URGENT!!! Allergic to my Bully!?!??!

Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
My mom used to be allergic to cats. She was a pet groomer, so over time just being exposed to cats her allergies eventually toned down a lot and then went away.

I definitely would see an allergist. Have you tried any over the counter allergy stuff like Benadryl or anything? Like taking one a little before you play with him? May not make it go away completely but might help a little...
 

ChanelnBrutus

Snookie ain't got nuttin on me!
Feb 6, 2012
4,928
181
New Jersey
Bulldog(s) Names
Brutus (EBD 6/4/11), Chanel (Pitbull 12/23/06)
My nephew was allergy tested around 1 I think (not sure exact time) He tested allergic . He would get bumps and itchy, eyes water. They had a 3 year old Boston terrier and my mom who babysits has 2 dogs. Eventually he built a tolerance and now has no issuess. Brutus his dog and the 2 other dogss lick and play with him constantly and he has no reactions what so ever.

I hope everything works out for you! Hugs
 
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KimboSlice

KimboSlice

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Sep 17, 2012
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Kimbo
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Thank guys for all the feedback! We TRULY appreciate it! So an update about the situation: allergy test came out positive. :( My allergist suggested shots, but I'm not a huge fan of needles :( I did some research online and heard of oral or sublingual immunotherapy(also known as SLIT) which are drops under the tongue instead of shots. Has anyone heard of this or has done this? If all else fails, I really hope our bodies grown immune to the allergies over time :( I miss snuggling with my baby at night :(
 
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KimboSlice

KimboSlice

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You can try a combination of all the suggestions, 1 st you should get allergy tests, as it may be something else. Take an allergy tablet, and allergy shots. It sounds like your doing everything else, like washing your hands, vacuuming , keeping him out of your bedroom, and such. Some others had a good suggestion of changing your clothes after contact with the dog, throw them in the wash right after, and washing your hands and arms after playing with him. It sounds like your doing everything you can to minimize reactions. I am not allergic to dogs, but I am allergic to cats, I sneeze whenever my sons cat comes in contact with me, or if I pet her and then touch my eyes. It was way worse when we first got her, within the first 2 or 3 days , I started sneezing, and itchy watery eyes. I just made sure she doesn't come into my bedroom, and after I pet her, I wash my hands, as well as I vacuum everyday to minimize hair. We also sweep then sniffer the floors every Wednesday, and sweep, sniffer , and damp mop every Sunday, this minimizes the hairs and dust. It is true that the more you are exposed to an allergen, the more you build up a resistance. We have had our cat for a year and 4 months, and she doesn't bother me near as much as before, I hardly sneeze anymore, and as long as I don't touch my face after petting her, and wash my hands after, I'm okay. You mentioned you have only had your baby for 5 months, so maybe over time, your allergies to him will get better or more manageable to a level, you can tolerate. Another thing you could try, is to bath your baby once a week, and brush him after his bath to minimize hair, and remove any excess or loose hairs. I hope you can find a solution that will work for you to be able to live with your baby. Good luck, crossing my fingers and praying for you guys that everything works out. It must be heartbreaking for you guys. Keep us posted.

Just a little information I also wanted to share with you, a few years back, I remember reading an article about children with peanut allergies. They did a study where children were slowly exposed to peanuts, to build up their antibodies to them. This was done in a controlled situation, and done slowly over time to desensitize them to peanut allergies, so it is possible to build up a tolerance over time.

Thank you for taking the time to response! Appreciate it so much! Glad to nkow what we are doing so far is good. Its just so hard :( I will try brushing him after I bathe him to see if that helps. I really hope this is temporary...I know we'e only had him for 5 months, but wouldn't the allergy have started when we first got him? Or is it normal that it's just starting now? Thanks again for your input!
 
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KimboSlice

KimboSlice

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Sep 17, 2012
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ON NO!! That is darn near heart breaking for you... I hope there is something you can do medically to help so you can enjoy him more. I have no insight, but wanted to wish you the best in finding a solution to help you live in the same room as you bully baby!


Thank you for your support! Means a lot to us!
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
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Oct 8, 2012
9,740
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Burlington, ON Canada
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Canada
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Bulldozer and Blossom
I'm not sure how long it takes an allergy to develop, but after 5 months seems a long time for it to start . You would think it would have surfaced sooner. Do you guys have other allergies to animals, or other things that you know of, or is this something new that has developed? The best thing to do is go to your doctor and be referred for allergy tests, then you will have a better idea of what you are allergic to. I went last year, and up to then, I thought I only had environmental allergies to grass, hay, and ragweed, but the test showed all spring trees, grasses, ragweed, horses, and cats, I never knew I was allergic to horses, my friend owns a horse, and I would often go to the barn with her to watch her ride, and when she grooms her horse. When I was up there my eyes would immediately start to water and itch, and I would sneeze and my nose would run, I always assumed it was the hay. So you ever know, it may not be the dog at all, but something else. Good luck, I hope you find out what your allergic to, and it's not your baby, or if it is, that you can find a way to live with him, and manage your allergies. Kep us posted .
 
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Cyndi

New member
Aug 7, 2012
20
0
Texas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Champ (English), CeCe (Frenchie)
Thank guys for all the feedback! We TRULY appreciate it! So an update about the situation: allergy test came out positive. :( My allergist suggested shots, but I'm not a huge fan of needles :( I did some research online and heard of oral or sublingual immunotherapy(also known as SLIT) which are drops under the tongue instead of shots. Has anyone heard of this or has done this? If all else fails, I really hope our bodies grown immune to the allergies over time :( I miss snuggling with my baby at night :(

I am a pediatric nurse and the sublingual immunotherapy is very effective in children, even better than the subcutaneous injections. I would think it would be equally effective for adults. The needle for the subcutaneous injection is extremely thin and short. You honestly do not feel it!!! I have done this myself before! I am also allergic to my EBD. He is almost 6 months old and we have had him since he was 10 weeks. At this point the only thing that bothers me is his saliva on my neck. Once in a while I'll pick him up and he just loves to lick my neck. Well after that I am in the bathroom washing all his kisses off or I am itching like crazy! There is much hope that these allergies will just simply get better and go away. I wish you well!!!
 

FaddieMaddie

New member
Oct 11, 2012
22
1
Dubuque, Iowa, United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Madison
Madison's "daddy" is allergic to her. Gets irritated by her saliva and shedding. Things have improved a lot since we got a new vacuum. It is a Hoover windtunnel PAWS. I vaccuum about every other day, including the furniture she sits on and she is not allowed in our bed.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
I have allergies to dander also but I can't live life without having dogs in it!! With my babies I brush them daily I've started using one of those rubber brushes mine is by Oster and its called a Rush Brush, you can use it for daily brushing and at bath time to remove dead hair and dander, it works great! I also do a daily wipe down with dog wipes the ones I have right now are by Top Dog but along with their daily fold cleaning I wipe them from head to toes with the wipes just to remove anything the brushing left behind and it has helped a lot with my allergy symptoms ... sounds like you are having pretty harsh reactions so I would suggest getting gloves and wearing long sleeve shirts when you are loving on your baby then change your shirt and take off the gloves until things get better under control. hope it gets better soon.

Great solutions!

My sister's boyfriend is allergic to cats --- and my sister is cat crazy. Guess which one she chose? I'd have gotten rid of the stupid boyfriend myself.
 

ModernFemme

Arts'y bulldog farts'y
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Oct 5, 2012
882
61
Delaware
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Sir Remington (Remi)
I don't have any advice unfortunately; as I've been getting older, I have to take some allergy medication myself, but it's more for the weather.

This just reminded me of a short story - I took Remi to pick up my mail, and one gentlemen stopped and asked me if i had one of those "hypoallergenic" dogs. He's like I'm allergic to dogs!! As he continuously started to pet Remi. I was like... umm... I don't think those actually exist, but Remi has a ton of allergies himself.

A little ironic :/ Hang in there...
 

bulldogs4me

Crazy Bulldog Lady
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Sep 25, 2012
2,923
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Texas
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United States
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Klava
Great solutions!

My sister's boyfriend is allergic to cats --- and my sister is cat crazy. Guess which one she chose? I'd have gotten rid of the stupid boyfriend myself.

Thanks Vicaroo :) that's funny cause the coffee cup I'm drinking out of right now says, "I got rid of my husband, the Dog was allergic"

I totally forgot to mention the household stuff LOL leave it to me to only focus on the dog part ... vacuum, dust and sweep with allergies it's best to do it everyday really bad allergy times, multiple times a day that way all the fallen dander gets cleaned away.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
This just reminded me of a short story - I took Remi to pick up my mail, and one gentlemen stopped and asked me if i had one of those "hypoallergenic" dogs. He's like I'm allergic to dogs!! As he continuously started to pet Remi. I was like... umm... I don't think those actually exist...

Isn't President Obama's family dog, "Bo" "hypoallergenic". I saw that on the news one time and though, WTF? The reason they got a Portuguese Water Spaniel is that one of the girls has allergies to dogs.

Being allergic to any animal --- especially dogs -- would be like, the WORST POSSIBLE THING IN THE WORLD, I think.
 

redhed

New member
Jun 22, 2012
202
12
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USA
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Sancho
Of course, when I take a break from EBN there is a thread that I can actually help with!!

I don't know if you did a search prior to this post, but my very first post on EBN was about this very same topic. When we first got our puppy I was seriously miserable. Hives, sneezing, itching, watery eyes, difficulty breathing, the whole nine yards. 24/7. It got to the point that I was doing topical Benadryl, oral Benadryl and Zyrtec twice/day. And it was just making my life bearable. I was ready to give up :(

What finally helped me was a product called Allerpet D. It's a solution that you put on the dog to neutralize the proteins in their dander that people are generally allergic to. It was seriously A-MAZING. Within a couple of days my allergies had pretty much subsided. Don't get me wrong -- I can't snuggle a lot with him and I still have to be vigilant about washing my skin after playing with him, but I can have him and live with him without being completely miserable. It's the first time in my life I've been able to have a pet. No more Benadryl, although I still take Zyrtec daily; but I was doing that before we got him, too.

Additionally, we do not allow him in areas with carpet most of the time and we DEFINITELY do not sleep with him. The dander will collect in the material and become exponentially worse for you. I understand that you want to sleep with your baby, but you probably shouldn't, at least until the allergy treatments begin to work. I'd be very curious to know how those work out, BTW.

Good luck...and I'd love to hear an update.
 

RaRett

Oogle Me on Google
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Apr 15, 2012
1,475
194
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Missi -- With Gizmo and Hershey never far from my heart
Could it be the shampoo you are using on your pup?
Gizmo broke out horribly and we figured out it was the puppy shampoo we had gotten for Hershey ! good luck !
 

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