Ready?
I’m starting to think I’m allergic to cats!
I know it sounds laughable, after living with cats for well over 50 years.
But, no, I haven’t lost my senses due to side effects of chemotherapy.
Here’s the situation.
I get up early, usually a few minutes before or after 5 a.m. At that point, I wander into the kitchen, drink a little water, perhaps snack on some yogurt, then sit at the dining table with MacBook Air in front of me to check news, email, etc.
And my nose is running. Within half and hour or so I have a little mound of used Kleenex on the table next to me that grows through the morning.
I always attributed this to genetics because my mother suffered with postnasal drip and always sat with a box of tissue within reach.
Here’s the thing. When I leave the house, it passes. My head dries up. Tissues stuffed in my pocket go unused.
But there’s a long list of other symptoms associated with pet allergies that I don’t experience. So the jury is out.
And, for the record, this started well before cancer appeared on the scene.
In an attempt to test my allergy hypothesis, I just bought an air purifier capable of processing an area the size of our living room. It was finally unboxed and turned on Wednesday afternoon. I’ll see if it makes any difference. And when I leave the house for medical appointments, I’ll pay attention to whether my nose responds by drying up.
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i get morning runny nose. my mom had it (no cats). a couple months ago, a friend mentioned he has it (also no cats). i looked it up. not uncommon for us aging ones. “geriatric rhinitus.” no blame da cats!
I didn’t think to actually look it up!! So that’s good news! Thank you.
I can relate. I’ve had cats for 30+ years. And allergies to match,confirmed by Kaiser. Stuffy nose,watery eyes,sneezes etc. But I’m down to two cats now,from a high of eight. They will be my last cats. They are worth it.
Finally!
I can give you some useful advice based on personal experience.
The air purifiers work way better if you remove the plastic wrap on the filter cartridge before using.
But, of course the filters last much longer if you leave the wrap on.
I have tried both ways.
Ah. Sage advice for sure!
My mom is 98. And her nose is always dripping. I’m 64 and my nose always strips in the morning before I brush my teeth.
In all relationships, there are pluses and minuses.
We have always been a lover of cats and it took over 20 years for us to realise we are allergic to them! But not the fur. It’s their saliva. 🙁 They were always grooming and I was always petting them. We were constantly getting sinus infections getting sinus infections.
When we moved to Auckland and the last of our 3 moggies crossed the Rainbow bridge, our sinus’ cleared and I haven’t had an infection since! I still have a runny nose but I think that is caused by all the pollen from all the trees surrounding us.
Remember when they used to say ‘Take your sinus’ to Arizona’ because it was desert? Now it’s been planted people have the same issues as elsewhere.
And therein lies the reason why I can no longer have cats to love on… Dr. George Ewing called it years ago, so no more lovely critters to keep me company. So I enjoy Feline Friday’s, even more.
After bragging to my doc that I had no allergies, he told me that one can develop an allergy at any age. Cat allergies are to their dander from dried saliva. My son combats this allergy by wiping down the cats with kitty wipes, or just plain water-soaked paper towels. They enjoy being groomed that way. Could also be that Kiko’s drooling on you is triggering a reaction.