Is My Baby Allergic to Dogs

I have never stopped to wonder is my baby allergic to dogs because her allergies included all the common irritants like peanuts, cat hair and dairy. Her allergist never mentioned a dog allergy so I assumed that this was the one animal oriented area that we may have gotten lucky.

However, we learned over the holidays that this was not to be. As I look back the last post was made while I had images of creating a lovely holiday meal dancing in my head. Sick of leftover turkey, my goal was to come up with dishes with a fresh, new taste, something that the whole family would enjoy and that would not trigger any of the kids' many allergies.

Then, while neck deep in recipes printed off the internet one of our college friends came to visit with a new puppy in tow. Needless to say that the girls went crazy over the cute little guy. I was letting them all visit and entertain each other when my friend comes rushing into the kitchen asking is my baby allergic to dogs.

I could tell she was excited and when I saw my little one, I knew we were in a bit of trouble. Her face was red and her breathing indicated she might be in for an asthma attack. Thanks to quick treatment with her meds, all quieted down. But you can bet that I'm scheduling an appointment with her allergy specialist to see for sure is my baby allergic to dogs or was there a chemical or perhaps grass on the dog's hair that triggered the allergic reaction.

Return to Family Recipes, Babies and Parenting Issues to see if it was flea powder or dog hair that created these symptoms.

Swine Flu, Babies and Asthma

The word is that Swine flu and asthma is a nasty combination. But then every illness is further complicated when breathing problems exist. The numbers of reported cases of confirmed cases are increasing with every newspaper that hits my driveway. And my anxiety is spreading through my body faster than the virus is mutating because I have children who are in the high risk group that have allergies and can't take the regular flu vaccine much less the H1N1 vaccination.

It depends on how I’m feeling at the moment but I’m waffling between being worried about the actual illness and what might happen if one of my girls catches it which would be bad enough under any set of circumstances but even more so given their existing breathing problems and fear of the girls being a guinea pig. The reports that this vaccine has not been put to the test and could possibly be more dangerous than the swine flu in and of itself.

What’s a mother to do when put between a rock and a hard place? Should I roll the dice, keep my fingers crossed and pray that the H1N1 bypasses our family or trust the medical talking heads and put these little souls in line to get a vaccination that some doctors are on record as stating that in their opinions the swine flu vaccine is not ready for use in humans?

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting, Family and Environmental Issues to find out whether we decide to vaccinate or not.

ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

Why I was so dumb to think that asthma in children had become an illness of the past much the same as polio and red measles would strike me as funny except that dealing with asthma is anything but fun. My older brother had asthma as a child but I was too little to remember anything about it except that my mother accused my father of being the cause of it because he smoked his pipe in the house.

As you can imagine, when my daughter starting presenting symptoms of asthma, the most noticeable being a persistent cough at night it came as a shock. Of course, that was before I did my homework and found that asthma in children was not only alive and well but very common in babies with allergies and eczema which made my infant a prime candidate for RAD (reactive airway disease which is a fancy, modern name for asthma) in spite of my diligent reading of vacuum cleaner reviews to see which models got the best consumer product ratings and reviews .

Her uncontrolled (and misdiagnosed) allergies early on made it impossible to manage her asthma symptoms and along with her MRSA and frequent upper respiratory infections kept me on edge to the point of exhaustion. I’m glad to report that as she has gotten older and her allergy triggers have been pinpointed, treatment has gotten more effective.

And the support network for parents with a child who suffers from this condition is fantastic! There are online screening quizzes to help parents identify the symptoms of asthma in children and information on asthma treatments for children so that you will be well educated and prepared to discuss whether or not your baby’s allergies and asthma symptoms with your doctor during your next visit.