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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 7, 2017 17:03:36 GMT
As many of you are aware we became proud dog owners in the spring. Django is a joy and taking him for long, daily walks has been good for us all. However..ever since our four legged friend has been in our home I have been suffering. I developed hay fever as an adult, but it isn't too bad..the allergy to the dog is much worse. I was treating it with antihistamine tablets (turned me into a zombie) and sprays...saline sprays, daily hoovering and damp dusting etc but nothing really works. We're not getting rid of the dog anytime soon....today we've invested in an air purifier for by side of the bed..It has a HEPA filter and we're hoping we haven't made an expensive mistake!
The dog doesn't shed and has frequent visits to the doggy beauty salon...according to the vet I'm probably allergic to microscopic protein molecules in his sweat...ew.
The air purifier also puts out cold air which is good as I can't sleep if it's too warm and even in the winter only want a sheet over me in bed...we pick up the Dyson air purifier on Saturday...I will report back...
Does anybody else have allergies like this? If so how do you cope?
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 7, 2017 18:50:08 GMT
I have to admit that I have never heard of dog allergies -- I always thought that cats had the monopoly. But of course there is no reason that such allergies should not exist (except morally).
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 7, 2017 19:05:09 GMT
I was allergy free until my late twenties...some sort of sensitising event primed my immune system so that it goes into overdrive at the first sign of a foreign allergen! ...our previous dog wasn't so much of a problem but she was our sons' pet...the boys and their Dad looked after her most of the time. I was working 60+ hour weeks in those days so I didn't have so much to do with her care.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 7, 2017 22:13:19 GMT
Oh, I really hope you find a solution. I don't think I could live if allergic to cats. I am a bit sensitive to the fuzzy, longhaired ones, but I prefer sleek shorthaired cats anyway.
Furry friends are so important to many of us.
An annoying but cute story - a neighbour of ours has bedbugs - she is someone who is "old", but I think that she is the same age of one of my best friends who is in her early 70s and fitter than I am, a decade younger. My friend's father was a physical education professor at a university, and he was a keen tennis player into his 80s. Unfortuately the neighbour had open heart surgery and is just not very well; things like serious swelling of her lower legs... She doesn't get out much except to see her children and grandchildren and either takes a taxi or they pick her up. It must be something as unusual as a bug that hitched a ride on a grocery order. We have decided to take whatever action is required, and there is a new thermal treatment for their extermination. The first step is an employee coming with a specially trained sniffer dog.
Well, we all had to refrain from patting him - we knew better than to pet a service dog, but he was about the cutest thing on four legs - some kind of little terrier with melting brown eyes and a brush of a white moustache.
Fortunately I had no bedbugs and neither did the neighbours in our triplex (Most Mtl dwellings are triplex row houses). But we have to decide, with the experts, what must be done.
By the way, taxi transport within the city is the same price as a bus or métro trip for people ruled to be severely disabled or with serious medical condition. There are also special buses, but the taxi scheme is more efficient for most people.
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Post by mich64 on Sept 8, 2017 0:16:50 GMT
I hope your Dyson helps. My brother and sister-in-law have allergies, they both take a non-drowsy antihistamine pill every day. It is unfortunate they do not work for you. Have you tried different brands Cheery or perhaps try the liquid form and reduce the dosage, might help a bit?
I had no allergies until I was in my 20's as well. Bugs such as black flies, sand flies, bees and wasps. I am also now quite sensitive to mosquito bites. I carry an epi-pens and also keep one in the house and have a bottle of liquid antihistamine.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 8, 2017 0:44:10 GMT
Mosquito bites give me huge welts. I probably should carry an epi-pen, but on Radio-Canada this morning, evidently they are very expensive. I must check into whether they can be covered here.
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Post by mich64 on Sept 8, 2017 17:04:19 GMT
Lagatta I was recently advised that Epi-Pen is the name brand that everyone recognizes, but if I understood the post correctly, there is a generic that cost $10.00, perhaps check with your pharmacist. I also read yesterday that applying a used tea bag to the bite relieves the swelling, I will have to try that the next time! I always have a few tea bags sitting in my spoon rest.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2017 17:17:53 GMT
Try vinegar on the mosquito bites. You can also spritz some on exposed parts of your body to ward off more bites. I've heard lime and lemon juice also works, but vinegar is not sticky.
The tannin in the tea should definitely reduce the swelling of a bite.
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Post by questa on Sept 9, 2017 13:14:45 GMT
My son was extremely allergic to bee sting. He attended a specialist who arranged a de-sensitizing course of injections.
The allergen was identified, ie what part of bee venom caused the reaction, then he received 40 injections, one each week, under close observation. He was 7 years old and assured me they didn't hurt. They started at 1/40th strength of a sting and increased until he had no reaction to stings at all. This was in the days before Epipens and as he went into anaphylactic shock when stung, it was a life saver for him.
Maybe the presence of Epipens has tended to make some doctors slow to clearly identify the allergen and institute de-sensitizing treatment.
Sure beats you having to drug yourself every day or not have a dog to love.
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Post by onlyMark on Sept 9, 2017 14:23:59 GMT
I'm not extremely allergic to be/wasp stings, but if I do get stung the area and a large area around it, swells up. Enough so that I'd be worried if I was stung on my neck, I'd end up suffocating. Would an epipen prevent this?
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Post by mich64 on Sept 9, 2017 15:51:13 GMT
Questa I remember as a child having quite a few friends who had to go each week for their allergy shots but I do not know of any of my family or friends children getting these shots anymore. My nephew is severely allergic to certain trees such as Oak, the Base they lived on a few years ago was full of Oak trees and their doctor just prescribed antihistamines. I am now wondering if the practice of desensitizing with weekly needles is no longer being utilized as much here? With the influx of children with peanut allergies all I can think of is the schools preventing any peanut products being brought into the school and children carrying Epipens.
Mark, my bug allergy has gotten worse with age, the welts seem larger even from just a mosquito bite. I had a scare a few years ago when I got a tiny sting from a wasp, it was a fall wasp that had come out on an unusually warm fall day, the wasps had gone into their winter dormant period so it was pretty slow moving and the sting just pieced my skin by the time my husband swatted it off me. I did not have my Epipen with me as there should not have been any out and about, thankfully my friends had some liquid antihistamine because my throat felt like it was swelling and I was beginning to take short irregular breaths. So yes, if you had this reaction due to a sting around your neck, it should work.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 16, 2017 18:06:48 GMT
We bought an air purifier last weekend and so far it seems to be helping with the allergies, especially at night. I still have a cough which is driving me scatty...but I THINK that it's gradually improving. Alternatively I am a MASSIVE hypochondriac...surely not.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 12, 2017 16:33:56 GMT
My cough had almost cleared up until I picked up a cold a few days ago...now I have a rip roaring chest infection...BUT my GP has come up with the goods...antibiotics, steroids and an inhaler. He thinks that I may have a touch of smokers' lung even tho I haven't smoked for about 5 + years...and was never a heavy smoker...often not touching cigarettes for months at a time. Everybody is different I spose...he's organised a load of breathing tests with the practice nurse in a month's time... He doesn't think it's all the dogs fault. I know that it's my own...at least it's not bad and I have time to get as healthy as possible. Feel pretty rough atm tho...
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Post by tod2 on Oct 13, 2017 15:27:21 GMT
Cheery - I hope you don't let Django anywhere near your bedroom. Having said that I will admit our short haired Staffie is allowed to lie on the carpet next to my bed when it is very cold but other than that she sleeps in her own kennel right outside the bedroom door. We have no allergies that I know of but have always been a sinus sufferer since my teens. It only gets bad when I have a cold. My sympathies regarding your cough. I have just got over a horrible phlegmy one.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 13, 2017 16:57:35 GMT
Thanks Tod. We're in the process of changing everything around in the bedroom...Django starts off in his bed but ends up laying on the foot of our bed. Bixa suggested getting him settled in the box room and that's our long term goal. We are having a new carpet fitted (I wanted wooden floors but lost the argument) it's supposed to be easy to keep clean and dust free. We've bought a new bed and bedding too, including pillows etc. We hoover in there every day including the curtains...and I have an air purifier on all night. We live in a city with busy roads nearby and a few industrial units so there is a lot of air pollution.
I'm doing everything that I can to deal with the problem. I'm hoping that the antibiotics kick in soon.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 13, 2017 17:10:18 GMT
Good for you Cheery, but right away I am glad you lost the argument for wooden floors. You may think they are easy to clean - like Italian tiles throughout my house, but NOT in the bedroom because every little speck of dirt clings to whatever absorbent surface it finds, then transfers from your feet into your bed linen. I know this to be true as our beach flat has tiled floors throughout and to stop soiling our sheets we now have large bedside carpets. Also, did you know that as you walk on those wooden floors you would be stirring up dust that has settled. The second proof that uncarpeted floors are no good is the fact my shop floor in my fabric shop had to be carpeted in order to stop the dust and dirt adhering to the fabric as it touched the floor.
I sincerely hope your problem is sorted with all the efforts you are making. Don't get soft hearted with the dawg. It might yowl for a few nights but soon will adapt to its new routine. If you don't believe me just ask your vet.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 14, 2017 10:00:34 GMT
Thanks for the advice. I told my OH about the floors and he's absolutely insufferable (he loves it when he wins an argument) but I'm glad we went for the right thing in the end
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Post by lagatta on Oct 14, 2017 21:03:10 GMT
I really find these things depend on the climate. I find my hardwood floors the easiest thing to clean. When I was living in Italy, of course there were Italian tiles everywhere and I loved them, but they are terribly cold here. They aren't uncommon here; Italians have them, as do Portuguese, Greeks and Lebanese. Carpets really aggravate my allergies.
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Post by bjd on Oct 15, 2017 5:11:20 GMT
Our climate here is much warmer than that in Montreal but I also really prefer hardwood floors. In fact, one of the reasons we bought this house is because it has wooden floors, unlike many houses here which have tiles on the floor. Tiles are cold in winter, and rugs don't look good on them either.
If you have pets, it's certainly easier to vaccuum a wooden floor than to try to get cat or dog hair off carpeting.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 15, 2017 12:29:18 GMT
I appreciate the advantages of wooden and tiled floor. I personally don't like wooden- or fake wood floors - as they are very noisy. Clunk, clunk, clunk wherever you go. Lagatta & bjd - I have Italian tiles throughout as I said. Even in the coldest weather we stay snug and warm because we took the wise decision to lay underfloor/tile heating. My bedroom carpet is vacuumed three times a week so no dust or pet hair linger. In times gone by 'shaggy' carpets were the in thing. I dropped that like a hot brick after only once installing it in the bedroom.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 15, 2017 13:04:23 GMT
I love my oak floor in the kitchen, but prefer carpet almost everywhere else (except bathroom and “mud room”). I HATE ceramic tile floors - love the look, but hate the cold feel and the fact that ANYTHING you drop on it is gonna shatter. And then there’s the grout lines, which tend to get and stay dirty-looking.
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Post by mich64 on Oct 15, 2017 15:12:04 GMT
We had carpet everywhere in this house when we bought it, except for the bathrooms. Through the years with each renovation we have changed flooring to hardwood, in the upstairs bedrooms and laminate hardwood in the main living areas for when we had our dogs. When it came to replacing the bathroom tiled floors, we added heating underneath them. They have a wonderful comfortable feel to them now and nice and cool in the summer.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 15, 2017 16:35:24 GMT
We just have engineered wood flooring throughout downstairs and upstairs in the bathroom and box room. There are carpets in our room and son's bedroom. We toyed with the idea of underfloor heating but in the end didn't go for it, that was more to do with our budget at the time rather than pragmatism. We will need to do something with our son's room soon..we spruced it up when he left home but he came back 11 years ago and is still here. He may be an invalid but he should be able to wield a paintbrush!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 15, 2017 20:31:02 GMT
I HATE ceramic tile floors - love the look, but hate the cold feel and the fact that ANYTHING you drop on it is gonna shatter. And then there’s the grout lines, which tend to get and stay dirty-looking. Since I live in the international capital of ceramic tile floors, I heartily echo those sentiments! I will say that one thing I like a great deal about the tile in my house is that it's white, so makes the house seem brighter. The grout is charcoal black, which gives a crisp look and manages never to look dirty. Unfortunately, the tile is not of great quality. The landlord told me it started looking scratched and worn almost as soon as it was installed.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 15, 2017 20:37:45 GMT
Dark grout is a brilliant solution!
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 15, 2017 20:57:37 GMT
In our house in Spain there is only one room, our bedroom, that has anything other than tile floors. Most are ceramic but there are a couple that are marble tiles. Yes, it is cold in the winter, but then that's what our IKEA carpets are for. In the summer though they are a god send. The grout isn't white in the first place and over the time they have been down we've not noticed them looking dirty, as it were. I have one daughter who we nicknamed 'Dropsy' for a long while as she was very likely to drop anything she had in her hands. She seems to have grown out of it now. However, pots, pans, you name it, were dropped on them to no ill effect and in any case, how often do you drop things anyway? Things that if they just so happened to land in such a way that a sharp edge was down?
The carpets we do use are in the living room area and the bedroom, and none of them are above a metre or so square. Placed just where your feet would be, no more than that. Mrs M suffers, luckily not seriously, from an allergy to dust. Sneezes, puffed up eyes and nose running are the norm but that's about as far as it goes. It does get quite dusty where the house is, dust especially in the spring/summer/autumn from the surrounding olive groves where there is no vegetation on the ground. We decided that rather than get the dust in the carpets and have to vacuum them every day or so, a whip over the floor with a mop was far easier. Horses for courses really. We are happy how it is, and after living many years in hot countries, I'd put up the the tiles and their disadvantage in the few times of cold weather, but their advantage of coolness in the summer and ease of cleaning. I always wash my feet before going to bed anyway if I've not had to have slippers on, which is rare.
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Post by mossie on Oct 16, 2017 6:55:14 GMT
Just adopt the old service method, have two pieces of blanket large enough for a foot to stand on. Then shuffle around, keeps the floor clean and polished without effort. Works with hobnailed and muddy boots.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 16, 2017 7:04:21 GMT
Really, I think that some well chosen words to your household staff should solve all of the cleaning and dust problems.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 16, 2017 12:27:23 GMT
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Post by bjd on Oct 16, 2017 14:29:49 GMT
Well, anything not picked up by the vaccuum cleaner is sure to stick to those black leggings.
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