Cat allergy - air purifiers

[RiverTam]

Does anyone have any recommendations for air purifiers to deal with what we think is a cat allergy that DD (6) seems to have developed? She is very snotty, and occasionally sneezy (but not streaming), and it does seem worse inside our house, which the cats have the full run of (though they don't go in her room).

I've just bought a new Miele with a HEPA filter but I'm now looking at purifiers - goodness, they're expensive! It seems that a True HEPA filter is better than a HEPA filter? I'm struggling to work out the square footage of our living room, but it's long and thin with high ceilings so I'm going to guess around 45 sq metres.

I've looked at the Winix and the ElectriQ, does anyone know anything about them?

I should say, getting rid of the cats isn't an option, they're quite feral, unfriendly and old so they'd never get rehomed! And despite that we do quite like them.

I'm afraid that if your DD does have a cat allergy I don't think any type of vaccuum cleaner or air purifier will solve the problem. The allergens are very small and as well as being found in the air and (obviously) on the cats, they can stay in carpets/curtains and other soft furnishings for a very long time. Whilst these things, as well as keeping cats out of her room, will help none of this in my experience will actually be enough to stop the symptoms.

I suffer from this allergy and have stayed with friends who don't allow cats upstairs yet I have still had very bad symptoms at night. I've also rented a house where the previous occupier had cats and found that I suffered a lot despite doing a thorough deep clean.

Depending on the severity of your DDs reaction, maybe some antihistamines for her would be a good idea. The effect of these builds up over time so she would probably need to take them for a week or so before you symptoms are under control and would need to keep taking them daily. It is quite common for cats allergies to trigger an asthmatic reaction- this needs to be taken seriously.

If I were you I'd take DD to the GP to get some advice on whether this really is a cat allergy and what if any medication or other advice they can give. Allergic reactions are often overlooked by non-sufferers as 'just a bit of a sniffle' but actually they can make you feel really ill, impact concentration, disrupt sleep and have other serious consequences.

We've been to the GP, at that point we thought it was hay fever, which she may well have a touch of, at the point she was at the GPs she showed no symptoms. So we have some antihistamines. But I am also looking at improving the home environment, hence my question. I have read some reviews which suggest that air purifiers can help with allergies. And if improving the environment could result in less medication that's great. Like I said, I don't know that she has an allergy, she certainly isn't like friends we have who do who are sneezing and eyes streaming within 10 minutes of being in our house.

Have you used an air purifier to help alleviate your symptoms? Either of the brans I have mentioned?

are you sure this isnt dust mite allergy or tree pollen allergy or all three with cat allergy?
ask for blood tests with GP before forking out a fortune for something you may not need.
knowing what allergies you are dealing with may mean you can make some changes in environment and add other medication to control symptoms.

Well, today was a high pollen count day and she didn't need anything at school. But inside for about 5 minutes and she's snuffling like nobody's business. So I think it must be something in the house.

This is new, she's not had anything like this before.

I can ask for blood tests, I will do that next week, I didn't know allergies could be tested like that,

Wipes! Yes, of course. Damn, I was in Pets at Home yesterday as well. Will give them a go on the lesser of our feral cats . We've finally chosen an air purifier! And I'll sort out blood tests as well.

Thanks, Polter.