Infant Dog Allergies?

Before you "throw the dog out with the bath water" (and they are really part of a family so giving them up would be just terrible) look into the household cleaners you are using. That is what my problem was..... It wasn't the dog. ( Yes, there is a test for dog allergies) The DRS. told me it was the dog.... but it wasn't. BTW, they never mentioned that it could be the household cleaners I was using. If you want to know the name brands, I will share that privately if you'd like to know. OH, I forgot to mention, "Allergies are a sign of a weak immune system" ( I learned that after a bunch of years of asthma as well)

I work for a company called Phadia - the makers of ImmunoCAP. ImmunoCAP is a simple blood test to identify the common indoor and outdoor allergens for that geographic area. There is also a food panel that can be included when ordering the test. It is a quick and relatively painless (compared to skin prick) test to identify if you little one is allergic in the first place if so, to what specifically. It is covered my most insurances. Once you identify the source of the problem you can work to avoid it in your environment. IF your sensitivity is a pet, just keep the pet out of the bedroom and don't let it sleep on bedding or where you normally sit. It may not be necessary to get rid of the pet. Hope this helps....check out www.knowyourige.com. Good luck!.....Becki

I'm not sure if they can do a skin test or not... my sister would know and I'll ask her BUT they knew from a very early age (like your daughter) that their son was allergic to dogs and cats. (and everything else!)
He had breathing problems and skin reactions also.
Just be prepared for it to cause a lot of problems with family... at least it did with my sister! That meant he couldn't go to anyones house who had animals and that really hurt our grandmas and her inlaws feelings! They all took it very personally!
Good luck... I'll ask my sister if they tested him for it when they did all the food allergy tests. I'm sorry if it means you have to lose your doggies!

Hi –
Dogs maybe one possibility. Have you started any foods (e.g. maybe eating something at home that she is not eating at the hospital)? Here is information on the allergy testing. From what I’ve read testing can be done with babies as young as 4 months but it MAY not be accurate (that being said due to her severe reaction and the fact that testing is performed - if it was my child I would still want to do the test). The blood test typically is only done for allergies that cause anaphylactic reactions (sea food, nuts, etc). here is additional info on the allergy testing:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/130325-infant-allergy-t...

Skin Prick Test
The skin prick test is one of the most common allergy tests performed, and it's also highly accurate. The skin prick test can be performed on infants as young as four months of age. The test involves your health care provider either scratching or pricking your infant's skin with a lancet containing a solution with a possible allergen. The test is usually carried out on an infant's back so they can't see what's going on. A positive result is indicated by a red, itchy raised bump (known as a wheal) on the skin's surface after the solution is allowed to enter the epidermis. The larger the size of the wheal, the more allergic your infant is to the allergen.

Blood Test
The Radio Allergo Sorbent Test (RAST) is a blood test that's used to identify approximately 400 different allergens. The blood test measures the levels of an antibody, immunoglobulin E (IgE) in your infant's blood. Allergy sufferers have higher IgE levels in their blood. Available tests include a respiratory allergy screening test, a seafood screening test, a food allergy screening test and a nut allergy screening test. A positive result is indicated if the levels of specific IgE antibodies are four times higher than normal for a particular allergen.

I hope you find out what it is and hopefully you can keep your dogs (if the allergy is dog it depends on the reaction – I saw one child whose dog allergy was “off the chart” he had SEVERE eczema that cleared up 90% when the does were out of the house). So unfortunately it may not be as easy as keep the dogs out of the bedroom.

Good luck!

I just wanted to add, that my son was skin tested for dogs and dairy when he was 12 months old,

be cautious with the skin test results because little ones skin is so sensitive that It can come up positive even if its not. Even the Dr said the results were not reliable.

Good luck! as a dog owner and mom I know how upsetting this can be!!

Could there be mold or Chinese drywall in your home (a problem in some new construction homes)? You may want to think about that.

Also - this may have NOTHING to do with your daughter's problems (and I hope it doesn't) - but did she receive the first HepB vaccine at birth? I have one child (of two) who did and he has LOTS of allergy issues which I believe go back to that early period of his life. He broke out in a terrible rash afterward, and had lots of nursing issues (I had already breastfed a child so I was fairly experienced), then lots of food sensitivities that we became more and more aware of as the years went by. It has been a long journey.

I love a book called "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders" by Kenneth Bock, MD and Cameron Stauth. There is alot of discussion in there about allergies. You may be able to find the book in your library (then you wouldn't have to buy it).

I'm not a medical professional of any sort - these comments are based on my own personal experience with my child. Of course you need to seek advice from qualified professionals (perhaps several different types). I just pray that you can resolve the allergy issues - they are really tough. Good luck to you and your sweet little baby!

My granddaughter has asthma. She is allergic to several things including dog dander. They tested her with a skin prick before she was 6 months old. I don't remember if dog dander was one of the tests at that time. When she was a couple of years old she had blood tests for allergies and I know dog dander was one of the tests then.

We went with her to the ER 3 or so times because she was having an asthma attack. She spent over night in the hospital when she was 3 or 4 because they felt her attack was more than just asthma; possibly flu. She was fine the next day.

The reason for the skin prick tests was digestive issues. She was allergic to milk protein. Even tho we eliminated dairy from her diet she continued to have asthma attacks and was given medication. A scary period of time even after we learned the cause.

The asthma seems to be caused by environmental allergies rather than food allergies. She has both, including to dog dander. I have a dog and this did not seem to be a problem because as a baby she was not near him or on the floor. He stayed off furniture. She also only visited my home. I think for her the primary cause of her asthma attacks was most likely second hand smoke.

Once her asthma was well controlled by medication she rarely had an attack. It did take awhile for her mother to figure out how to maintain a healthy environment and be consistent with medication.

You can read about asthma on the Internet if she is diagnosed with having asthma. I don't remember anything like seizure like episodes with my granddaughter. She just had difficulty breathing which continued to worsen until she was treated in the ER.

Once my granddaughter started school I learned that asthma has become common now a days. So have allergies, especially peanut allergies. Because it's so common doctors do recognize it and do know how to treat it. My daughter eventually took her daughter to a pediatric allergist who is the one who was able to get the asthma under control.

They need to do more than just a skin test. They also need to do a blood test. This will give you an accurate baseline to compare it against for years to come.

It sounds like she is allergic to something in your house. They will be checking to see if she's allergic to their dander. If she is, please be prepared to make some big changes in your house. Do you have anyone that can take your dogs? You will need to change your air filters and get a good vacuum like a dyson animal vacuum to really clean up the carpets. You should also get a hepafilter to clean the air. The Ionic pro filters work pretty good at cleaning the air.

Our son's allergies are real bad this year. 2 yrs ago we did a skin test for like 10 different things and they said he had a mild peanut allergy and to cut out peanuts and get an eppie pen. He only had a rash around his mouth. He has not had a problem since and he's had granola bars that had peanut in them. 2 years later we finally get a blood test because of how bad his allergies are this year. There are 7 levels of severity 0-6. 0 being none and 6 being severe. He was only a 2 for peanut. He is a 4 for dogs but has been around them at friends/family and we have not seen any issues. He is a 6 for rye grass and 2-3 for most other trees/grasses. For him its the rye grass. We seeded a bunch of lawn areas in the backyard this year and apparently most seed is rye and fescue. Bummer for us. Right now he is on claratin and it helps.

I wish you the best of luck, hopefully it is something that is easily corrected.

@ Mimi. I think they use some pretty harsh chemicals at the hospital.

Hi M.,

"Allergic" reactions happen when immune systems are low or when there are synthetic chemicals present. For example, she may not be allergic to the dog but be sensitive to the dog's shampoo or flea treatment. Before you pu her through a battery of tests go through your house and determine what is toxic. If you shop at the grocery store or Walmart type stores, I would gamble that almost everything in your home is dangerous. Little ones have smaller lungs and cannot process the toxicities at all. We tolerate them temporarily but they come back to haunt us in cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurological disorders and respiratory distress.

Go to www.go2harmony.healthyhometour.com and take a look at what is in your home. M., if you walk down the chemical isle at the grocery store you can smell all the chemicals....the bottles aren't busted. The chemicals are leeching through the plastics and poisoning us. Think how lightheaded we get when we use one chemical. Think about how small she is and what it can be doing to her.

Detoxing a home is simple and can be inexpensive if you do it the way I did. If you want to try this, let me know and I'll walk you through the process. It will definitely help strengthen her so she can fight off the toxicities when she is not in a safe environment.

God bless,

M.

My son had an allergic reaction to something and when we took him to his doctor they did the blood test-it included all the foods as others already mentioned, as well as dog dander. When you ask for the testing make sure they do include dog dander. One thing to be aware of is that the results can be really shoking-Our son was slightly alleric to EVERYTHING, and after going to an allergist, we cut out eggs and peanuts. We did testing at 1yr old and again at 2. Egg allergy is almost gone, peanuts are lifetime . Its really hard! Hope it helps!

ask for a blood test. she could have asthma which in a baby looks like a cold. if your baby was older i would say talk to the dr about allergy meds but shes way to young i would think