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asthma and pets
my husband had bad asthma 25 years ago. it stopped when we went travelling in our camper van and didn't come back. now we have adopted an adorable little leg chewing dog aged 3 months. my husband is now struggling to breathe again. we both love this little dog. I cleaned everything. opened the windows etc and my husband said he was ok but this is the first attack in 25 years. we don't want to lose this dog, but hubby cannot cope with asthma again. I cant either. its terrifying. is there a way round this problem?
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Long shot but worth a try x
An allergy would be one thing - lots of people cope with allergies to pet fur/dander (myself included)
But you can't mess about with Asthma
It is an absolute shame, but you just can't take the risk
I suppose it depends on the extent of the condition and how controllable it is with simple inhalers. I find that my body gets used to my own 3 cats but, on returning from a break away, my symptoms usually reappear. I know I would never be without my cats so I hope my condition never deteriorates beyond the point of easy reversibility.
I would definitely make an appointment with your GP or respiratory nurse specialist who can advise on asthma management. A twice daily preventative inhaler (if your husband is not currently using one) plus regular use of a fast acting broncho-dilator might be sufficient to manage the symptoms.
Good luck katywill, it really is the best idea. Very few times I recommend rehoming but this is a serious condition.
I personally would much rather manage my condition and keep my cats, I would never give them up. My brother was hospitalised twice as a child with severe asthma but my mum kept our cat! There was no real proof that the cat was actually the trigger anyway because many things, as I said, can trigger an attack and, most of the time, he was absolutely fine.
At the end of the day, we must all decide for ourselves what is important to us and, for me, it is to make the necessary adjustments in order to keep my cats who confer so many more advantages to me than risks.
Please be careful how you rehome her, don't put her on gum tree or give her away free.
I really feel for you all
Your Husband should see the GP regarding additional treatment regarding his Asthma. I moved into a new house about 3 years ago which sent my Asthma skyrocketing. The GP placed me on a steroid inhaler (Preventer) which I had to take in the morning and evening, in addition to my Reliever. Worked for me.
Nobody has to do what I do This is a forum where people can put forward different/alternative points of view and many people love their pets and don't want to give them up. As an asthmatic myself (not to mention an ITU nurse), I can explain how it is possible to live with pets and my advice was to ensure that inhalers are always available which, as I can see from the most recent post above, the OP's husband has now acquired. With more exposure to the pet, the body often adjusts its response - many of us only react to our pets on return from absences (eg holidays). As another poster has also pointed out, twice daily use of a preventative steroid inhaler suppresses the inflammatory response and prevents (or minimises the risk of) attacks occurring.
As I said, it's not only pets that can potentially cause asthma flare-ups and all asthmatics need instant accessibility of a reliever (usually ventolin). There are so many allergens and pollutants that can trigger an attack so it is important to be prepared. If anything, this reaction to the dog has reminded the OP's husband of the importance of being adequately prepared. The good thing about asthma is its reversibility with the correct timely remedial treatment.
There are some very brittle asthmatics who are very difficult to treat but I don't think that applies in this case. It's good the OP's husband is now feeling a lot better and is hoping to keep their pet.
I have cared for many asthmatics and have suffered several attacks myself but ''agony'' is not a word I would use to describe the experience. Distress, fear, a tightness in the chest, a struggle to expire air all occur but I have never heard anyone complaining of being in agony.
Most of the time, relief is quick with the appropriate bronhodilatory reliever inhaler. Asthmatics (and I can't repeat this enough) should always have instant access to an inhaler. Many of our hospital admissions are because asthmatics haven't had an in-date inhaler to hand and I almost called an ambulance once myself because of this (my asthmatic brother brought me his inhaler at 3am, luckily he lives quite near).
Adults who had a diagnosis as asthma as a child but ''grew out'' of it as an adult should still be vigilant as it commonly re-occurs in later life. Pets are just one of a possible multitude of triggering factors and sometimes, we don't know the trigger at all. It's not possible to avoid every single trigger (eg for me, hoovering dusty areas) so it's always best to be prepared.