Allergy testing for ?cat allergy

[bluebear]

Looking for some expert opinions!
Dd is 7 months old and 'atopic'..she has had a wheeze and rhinitus since she was born..which GP says is an allergy to 'something'...She was fully breastfed and I have still not used any detergents etc on her skin..is now taking some formula and seems ok..and has not reacted to any of her solid food..so I'm guessing that the wheeze/nose problems may be either dust mite or cat (dander) related.
I am trying to make the house more dust-free (we are getting rid of carpets etc) but I have 2 cats, who the children adore.
I have always had a slight cat allergy - slight wheeze if I have a lot of contact with them - so the cats are not allowed in the bedrooms..but now we think that dh 'may' have an allergy (nasal problems) to them..as well as dd.
So...should I just get rid of the cats
Or is there an effective way of testing dh and dd to see if they really have a cat-related allergy (I can cope with my mild reaction)..I would really like to help dd as she is waking in the night with the wheeze and has a continual runny nose which distresses her..GP has suggested we put her on anti-histamine nasal spray.

It's a bit of a basic solution, but could you go and stay somewhere else for a few nights, away from the cats? If it is an allergy then your dd should get better very quickly, so you'd know quite soon. If there's no improvement then you;d at least know that there was no reason to get rid of the cats, and it's less invasive than any kind of testing.

Sorry if this is blindingly obvious

Thanks tamum - problem is, I can't think of anyone who has the space for us to stay - who doesn't also have cat

I have just spoken to allergy UK - who have said that there is a product called tetalcleanse that you put on the cat to make it less allergenic!

And I am trying to persuade my mum to give the cats a holiday at her house for a month or so to see if that works (she's just lost her own cat..and was wanting to be pet-free for a while though).
Allergy uk said that testing a atopic child can give false positives anyway - which I had read before.

It takes up to two years to get rid of animal hair apparently.
Ds and I are both allergic to cats and if we go in to someones hoyuse who has one we both react very quickly and can easily tell if they have oner without us knowing beforehand.
If it is dustmites which ds and I also have you also need to get specisl covers for your bed matress, duvet, pillows etc as thats where loads are also. ?Soft toys etc also harbour them and curtains.

That's a shame, bluebear. I can understand that about testing atopic children. I think the problem with getting rid of the cats temporarily would be that it could take ages. There's one cat that ds reacts very badly to at his friend's house. They keep it out of the house when he's there but he still reacts quite badly, as I think it takes a fair while to get rid of "essence of cat" IYSWIM. You're not going anywhere on holiday are you?

I'm probably heartkless but we got rid of our dog as soon as we suspectyed there was a probvlem saw a huge improvement straight away.

We were thinking of using our holidays to visit family in Ireland and in Switzerland (both have cats!).
Do you think a week in a cat-free rented cottage might work - maybe I could get a holiday rental for a week - if we do it before the peak time shouldn't be tooo expensive - I'm off to look.
Thanks Hercules/Tamum.

Hercules - I am sort-of hoping it's cats rather than dust-mites as the dust mite control will be a lot harder!...I don't think there are many other common allergens in her environment..If I'm missing something obvious I'm sure someone will post!

Tell me bout it.

I think that's an excellent idea, bluebear. Lots of cottages say "no pets", so if you got one of those you should be OK! Let us know how it goes.

Bluebear what causes the allergy is the protein in pet dander or saliva, unfortunately no steaming, washing or cleaning will take it away. That's why is not enough to let the cats out, if they have already being in for a while you must have pet dander protein all around the house. I will try to have an allergy test before finding another home for the cats but keep in mind that's a possiblity.

Thanks Chandra - problem is that as she's atopic she's likely to give a positive response to a test..even if she's not allergic to them.
I've been reading loads about this now, and as you've said the whole house is contaminated and will be for quite some time..so I think all we can do is take dd to a cat-free place and see if she improves..and if she does then we re-home the cats.

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dd1 is atopic. she has the atopic shiners round her eyes, and reacts to everything most of the time, tho can be fine with most things. (confusing sorry). dd2 has also started showing signs of being atopic (dark circles under eyes, ezcema anhd has come up in hives the last week). we got rid of our cat when dd1 was about 6months old as was desperate to find a solution for her ezcema. it didnt make much differece to her ezcema. but she now reacts badly to cats, starts wheezing when near them too long.
I think the best thing to do, is to take a break totally cat free, then watch reactions when u come back. its heartbreaking getting rid of a pet, especially if u dont have to.

Thanks robin and misdee. I know what you mean about the shiners misdee!

We think the easiest short-term thing to do is to take dd to a cat-free environment for a few days - unfortunately I finish maternity leave this weekend, so I'm going to have to talk nicely to my boss on Monday.
Robin - both of our cats are black
Although I'm aware she may have multiple allergies..as the rhinitus has occured since she was a few weeks old and totally breastfed I'm guessing that it's 'something in the air' rather than a food..(unless it was something I was eating???)..that said, I have weaned her very slowly and carefully..so far the only problem food was sweet potato, and SMA gold (she's ok on Hipp organic so is now mixed fed)..which isn't difficult to exclude...we are vegetarian so I am worrying about nuts already..but we'll just wait and see.
I looked up the number for the CPL yesterday but couldn't bring myself to ring it...dh was cuddling the cats so much last night..he's convinced they have to go.

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