What am I going to do=(................Child with Asthma and having 3 doodles!!

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

Sunday was one of the worst day's ever! I ended up taking my 7 year old daughter to the Hospital when she woke up and was having trouble breathing my mother was watching her at the time. She called me out of work and we took her in right away, I took one look at her laying on the couch and couldn't believe it! Her little body was working so hard to breath. At this point I didn't know what was going on with her. We spent Sunday night in the Hospital with her having ton's of breathing treatments, her body wasn't responding to them. Chest x-rays and lab work were done on her. It wasn't untill the next day that her oxygen level was starting to come back up. What I found out she had was a severe asthma attack. Now that I know what we are dealing with I want to do everything possible to prevent this again. The doctor said NOT to have any dog's or cat's in the house! There is a lot of things out there that trigger the asthma, pollen ect.. I guess with the 3 dog's he is thinking the animal dander that is in the house. Plus they go outside and bring stuff back in the house just like we do. My family seems to think with adding a 3rd dog a few months ago was to much for her. Very well could be=( We all know this type of dog can't stay outside. We all love our doodles very much and this is so HARD. Is there anyone else on here that is dealing with this?? What to do about all the dog's? Do we rehome one and see what happens from there?? This is a sad week for us all... I'm not thinking very clear yet to much to handle!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling. Do you have any family that could take one of your dogs? That way you could try it with two (like before) and see what happens. The best part of a family member taking one of the dogs is that you could still stay involved, which I know would help me in the same situation.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

I feel so bad for you :-( I do have a 7 year old daughter with severe allergies and asthma and I also have allergies and asthma as well. First, I wouldn't completely jump the gun without making sure that you know what is causing her attacks or what her "triggers" are. We got our Goldendoodle Hunter this past April. I first took Kelsey around both breeds poodles and goldens and she did not get any worse that what she normally is. I must add to that during the spring and fall when the pollen count is high and the weather can be humid no matter what you have in your house or what you do to prevent it their asthma and allergies just get worse. She is very well controlled on Singulair once a day, year round, and during her trigger seasons we also add childrens Zyrtec or Claratin daily. She has to use her albuterol inhaler on occasion.

ALL doctors are going to tell you that kids with allergies and asthma shouldn't have dogs. My feeling on their saying this is because it is soooo incredibly difficult to find out exactly and specifically what someone is allergic to, especially if its envirmontal. Just think of all the pollens, pollutions, etc etc out there and they would have to test for each specific one which is totally not feasable.

Now I see that you mentioned you got a 3rd Doodle recently - is this one a different doodle say Labradoodle as opposed to Goldendoodle? Or is it a different generation of doodle? That could be making the difference. It is also completely possible to build up a tolerace to certain allergens too. I personally have a life threatening food allergy to all kinds of nuts, those type of allergies can never have a tolerance built up - everytime you are exposed your body goes into a more severe shock and the attacks are worse. However, with enviromental the case is the opposite.

I would suggest maybe exploring if it started with the 3rd doodle or maybe watching her and looking for "triggers" when she is exposed to 1 2 or 3 of them together and see what her reaction is. Her asthma could very well be induced by something other than allergies. There is cough induced asthma, cold induced asthma, allergy innduced asthma, exercise induced asthma so the dogs are not necessarily her trigger. I would really do some reasearch before doing anything because I would hate for you to give up your dogs if it is something completely unrelated causing her asthma attacks.

There is a TON of information online about allergies and asthma that I know you would benefit from reseaching.

Good Luck! Let me know if I can help at all :-) Denise

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

Thanks so much Denise! Yes I have been reading everything on the computer about this. The last doodle we added is different a ald labradoodle the 2 others are gd. Each one is a diff. gen.........It is nice to know that your family has a doodle in the house even with everything else going on......I was reading about all the different triggers there are for asthma, do you know what triggers your daughter? I know everyone is different.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Her triggers are mostly seasonal and weather related, she has sinus problems as well and complex migrains which I am told are triggered by the allergies as well UGH!!!. She cannot be around cats, they are terrible, her eyes swell, wheezing, sneezing. When the pollen count is high she gets bad, in the dead of winter the change from going inside to outside can make her wheeze. Even with her allergies she has no change when going to my best friends house who is a sheltie breeder and they ALL live in the house ~ she used to have 2 cats in the mix of shelties and she was a wreck - the cats are gone and she tolerates the dogs fine. Now if she goes to another friends with a cocler spaniel she is a mess. Does your daughter have seasonal allergies also? Did they put her on any kind of a control medication? That might actually do the trick because even if it is the labradoodle she could build up a tolerance - if you would even want to try it. Maybe if you take the LD out for a few days, or maybe even keep them seperated and see if you can see a change...... This time of year is so bad for anyone with allergies and asthma its tough to be able to tell if its something specific..........

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Sorry to hear your daughter was and is so sick right now. I would think if it was coming from adding a 3rd dog this would have happened a few months ago when you brought him/her home. We are all going through weather changes and there could be other factors that caused this..not just the dog. As you stated all or your dogs and people living in your home can bring in different things. Given your daughter is 7 years old and I'm certain loves to play outside, she could of picked up anything while being out. Don't they have some kind of air purification you can put in your home to help with stuff like this. I'm certain they are very expensive, but if it helps your daughter in the long run, it would be worth it. I hope all gets better for her and your family no matter what decisions you have to make.

[Barb, Murphy, Emmet, & Hudson]

Yup got one yesterday it's a Honeywell true hepa air purifier! I hope it will help out some. Thanks for your post=)

[BetteB]

I have asthma and I know everyone is different, but I'll tell you about my experience. I was diagnosed at a young age, around 5, I believe. I have several triggers, including dogs and cats. My biggest trigger, however, is change of season or extreme changes in weather. Spring and fall are the worst! As a child, my asthma was more severe, and we did have dogs. I didn't think I'd ever be able to own a dog, but after staying with relatives that owned 2 GDs and 1 LD... and being asthma/allergy free, I decided to take the plunge. I haven't had any trouble so far, but we only have 1 GD. I wash my hand after petting her b/c I fear that I may have allergies to the dirt/pollen on her coat.

Having asthma is a very difficult struggle, but medication and monitoring triggers can help. I would suggest taking her to have an allergy test and speaking with an allergy specialist along with your regular doctor. That way, you can identify allergies that may be triggering her asthma. I have also found great success using Advair as a daily precaution (I fought it for a long time b/c I hate taking meds).

I know this is a horribly scary thing to go through, and I am sorry that it is happening to your daughter and family.

[Chris & Boys]

I can only imagine what you are going through. My son has severe allergies and asthma. This is why we ended up with a GD. Thank God, he has not had a reaction to Fozzy. But he does take allergy pills and singular for his asthma everyday and an inhaler as needed. He generally does fine. I wish I had some advice for you. I would follow the Dr's advice and perhaps slowly expose her to the dogs if someone can take them for you in the interim.

FYI this past month has been particulary hard on my sons asthma and allergies, ( and mine too). It could be more of a seasonal reaction combined with the dogs.

Keep us posted and I hope she is feeling better soon. I wish I could be of more help.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Hi Barb...I want to first tell you that I have severe asthma that is triggered by fur ( particularly cat fur), mold, and certain seasonal allergens....I am finding that this year my allergy symptoms are far worse than they have ever been before. The reason for it being directly related to the excessive rain that we have been having in the northeast, northwest and central and southeastern states since this past spring. This past years freakish weather conditions throughout North America have resulted in an incredible increase in aggressive mold production both outside and within home environments. The plants, grasses and trees throughout the country are reacting to the onslaught of rain and dampness with excellerated growth, hyper-production of both defensive and reproductive spores and histomine inducing pathogens that are having an overwhelmong effect on allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers alike.

People who have no prior history of allergies are suddenly displaying symptoms....Those who normally have "mild" symptoms such as seasonal rhinitis and or mild topical skin rashes are being admitted into emergency rooms across the country in respiratory distress with full blown asthma symptoms.....This has been one of the worst years on record for allergy sufferers and one of the worst years on record for overall air quality.....We are now in the fall ragweed season which is compounding the issue and the fall foliage coupled with the unusual amount of dampness is a breeding ground for even more aggressive molds nad spores.......

All of these factors could be contributing to your daughter's suffering....

I am on Singulair, Zytrec D and an Advair steroid inhaler...I have been using my Proventil rescue inhaler almost everyday since mid summer......I have had 2 medrol ( prednisolone) dose packs within the last 5 months and have had to use my nebulizer on 3 separate occasions within the same time period....Never before have I had to treat my asthma and allergies this aggressively.....None of my symptoms are related to my fur and dander allergy..... although the conditions mentioned above could certainly exacerbate mild animal dander allergies and turn a mild reaction into a severe asthmatic reaction.......

If you have carpet and rugs in your home, you may have to remove them.....You may want to consider having professionals examine your home for black mold.....I think that your daughter should be put on daily Zyrtec D, Singulair and an Advair inhaler and she should be tested for allergy reaction triggers before you do anything drastic in regards to your dogs.....

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Very good points Jacque!! This year has been one of the worst for allergies. I think that doctors are just so quick to jump at "all dogs & cats" being a problem because it gives someone searching for allergy answers a "generic" answer that is better than "there are 10 million things that can triggering your allergies that pin pointing the absolute specifics is like finding a needle in a haystack!!". I so agree with Jaque she should be tested for triggers before you do anything drastic. Another thing that we had done was to have all of our air ducts in our house cleaned, the pollens from the outside come in through your furnace and A/C and with the terrible seasons we are having it could be making it worse inside your house. :-)

[Melissa & Porter]

I don't want to repeat the great info you have already received, though I will say I have had my doodle since March, and my asthma/bronchiectasis is bad NOW. I agree that it is likely seasonal PLUS the cold/flu viruses that are going around. Not all viruses manifest in full illness, sometimes a person with asthma fights off the virus but still has reactive airways from it.

Your post does not say if your daughter has had RAST testing for allergies. That is the skin-prick test with different triggers. The pricks DO NOT hurt so don't let that deter you. When I was little, I tested + for pollen, dust, cats, ragweed and mold. My family had four cats. I got allergy shots for several years and they worked...best for the pollen and cats. My cat allergy did come back after I went away to college and spent summers away too. I guess my body decided the cats were "bad" again.

Fast forward 25 yrs. My husband and I are both allergic to dogs...me only when they use "super DOG" serum for testing (it includes more breeds of dog). I have lung disease and my pulmonologist and allergist say, "No pets." So I got an ALD and started shots just to be safe. No problems above and beyond what I already had.

Allergy shots and sinus washes (NeilMed squirt bottle & packets, distilled water--2x a day--good luck getting a 7-yr-old to put water up her nose) have no side effects. The sinus washes help soooo much even with asthma--not just sinuses. That post-nasal drip infects and irritates the lungs. You have to commit to the allergy shots which are once a week for several months and then every month for 1+ year. You hang out in the office after the shot for 30 min to make sure you don't have a reaction.
Symbicort and Advair: (I like symbicort) are steriod/bronchodilator combos. Work great, but there are some long term side effects.
Singulair: also love this, rare side effects.
Zyrtec & Claritin: personally can't use b/c of lung condition, can cause dry eye...not sure what else.
.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is another great point. My mother was told she was allergic to dogs, but after the RAST testing Melissa discusses above, she determined she is not in any way, shape, or form, allergic to dogs! And her allergies are under control based on the results of that test. Good luck...I know this has been gut-wrenching for you :(