Trouble Breathing

[jajdude]

I had a scare yesterday. Couldn't breathe well for an hour or two until I called 911. I'm still sort of light headed. I'm allergic to the cat here in my brother's house. My brother no longer lives here as he came down with a serious condition six months ago and is unable to live independently. This breathing problem also happened about two weeks ago. Mainly I get sneeze fits. I know someone who will probably take the cat, which just annoys me anyway. Hard to believe this could be due only to a cat though.

[prendrelemick]

Get rid of the cat and get an inhaler. That's a start, but if could be a reaction to anything.

[qimissung]

Yeah, I think it's time for a visit to the doctor. After that, you might consider if it was a panic attack.

[kasie]

Not only get rid of the cat but clean the house thoroughly, top to bottom, vacuum carpets, curtains, beds, furniture, wash/shampoo/dry clean, if possible. It isn't so much the cat itself that may be affecting your breathing, it's the dander it leaves behind, the hair and skin particles that feed nasty little bugglies that can also cause breathing problems. Wear a mask while you're doing this superclean, you'll be raising a lot of dust. Sounds OTT but those dust mites cause all sorts of problems - best to get rid of them as far as you can.

A doctor may order a series of allergy tests but if you were ok before living with the cat and suffering now you're in close contact with one, he may well go with the idea that it's the cat that's causing your problem, at least to start with. Don't ignore the problem, it could get worse without treatment - deepest sympathy from a lifelong asthma sufferer!

[jajdude]

Thanks. I had another bad one on 28th and called the ambulance again. Panic after a few hours, felt forced to do it. Yikes. X-ray showed nothing abnormal. Got a prescription, got an inhaler now. Was still bad when I got back to house for many hours, maybe around 30, just rested, it's exhausting. Didn't know how awful such a thing could be as I have had no experience with it until this year. Cat has moved to other house. I'll be leaving in a couple of weeks too. I guess the cat was part of it, the dusty house, not real clean, and just going through a stressful time past few months. Washed blankets and will do some more cleaning soon. There's a lot of stuff needs moving, hasn't been cleaned in ages.

[Buh4Bee]

Sorry man, sounds like a bummer. If you do need to continue to clean, wear gloves and maybe even a face mask, just to avoid the dander and dust mite. I have sympathy. I have had similar reactions in very dusty surroundings. I knew it was were I was staying, because as soon as I left the place, to a noticable point, I would clear up.

[jajdude]

Thanks buh4bee, that does offer me hope.

I'm hoping it's mostly just where I'm staying, my bro's house. It's a compressed way to be, focused on breath.

[Jack of Hearts]

Sorry you're not feeling good dude, and again sorry for what happened to your brother the mathematician. You deserve better than the hand you drew here. And so does he.

Maybe getting out a little more could help. If you've got early spring some days, well wouldn't that feel better than being in a dusty old house? Probably help with stress too, which is the last thing you need when you're not feeling good.







J

[qimissung]

Can anybody help with the cleaning? Family members? Or do you have enough money to hire someone to come help for a day? It would also be nice not to have to do it all alone. And like Jack of Hearts said, be sure to do something nice for yourself quite regularly. Get lots of sunshine and get yourself a new book or go see a light-hearted movie.

Take care.

[YesNo]

I don't have any good advice to offer, just hoping your breathing improves. Have you changed the filters on the furnace in the house? I use some that are supposed to last 3 months and filter out everything, however, I don't notice any difference whether I use these or the cheaper ones.

[jajdude]

Well I left town a few days ago. In my hometown now, a small town, clean air. Much better. That city and house was ruining me.

[JuniperWoolf]

I was pretty much sick for the first sixteen years of my life until I moved out of my mom's house. She had three cats, my immune system was smashed. On the bright side, once I got away from my allergen my immune system was stronger than most people's, I'm thinking because it always had to work so hard. Maybe your stint at your brother's will have the same effect on you.