), but the symptoms will lessen... especially if you're staying on top of your cleaning, etc.
I do recommend taking Claritin. Take Claritin-D at first to get rid of any congestion, then switch to Claritin regular (24 hrs). You have to take it everyday, as it's not an instant relief pill (Benadryl is). Claritin builds up in your system to help your allergies. Don't stay on Claritin-D for longer than a month, as it raises your blood pressure (I've been taking Claritin since I was in high school).
I don't recommend allergy shots, because all it does is inject dog allergens into to help you build up a tolerance. Well, you already have the dog in your house! If you want to take them for other reasons, that's up to you. Keep in mind, they're not very effective. I started taking 4 shots twice a week and I was told I MAY start to feel a little better after 6 months of it, and that it's not a "forever" fix if I stop at that point. I said screw that. hahaha.
Good luck!
There was a recent study done in sweden and you can find the information online but here is the main finding:
Carpet traps particles(dust, pollen, and other allergenic substances) in its fibres, thereby keeping them out of the breathing zone until the carpet's "trapping" qualities are refreshed by efficient vacuuming. On a hard surface (ceramic, hardwood, vinyl, etc.), these particles are constantly swirled up to find themselves in the breathing zone.
So, you may not want to rip up the carpet. Just keep your floor very vacuumed.
That is very interesting. Thanks for posting that! Ever since Rylie has started crawling around we try to vacuum at least every other day...if not more.
I'm allergic to dogs too. And mold and dust...but who isn't? I started crying when I had the allergy testing and the dog was the most severe reaction. I just live my life stuffy. I forget what it feels like to breathe normally. But I think I am pretty much immune to my dogs. It doesn't bother me all that much.
I found out at I'm allergic to nearly everything - including the cats and dogs I've had all my life.
But they are family.
So I take Zytec daily (also supposed to take Singular & Nasonex, but I only do when things get bad), clean regularly and do what I can.
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We have 2 cats and 1 dog and I'm allergic to the cats. I've had cats all of my life despite this. I take an antihistamine daily to tolerate them, but I don't care because I love animals.
)
To help tolerate them a bit easier, we have laminate and tile flooring throughout the house (I definitely found from personal experience that life without carpet is MUCH easier on my own allergies because no matter what kind of vacuum I used, it never got ALL of the pet fur up like when I vacuum the laminate flooring). We also have wood blinds as opposed to curtains which can trap dirt. Same idea goes for furniture - we have leather couches so the fur and dust don't get trapped in the fabric.
My husband is allergic to cat and dog dander. When he moved in with me years ago, he had horrible allergies for about a year and then everything got better. He is fine now around our 4 cats, but when he gets around any other peoples' cats or dogs he sneezes and his eyes water a lot. They never do around our cats anymore though. So maybe you do get "immune" to your own animals eventually...not sure.
We have a Dyson vaccum that gets all that nice hair up and we vaccum a lot with it to keep things clean. The suction in that thing is amazzzzzing. The filter idea you have is a good one too!