I think I'm alergic to my mates house

A load of us went round for a bit of a do tonight, I've had to come away just now cos I'm absolutely finished, my eyes are streaming, I have a runny nose, I'm sneezing, I'm short of breath and my chest feels like it's been filled with expanding foam

It's not just me though, my brother and a mate are just the same, the thing is though, we not normally like this, it's just when we go to this mates house, it's happened a few...well every time we've been. As you can imagine it causes a few problems, ie we've been stood outside more than we've been inside and it's embarassing having snot flying outta your face when in pleasant company The guy who owns the house feels uneasy too, almost guilty as if it's his fault.

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem may be and possible ways round it? He does have a cat but normally when I'm around cats I don't know my face gets really itchy but at this house my face is fine.

I'd be really chuffed if I could go round and sit down without exploding, I'm his best man in August so I'm gonna be spending some time there

Cheers

Bob

 

Allergic reactions with animal fur can differ. ie different animals and breeds have different fur textures/smells etc. and they can lead to different symptoms, he could also have dust mites or fleas that just don't agree with you.

Hope this helps.

 

I wondered if dust might be a problem. It's an old house, the carpets and curtains haven't been changed in a billion years, the old couple who had the house before left them, also I think it's fair to say my mates not too hot with a duster I did get similar symptons that time I cleaned my room out

What can I do though, I can't ask him to vacuum before I go round

 

Just tell him straight.....you think it might be because he is a scruffy untidy bas****!!

Only joking but tell him straight that you think its down to the fact that the house is a sh** hole....sorry i meant the dust in the house has time to "mature"!

 

I have the same problem at 2 different houses.
I get flu like symptom's while I'm there and for about 1 hour afterward's.
With me it's cat's, the more cat's the worse it is.One house is very clean and has one cat.(less severe reaction) The other house is very hairy as they have 11 cat's.(that's mean's I die upon entry)
I alway's did prefer Dog's and I dont have a problem with them.

Mac.

 

Daz, I'm struggling with a runny nose, I don't need blood coming out of it too


Mantamac, 11 cats, hell fire, I'd be sneezing just walking up the path I'm ok round dogs too, I just don't like them

 

LOL

You need to tell him that dust is causing it then....did the old couple have who lived there before him have cats?

Your lucky then...I'm allergic to dog hair, cat hair, pollen, horses especially!! and work!

 

Bob - Why not employ the tactics being used in China / Hong Kong etc recently and wear a face mask when you go to your scruffy arsed mates gaff ?

I do sympathise though ! We had neighbours who insisted on putting Glade Plug-ins into EVERY frigging plug socket in their house. My eyes would shrivel up just walking past in the morning on my way to collect the papers !

 

LOL

I don't know much about the previous couple except they were quite old, not sure if she died in the house I think it's possible that she didn't have a hoover, not sure why, just a hunch

I was thinking the same thing about the face masks last night, I could reckon on to be a Jacko impersonator if he doesn't go for the virus thing

Cheers

 

Mrs C and I spent 8 months living in a rented studio flat, where we were both allergic to the sofa-bed. It was awful - no amount of vacuuming made the slightest difference, and it even brought on the first asthma attack I'd had for nearly 20 years. The day after we moved out we were both absolutely fine again.

 

Can depend on local plant life as well, We live near a huge Beech tree and we are surrounded by privet hedges, both are big causes of allergys, I only get it in late summer/Autum and even my wife gets it a bit, we both lie there at night wheezing, rest of the year no problems. My brother suffers at our house but I think thats the dog, I was allergic to her when we first got her but got used to it (well my body did, not sure about my disposition to dogs)

 

yeah, good point... tree pollen is another major offender!

 

Go round with a steam cleaner!

 

i suffer badly as well from houses with cats and also dust.i dont think hoovering will help as when i hoover my place it disturbs the dust and the next day out come the antihistamine.very shortly i will be putting a wood floor throughout my place to try and help.

 

take antihistamine BEFORE you go round there again, see if that helps, if not, go to your Doctor and explain, you may have a mild form of asthma although it is more likely to be a dust allergy.

hth

 

Thanks for the replies

I'm off work this week so I'll try and get to chemists for some antithingmywotsits Hopefully that will make things better and I could stand to make some money selling them on at future parties at said house

Re trees, there aren't any trees or bushes near the house but I think I could rule that out because I'm fine outside. There is a big pond though but I'm deffo not allergic to water

Cheers

 

Anti histamines can make you sleepy and people with alergies are sometimes v sensitive to them.

I once volunteered for a trial, had no effect on me whasoever. (There again difficult to tell the difference I suppose!)

We had a cat years ago and my mates g/f wouldn't visit. I thought it was just an excuse because we always ended up pissed as farts. But, when we persuaded her to come round within five mins she was sneezing n wheezing and eyes were streaming.

So next time I got some of the tabs from work which I thought would sort it. 15 mins later she was snoring in the armchair!

So do the "always read the lable bit" bobby, wouldn't like to see another set of mods to front of the fizza

 

Wood floors can actually make allergies worse as I've recently found out. We've had cats for 4 years, and I was fine for 3 years with them in our old house (carpetted throughout) but in our new house (wood floors all through downstairs) I am really suffering quite bad asthma. I think this is because the carpet traps the allergens whereas the wood floor just lets them float around in the air for me to breathe in. I am fine almost as soon as I leave the house.
Housework definitely makes it worse as does stuff like changing the bed clothes. Guess I'll jus thave to leave those to the wife!

 

Banshi, the fizza should be getting fixed this week, with a bit luck...I have all the parts now at least! I'll have to give the pills a whirl, I like sleeping I do! Oh, I must get my act together and get my sponsorship money in, haven't forgotten.

 

Bit of an update for y'all

I went to the chemists and bought some anti histemine fingmies, I haven't been to my mates house yet but today I've been to my Aunties house / farm. They have a dog which stops in the house, a few cats that hang about but aren't supposed to come in then there's the sheep and hay / straw in the barn....I was fine, not a sniff all night, I can still see and I haven't choked, job's a guddun

Fanks

 

Bob,

I'm allergic to furry things, especially dogs, and get exactly the same symptoms. Most likely its going to be dust mites (well the faeces of dust mites more accurately) or dander from the cats coats.

My cousin has a dog and without medication I can't stay long in his house without getting severe breathing difficulties.

I suggest you see a doctor and get prescribed some strong antihistamines and take them in advance of your visit - or try some over the counter ones from the chemist. I find that helps a lot (in addition to treating the symtoms when they happen with inhaler etc)


Alex

Edited to say there are also a few things your mate can do to assist.

1) Vacuum the carpets etc.
2) Preferably get them cleaned
3) You can get anti allergic sprays from John Lewis that kill dust mites and deactivate allergens
4) Ventilate the house in advance of your visit

I know its embarrassing to ask someone to do this though... It all depends on how amenable they will be to your requests! I usually use the method at the top of this post and try suffer in silence!

[Edited by ajm - 4/6/2003 9:42:24 AM]