Sad Situation
 

I have been struggling for the past weeks trying to come up with a solution that would work , but have not come up with any.

For almost 5 years I have been running a rescue . At first it was touch and go because 1 of my children has allergies and we thought we would have to close everything down after the first year. But suddenly it was like he got immunity and he no longer was allergic to the anumals. WE decided it was just a matter of him developing immunities over a bit of time. Noww fast forward 5 years. Now one of my younger sons who never was too allergic before to things has suddenly become MISERABLE from the animals. We have tried everything but it seems no matter WHAT it is just the animals ... plain and simple ...that's it. It's not anything else or shampoos or cleaners or anything else... it's the animals. Closing the rescue I can do reluctantly as I have some foster people who would be willing to let the whole operation be run from their homes and I could still run the rescue... but it would also mean rehoming my personal pets:( . I would APPRECIATE any input from allergy sufferers as to what they have done when allergies have become unbearable for family members. Anything like shots or meds for my child is NOT an option. I would never subject him to this just to make myself happy.



Thanks

Yes... allergy medicine would be OK if it was ME... I but I don't feel i should shove it down my 7 year old EVERYDAY... just because "I" Love animals.

I would feel like a horrible selfish mother:( I just don't think it is Fair of me .:confused:

I don't really have an answer for you but I do have something for you consider. How old is your son? Have you talked this over with him to see how he feels? How would he feel if you got rid of all the animals because of him? Shots or meds might not just make you happy...if your son loves your animals as much as you do then he may be willing to do what is neccessary to keep them in your home. Good luck...I hope you find a solution.

Trust me, you won't be a horrible mother! I just found out I was allergic to roaches and dustmites.:rolleyes: So now my mom comes and cleans my house for me, or i'll be miserable! I had to buy these expensive matress covers, and all sorts of things! I'm happy the medicine is available, I no longer suffer. :)

Sorry to hear about your situation. My son has allergies but to pollen. Have you tried a heavy duty air purifier like the ones they advertise on TV? I don't know if that would help but it might be worth a shot.
Good luck.

He is 7 and ...well the best I can describe is FRAIL. He was born a preemie and always had a bit more problems then the other children. Just getting his required vaccinations for school is heartbreaking for me as it is so painful for him. The Drs. said because he has hardly any body fat to 'Absorb" the pain . If it were any of my other children I might consider allergy meds, but i just can't with this one.:(

I understand your apprehension about giving your son meds, especially if he's really young. A friend of mine is allergic to EVERYTHING and she has 2 cats and a dog (all shedding). She takes allergy medication and it has helped her out a great deal. She's not just allergic to the animals, though so rehoming them would not do anything for her allergies. There are so many other things in the environment that cause sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes, etc for her. The allergy medication takes care of ALL of those things.
Are you sure that it's JUST the animals that is causing his allergy symptoms? I'd would be sad to rehome your family pets and then realize later than additional environmental factors had also caused his allergy symptoms. Have you spoken to his doctor? Perhaps he/she would have some suggestions for you.

:goodpost:

yes definately the animals. we know because we did an experimant and took everypet and all the rescues OUT of the home for the weekend and he was able to BREATH again without all the trouble. I also feel REALLY bad because for YEARS since he was a baby he always talked with this nasal voice... we just thought it was his voice.... when we got him away from the animals and scrubbed everything...HE HAD A DIFFERENT VOICE:eek: ...as soon as they came back.... within a few days he had the nasal voice again....I FEEL SO GUILTY:(

My dh's allergist says he is one of those who actually IS allergic to most things. Before we got Gypsy, all animals had to stay out of the bedroom. That helped a lot. Luckily he is not allergic to her so she gets to sleep with us.

LOL.. I LOVE sleeping with my furbabies... LOL... so far nobody has PEE'd on me:p Knock on wood:rolleyes:

I'm sorry for what you're going through. My husband and I both suffer from allergies and we have some of the worst shedding pets available. We keep the dogs in the kichen with a baby gate and don't allow them run of the house. This keeps all of Bailey, my pug's hair confined to the kitchen. It also helps a lot with housetraining. Once in a while we let them where the carpet is but if the family wants to play with them we mostly play with them outdoors or go into the kichen to spend time with them. This way the hair is only in the kichen which can be swept away easily.
We also have a himalayan cat. She sheds a lot, but we have been lucky that she isn't the most social cat. Most of her hair ends up in little balls in the hallway that just need vacuuming once in a while. When she wants attention she comes close to you, but stays about about a foot away. She used to sleep in our bed but I had to stop that because it bothered my nose. We squirtted her with a bottle everytime she jumped on the bed which stopped that.
Anyways, I hope you don't have to find new homes for your pets. Definately talk to your son and ask him what he thinks. Odds are he's attached to them and is more than willing to try things to get them to stay. Or maybe you can still keep the pets that don't shed? Good luck.

A friend of mine has a son that has now graduated, but when he was little, he was alergic to everything from grass to animals. They gave him the medicine and it helped him so much. It was not only at his own home that he had problems but everywhere and if he stayed at a friends house he would come home so miserable. Since they started him on the medication, he could enjoy everything all little boys enjoy. You might consider looking at it from his point, that he would enjoy life better complete with the animals. Please don't ever feel guilty for doing what you think is best for your child and don't feel guilty for the past, just try to come to a solution for the future. Best wishes.....:)

LOL.. I"M the one attached to all of them:rolleyes: . Since we started the rescue 5 years ago ... we started out by NOT wanting the kids to get too attached ... and yet learn to play with and handle the animals. We always say BABYSITTING and not rescueing to the kids. They understand the concept of babysitting and always understand that the babysitting means they will move on in time. I think they always have this in mind and don't even realize how long my OWN pets have been there as sometimes we have rescues quite awhile also. The rescues here get to run and play all over just like my own dogs once they get seen by the vet.


SIGHHHHHHHHHHH we also have parrots and cats:rolleyes: It's a FULL HOUSE here:p Everybody would need rehoming:(

My husband suffered many many many years with his allergies, he had to get a shot all the time when he was a kid, he grew up on all sorts of medicines, as he got older he wanted to fix this problem and he started seeing a Chiropractor. We also have a friend who has a son that has severe allergies and he to has started seeing are Chiroprator. So it's worth a try!
http://www.iowadcs.org/patientallergies.htm
http://allergies.about.com/cs/altern...a/aa122198.htm