midbat asked:
Despite having grown up witha cat,sinceI left home several years ago I havedeveloped anallergy tothem. I havejustmovedintoa house with2 newkittens. Although myallergy isstill thereitismanagable andonlyreally anissue wheni getscratched ortouch myeyes. I waswondering whether long term exposure toa known allergen willcause health problems? Canitresult insinus problems,permantly stuffy nose etc?
Despite having grown up witha cat,sinceI left home several years ago I havedeveloped anallergy tothem. I havejustmovedintoa house with2 newkittens. Although myallergy isstill thereitismanagable andonlyreally anissue wheni getscratched ortouch myeyes. I waswondering whether long term exposure toa known allergen willcause health problems? Canitresult insinus problems,permantly stuffy nose etc?
Itcould. Withallergies,younever know. I dothinkthatthemore you’re around cats,ifyou’re allergic,themore likelyyou’ll havea badreaction tothem.
I amallergic tocats andhavealways hadthem–long term exposure tothemwillonlyhighten yourimmunity tothose cats.
Thesymptoms youaredescribing arevery likelytobedue toallergy. Therearenotreally anylong term additional risks. Ifyouareinregular contact withthekittens anacute,newsudden allergy response isunlikely. Yoursymptoms arehoweverlikelytoremain chronic andpersistent.
Ifyouare,likeme,someone whodotes oncats,I have4 atpresent,youarea bit short ofoptions. Ifwerule out giving away yourkittens forthemoment,therearea number ofmedications youcouldtry,itispossible thatnone ofthemwillwork:
Oral antihistamines
Nasal antihistamines
Nasal Steroids
Sodium Cromoglycate nasal spray.
equally none arereally harmful,youmayneed totry thelist.