question for all you allergy sufferer's

[schelmischekitty]

ok.  here's the deal.  axle started his shedding again.  this is the worst year yet.  even with brushing, etc, he looks like he has the mange and it's even bothering HIM to the point he's going at his hair and plucking the lose stuff out.  we very well might shave him down soon if it doesn't start to lighten up (i'm sure the groomer is going to LOVE us).

i have had problems in the past with high-shedding animals with soft fluffy hair like some cats, rabbits, etc.  now, living with axle is horrible.  i won't get rid of him, but OMG i feel awful.  my nose constantly runs, my eyes are puffy, my throat is swelled up, etc ALL the time.  i can't even sleep at night b/c it's so awful and in the mornings i feel so sick i just can't get out of bed (axle just has to sleep by my side of the bed).  if i go outside i'm fine within about 30 minutes.  but within just a few minutes of walking inside it starts all over though.  i clean every day, mop sweep dust, literally EVERYTHING top to bottom trying to make things better.  i don't know that there's much more i can do as far as keeping my house clean.  i air my house out whenever i can, but with the heat that's a rare thing right now.

does anyone have any suggestions??  i thought about getting one of the air purifiers and seeing if it's his dander, or something that they might be able to get out of the air.  has anyone used them, and if you have how good are they?  how often do you change filters out, etc, and how much area do they cover?  we have an upstairs with 3 bedrooms and a bath with a hall, then main floor with the kitchen dining room and living room and a basement about 600sq foot with a bathroom, also.  any advice or suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

[schelmischekitty]

i'm glad i'm not the only one!  axle got a bath on the 1st of august, so it hasn't been that long for him.  he is getting a bath tomorrow though, hubby got the picture that it's axle when i was in the kitchen and was getting a little better and axle walked in and that was the end of it.  i don't like taking meds, either.  i usually won't even take benedryl (i usually DO get hives, but haven't yet with this).  axle will be getting a big dose of conditioner to try to help tomorrow.  i think i'd rather get brought out to pasture and shot than stay like this forever lol.  do you think shaving him would help??

[schelmischekitty]

with the way i feel, if the bath, etc, doesn't help then we might consider that then!

[bigdogs@5501]

I have been suffering horribly this last week as well,but I think that mine is some sort of plant pollen. I have also heard that it is the dander and the pets saliva that usually sets off allergy attacks in humans, It probably wouldnt hurt to get him shaved down and let the groomers bathe him, then he can come home and hopefully wont set you off too bad. If you dont shave him down, you may have to bath him more often and then I have heard giving them a bath too often is not a good thing either because thier bodies will produce more oils etc to try and "keep up"
Benadryl or Nyquil is about the only thing that works at nite so that I can sleep. Gosh that is miserable- hopefully it will be over and soon.

[schelmischekitty]

i just took nyquil lol hopefully it'll stop.  does shaving them irritate them?  how long does it take for the hair to grow back?  (won't axle look so stupid lol)

[bigdogs@5501]

We shave our Pyrs, usually 2 times over the summer. Its very controversial to shave down a Pyr, but usually the ones who are the most vocal have never experienced 110 degree heat and humidity like we get in Texas. We use a
#10 blade, which gets it pretty short but not so short that they will get a sunburn. We have never had the Pyrs experience any irritation, they actually act extremely releived to have the hair off. It also cuts down on the amount of hair in the house and on everything that we own. I think that Axle will look good, and he will probably feel relieved. As far as growing back, the Pyrs hair grows really fast. We will not be shaving them anymore this week as it looks like we are starting to cool off here- I have a feeling that we are going to have a fairly cold winter. Which will make them all very happy.

[schelmischekitty]

thanks for the advice!  i'm trying to talk hubby into letting me get axle done, i think we'll have a pro do it, just because i don't have the "good" clippers to do it with.  axle gets SO hot, and already has a little irritation, so that helps our argument.  maybe if i do it i won't have to sweep / mop every day, too.  all in all, for right now at least, i think it'll be a win win situation all except if axle comes out funny looking!

[Duramax]

well, it's not just Axel... allergies have been worse this year than they have been in years. It's been on the news. Me and my little girl both have allergies and asthma:P my i know for a fact that people are not alergic to a dogs 'hair' they are alergic to the dogs skin. so you would want to figure out the best way to eliminate his dandruff. i would suggest giving him his fatty acids and making extra sure he doesnt have dry skin. as far as the shedding....we ll...if you figure out that one, let me know. i also know fore sure that humans can be alergic to dog saliva. this is my issue. so to fix that problem, we've just trained the boys to not lick. Oh one more thing...prabab ly the biggest! remember i said this year has been the worst in who knows how long for allergies? well every time our boys go outside for play or potty, all the stuff they walk by and all the stuff (pollen and other allergens) being carried by the wind, stick to their coat and get marched straight into your house with the carrier. this rule also applies to every one else who goes out side too. i hope this gives you some ideas, i know how the allergies feel, hope they go away for both of us soon!

[London_Pyr_Lover]

I completely know how you feel with the allergies.  I have never in my life felt this horrible for this long.  I don't know if it's Naja or just that its a sucky year for allergies.  I too am drug free, except for Reactine during the day and a tablespoon of Nyquil at night.  Otherwise I think I'd be out there in the pasture with you.  If you have a central airconditionin g system, try to keep that turned on, the system we use has it's own air purifier filter thingy and that helps me alot.  Naja loves the A/C as well, she'll only go out to go potty.  I try not to go outside too much when I don't have to, and brush the pups out every time we go out.  All of these things have been helping me.  I hope you get some relief soon! 

BTW I think Axle will look cute shaved down.  And he'll feel much cooler.   

[schelmischekitty]

thanks for all your support, guys!  we're getting some of those filters for the AC that are supposed to help with allergies, and probably the air purifier (has anyone tried those?), and we're also going to get axle a good bath and maybe shaved.  i know it probably won't help with me, BUT, it's bound to make him feel better at least!  as far as acupuncture, i can't do it lol.  it makes me nervous just to think about it, and even just thinking i MIGHT have to get blood work makes me physically sick.  i'm living off of nyquil right now, and it just isn't doing anything.  i told hubby to pick up benedryl and i'm going to try that approach.  at least now i'm 99% sure it's not just a cold (nyquil would have made a big difference if it was, right?).  i went through almost half a bottle of nyquil yesterday afternoon / last night and got NO improvement except my throat stopped hurting quite so bad.

[schelmischekitty]

i don't know what exactly it is.  i typically don't have allergy problems except with fine haired animals like rabbits, some cats, etc, when they get RIGHT in my face.  i've narrowed it down to something on axle.  i'm fine with peanut, even when he gets in my face.  every time axle comes around me i get worst, so i'm not sure if it's his dander that's just worst than before or if it's something that just sticks to his hair better than peanuts (because peanut has very thin fur and axle has thicker fur?).  axle doesn't lick me (he's not a big kisser) so unless he's hiding spit in my clothes i don't think that's it lol.  the weird thing is, with cats and rabbits i do get hives but right now it's just chest and up that's really bad with me.  no hives yet.

as far as molds / mildew go, i don't think that would be it, as i was at my mom's house after katrina cleaning up all that stuff and never had any issues with it.  our house is pretty well kept (it's base housing), though they do say that the basements tend to get mold / mildew issues sometimes b/c they are older and sometimes flood if it stays too wet outside.

[schelmischekitty]

no, no asthma here thank god!