My 2 year old son is allergic to cats, dogs & guinea pigs confirmed by skin & blood testing. He has reacted quickly and severely to dogs in the past in terms of asthma flare ups, so we avoid dogs at all costs. Over Thanksgiving, we visited a relatives pet-free home & he had an asthma attack. I was stunned and confused. Thinking back on the afternoon we spent there, he was playing with a dust mop, sweeping it along the carpet over & over and waving it near his face. Since there were no pets in the home, we didn't think much about it at the time. (Dumb, I know!) We later learned that 3 months prior, a dog-owner stayed in the home. **But not the dog itself**, the dog was with the owner, but only stayed in the car. I've read that dog dander can cling to clothing. Is it possible the dog dander was brought into the house on the dog owner's clothing, settled in the carpet and my son stirred it up while he "sweeping" like crazy? 3 months seems like a long time but I've read that pet dander can stick around for months, especially in carpet and on furniture. I don't know if this seems like a stretch or not, but I just can't imagine what else set him off? He has tested negative for all other household irritants such as dust mites, mold, etc. on both the skin and blood allergy tests. Thank you for your thoughts!
Whether he is allergic to dust mites or not, breathing in any type of dust is probably not good for a child or an adult for that matter that has asthma. I would think that the dust alone would be enough to cause an attack.
I am concerned about asthma and allergies with my 9 month old too. He coughs and coughs and coughs and has non-stop runny nose. We have begun treating him with inhalers and nebulizers as well as Zyrtec. All of these help but the doctors say he is a bit small to actually diagnosis with these ailments yet.
The tricky thing about asthma - you can eliminate as many known triggers as possible and still have an attack. There are so many factors that come into play, and allergy testing is not a perfect science either. Besides eliminating triggers, the best thing you can do for your child is to monitor his asthma closely every day. Check peak flows - if he's on the the low end of normal, watch him closely and check more often than you normally would. Pay close attention to air quality alerts too. We've been having a lot of those lately, and I've noticed we all do better when we stay inside on those days. And of course, make sure he is seeing his doctor regularly and using his meds/inhalers/nebs correctly. It all adds up. If he is having severe or frequent attacks, get him in to the doc and get his meds adjusted. Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right ones. Overall though, my experience has been that vigilance is the key until it's under control.
I am also raising a son with asthma, so I know what your going through. There are a million triggers, though, so I would do your best to stop trying to ascertain the cause, and just work through it. As you will never be able to avoid all triggers, I say just chalk it up to "one of those things." You will drive yourself crazy trying to avoid every possible irritant...additionally, unless you toss him into a bubble, you are never going to avoid/diagnose every aspect... Life's too short :).
