So depressed--DD developing cat allergy now :...(

[MomofLuka]

I'm just miserable at the moment since my dd appears to be developing a cat allergy. She already has a diagnosed peanut allergy and a grass allergy that we can't figure out, and seems to be reacting to dust too. Tonight the kitten got into her bed and although she has always played with him with no reactions, she soon had a puffy face, itchy eyes and hives. I'm SO depressed because I thought at least that was something I did right: I had her around cats for the first year of her life just as all the literature says you should do, to prevent a cat allergy, and IT DIDN'T WORK. She's getting one anyway.
So miserable. Is there anything this child will be able to tolerate? Will we have to live in a bubble on antarctica?
I think it's doubly frustrating because these things just keep showing up out of the blue and I'll never know ALL the things she reacts to.
Allergies are so WEIRD. I'm allergic to about 1000 different things in varying levels. My ex-husband was also. Sometimes we react to things, sometimes we don't. My father developed spontaneous food allergies when he was being treated for cancer. My mother has recently developed a mold allergy although she never had one before in her life. I don't know what to make of all this!
My allergist is no help at all. They can't tell you anything except avoid this, avoid that. She takes medication but it doesn't always work. One day she gets hives, the next day, she doesn't. All the research seems to contradict itself...you'd think there would be more knowledge about this sort of thing, but nobody seems to have any clear idea how the immune system develops or resolves allergies.
I'm just very frustrated and tired of freaking out when my dd gets random hives and her eyes swell up and I have NO IDEA what is causing it...no idea at all...: (
Thanks for letting me vent.

[Mom to M&M]

Just wanted to offer big hugs

[em_here]

Awwww you poor thing....

}}}}Huge hugs{{{{{ from me too 

[chell]

HI, I'm so sorry that you and your little girl have to go through this. It must be so frustrating and scary not knowing what she may react to next.

My little boy has some serious food allergies. I know what you mean about the medical profession not giving you straight answers. The one thing they have been clear about is that the immune system takes time to mature, particularly in the first 2 years of life, but then continues up until about the age of 6. So she may well be able to tolerate some of the allergens as she gets a bit older.

I found it very stressful to begin with, until I knew what Jacob was allergic too, and how to deal with it. Do you have medication, such as antihistamines to reduce the swellings etc?

[Jimbob]

I am so sorry you are going through this right now. I understand your fustrations as my son has multiple food alergies. It is easier to deal with allergies when you know what is causing them. James has recently started getting random allergic reactions which is worrying. I hope you can pinpoint your daughters allergies soon as it will make them much easier to deal with.

[MomofLuka]

I do have all the medications, and we have an allergist whom we see every 6 months. Just today she got random hives on the side of her face when we were in the yard and I had to give her benedryl, which made her loopy.
The hives weren't really too bad but once before she got a few, and then it rapidly progressed to a badly swollen eye that didn't go down until the next day. So I got scared and dosed her as soon as I saw the hives.
What's confusing is she's around grass and dust and cats all the time, and only occasionally does she hive out. I just don't know what to make of it.
For the time being, we're still letting her play with the cat, and just trying to keep him off of her blankets, and out of her room. She's also not supposed to put her face in his fur.
I'm also making sure she takes her ranatidine every day, I think that helps a lot.
I did notice one weird hive after she carried him, but that's it. So I'm perplexed, but I'm feeling better about it, like maybe it won't be as bad as I thought? Thanks for all the hugs! I need them.
We're moving out in one week and the new place will be cat-free and much less grass, so here's hoping her eczema and hives improve! : )

[Jimbob]

Good luck for the move. Hope it goes well.

[mombegood]

I just responded about how I got rid of an egg alergy in another post. I hope you'll find the information useful. I'll copy and paste what I wrote:

"I had the same type of thing happen with eggs. When I was in my teens I would be sick for a couple of days as though I had food poisoning. It was disgusting. It would only happen when I'd eat them plain. If they were cooked in something (i.e. cake, cookies) I was fine. After I go married my husband introduced me to this alternative solution. His brother is a nurse and took an alternative medicine class and learned how to do NAET. It's really different, but it worked. I was lucky to have relatives with all the supplies needed to do it (they have these vials with everything you can imagine you could be allergic to) for free. Our family jokes that it's voo doo (sp?) magic, but we're all for it because it really does work. My grandma-in-law was so allergic to cats if she even walked where a cat had been she'd not be able to breathe. She'd go in for shots all the time. Now she can even cuddle with cats!"

NAET may sound odd, but I'm a believer now. If you're really a cat lover it may be worth a try. hopefully it's not too expensive. I'd google it if you'd like more information. Hope this helps.

[MomofLuka]

Well, the cat allergy hasn't happened again, but now I've noticed that she gets hives any time a dog licks her face! They can't ALL be eating peanut butter. So she must be allergic to dog saliva.  It's really sad since she Loves Loves Loves dogs. 
The poor thing has a dust allergy too, although it doesn't appear to be severe enough to cause hives.
So far we have to avoid all nuts like the plague, dogs licking her, cat fur, places that are dusty, and grass. Basically all the fun stuff. Like we went to the farmer's market and every five minutes I'm grabbing her and going "don't let that dog lick you, don't touch that food, don't get under that bench there's dust, don't rub the grass in your eyes" etc etc. SO much fun.
However, I had a lot of allergies as a child and I survived, so it is possible I'm blowing everything out of proportion.
Wouldn't be the first time.