Need info on Athsma......

Okay, I've just begun a new position with my rescue organization. I now answer the calls that come into the "I need to find a new home for my cat" line.

My first call is a man who has been diagnosed with Athsma and can't keep his cat. Now I know how you all feel about this and I feel the same way, but I'm not looking for that kind of information. Of course, I'm going to try to talk him into keeping the cat, but I need some ammunition.

What I need is informmation on Athsma. Is Asthma the same as allergies? Do any of you have it and live with cats? Can Athsma come on quickly?

I'll be searching medical sites, but I figured you guys with Athsma and cats are the best people to ask. Any information or links to site would be great.

Karen

Karen,

Recently I received an email about this very concern. I did manage to scare up a few websites regarding this issue. Here they are:

Asthma and Pets

Asthma

well, for a start, i'm athsmatic(sp) since young and it worsens with weather changes, fur and dust... i have my daily medication which i take when i feel really bad.. personally, as long as I keep the house clean, vaccuum it a couple of times more to keep the fur at bay.. and most importantly, brush them often.. i'm pretty ok... hope that helps

I don't have athsma but i have allergies not to cats
but of all things SILK. My Dr. told me that in a small room
or a car that I Would live about 30 MIN. If some has silk
garments on.
This sure make hard to watch for everything silk No ties
no undies at all.I have always said if Cindy wanted to kill
me all she had to do is buy a silk nighties I would die in
my sleep.
So this type of problem is not to be taken lightly.
Charlie

The scientists and health professionals do not agree amongst themsleves or with each other when it comes to asthma and pets. There's data out there that supports the theory that pets can reduce asthma attacks in addition to data that shows that pets are one of the most common triggers.

However, this much everyone agrees on. It's an individual basis. It reallly depends on the situation.

Asthma is VERY different to allergies and attacks are not to be taken lightly. The severity of the condition varies from person to person and triggers for attacks are varied and can be complicated. Not only that, the medication for asthma can be expensive especially if it's required for someone to use preventative treatments every day of their life.

Thanks for you information, eveyone.

I'm not sure how I feel about this now, but I'll do my best to pass on any/all information that I've gathered and go from there.

Karen

Good information above. It seems I have asthma, no official diagnosis yet, but been on the medication for quite a while now. Been in hospital twice this past year, because I get terrible shortness of breath when I get a more severe respitory infection. So when they've taken me in, I had to stop to pant after every two steps, my pulse and blood pressure were way up, to the point that they did a heart film on me to make sure the attack hadn't damaged my heart. That's a risk if your heart has to work "extra duty" for long. So definitely asthma is nothing to take lightly.

I still have all my pets. I was tested for allergies, found none, so it seems that pets are not a trigger for me. Docs have never even suggested getting rid of the pets, but I do know that there are people that have allergies as well as asthma and can get severe attacks from pets. For some, allergy medication helps. Every asthmatic is the expert on their own condition. We control our own meds to a point, monitor some aspects of our lung function, and the doctors often rely a lot on the patient's own feelings about their health. This is the way it should be, anyway. My point is that there is no way of saying if a particular asthmatic could have cats or not, s/he is the only one that knows.

Hi, I have asthma and it depends upon what induces the asthma. Pets can be one of the inducers (for me it's smoke and chili powder that I know of). If pets are his inducers then he can't keep the cat. Asthma is deadly. If they are not then he can keep the cat. I have two cats and they cause no problems for me at all.

I have asthma as well, I haven't noticed any increase in my symptoms since we were adopted by Patches , that may be because we vac quite often and use a hair pick up sticky brush , along with frequent brushing. I have had experience with a friend of mines father who had to give up his cat because of his asthma , I saw this with my own eyes nothing he tried helped to reduce his symptoms , I think its a case of everyone who has asthma is just a little bit different.