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Being diagnosed with asthma is a difficult thing because even though it is treatable, it prevents you from doing things and might even force you to give up your best friend. One of the most difficult decisions to do is to give up your pet because your child has asthma. The worst part is that anything in your home can trigger your child’s asthma, including your cat or dog. Things like dust mites, mold, pollen, and pet dander can trigger asthma.
When a child is diagnosed with asthma, in most cases the parents don’t know much about this condition. When their pediatrician tells them that their child has asthma and that they have to get rid of their pet, their heart sinks. Many families consider a pet like part of their family and when they’ve had it for many years, the decision to part ways can be devastating.
What To Do?
Unfortunately most primary doctors do not know much about pets other than they have dander. These are tiny scales that are shed from your pet’s skin that stick to their hair. The first thing to do is pay a visit to the veterinarian. In most cases they analyze how the family interacts with the pet, where he sleeps, and they can help you make small changes that can help reduce the risk of an asthma attack.
Things like getting rid of rugs in common areas like living rooms can minimize pet hair and pet dander inside the house. Taking your pet to get groomed regularly can help with the hair problem too. Also, making sure that the pet does not get on top of furniture and bed would be the type of new adjustments that need to be made. Make sure that you keep the child’s bedding clean and get dust-mite covers on beds, since dust mites like to eat dander.
There are various products that you can buy to minimize the dander in your pets like shampoos and sprays. When visiting your vet, you can request diluted doses of the sedative acepromazine that can reduce the proteins in cat saliva, which is the reason for many cat allergies.
A child can also get tested to see to what extent he or she is allergic to pet. In many cases tests can show what portion of their asthma is due to a pet allergy. Make sure you don’t make quick life-changing decisions just because your child has been diagnosed with asthma.
