asthma,something to do with dogs?

Hi all.
My baby boy will be 2 next month,he had attack of asthma last summer now he's got a cold for 3days and last night it was another attack of asthma.

last summer when he had first attack,everyone(except my husband) kinda blamed me for having dogs and now I have three dogs they'll defo think it's because of the dogs!

Is it REALLY something to do with dogs?

thanks..

With a child so young it's hard to make a diagnosis of asthma.A lot of children get a viral respiratory infection called bronchiolitis which can be very asthmalike and need the same treatment to deal with it.
If you suspect your little boy has asthma then he would need to be assessed and diagnosed by a pediatrician. I would certainly suggest getting a formal diagnosis.Until you know for certain that it is asthma then you can't effectively treat it,either by medication or by removing dogs or other trigger agents.
I have asthma myself and personally don't find dogs to be the problem,with me it's mould spores and in times of wet weather it gets quite bad.Also colds and stress make it worse.
It would be a shame to give up your dogs and find that he's still having attacks.
You can help by keeping him away from other kids who are coughing and sneezing who have infections.Handwashing helps prevent infections.
Hoover up dog hair and dust daily and wash all blankets in hot wash cycle if you can.
I hope he recovers quickly, there's a lot of bugs going around at the moment and it's not easy sitting up with a sick child.It's so exhausting.
Sins

Yes i think it prob is Asthma and can be an allergy to pet hair, my husband and daughter had it too funnily enough it can be better to have daily contact with the product than to remove it and then get very bad attacks every time they have contact. Id see your GP, wholl prob tell you the same, does he stay some where without pets, like your mums and is he better when hes there for a good while. di

You need to see a professional allergist and have your child tested. This can be a very serious health condition and you do need to know what is going on as this can be progressive and become very severe. A comprehensive allergy test done by a specialist will tell you if the dogs are a problem -- unfortunately, they very well could be.

As Sins said I would start with your pediatrician and go from there.

Hi

My wife Dawn has severe asthma and we have three Cavaliers and one Cat ,Dawn suffered before we had our pets and it is no worse since we got our pets.

My oldest daughter has allergy induced asthma. It is never an issue at all except when she spends time at someone's home who has indoor cats. The asthma only seems to be triggered by her allergy. Whenever she was very young and would spend more than an hour or so at her paternal grandmothers house, who has several indoor cats, she would begin to have wheezing and actually develop bronchitis if exposure was for more than just a few hours. If we were there for an overnight, she'd actually need breathing treatments and would wind up with a sinus infection from it all. It is very scary to watch an 18 month old struggle for air. I used to hate to have her over there, and keeping the cats away wasn't enough. Just being over there with all the cat dander in all the furniture is what does it to her. She has improved so much as she has gotten older, though she still gets ill around them. At least there isn't a health crisis type situation anymore.
Definitely get the cause specifically pinpointed if you are having to contemplate something as major as rethinking your pets. I hope it is something seasonal instead!

astma is traditionally a allergic reaction to dust. but as everyone else has said, you need to get it professionally diagnosed.

I think your GP would be your first port of call and then ask for your child to be assessed for allergies...my two sons had asthma but grew out of it as they got older,it was caused by viruses and damp weather..the dogs were never a problem.

Hopefully yours won't be either......

Asthma attacks can result from exposure to a huge range of triggers:

Causes

It isn't clear why some people get asthma and others don't, but it's probably due to a combination of environmental and genetic (inherited) factors.

Asthma triggers are different from person to person. Exposure to various allergens and irritants can trigger signs and symptoms of asthma, including:

* Airborne allergens, such as pollen, animal dander, mold, cockroaches and dust mites
* Respiratory infections, such as the common cold
* Physical activity (exercise-induced asthma)
* Cold air
* Air pollutants and irritants such as smoke
* Certain medications, including beta blockers, aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
* Strong emotions and stress
* Sulfites, preservatives added to some perishable foods
* Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which stomach acids back up into your throat
* Menstrual cycle in some women
* Allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts or shellfish

Click to expand...

This is a full explanation:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/asthma/DS00021/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all

If it is happening in a small child it MUST be discussed with your doctor -- it can be so severe that it becomes an emergency. Be sure to talk to your doctor and get an appropriate referral. Leaving the cause to guesswork is risking a severe attack.

my other half is allergic to, dustmites, pollen, eggs, and potatoes my daughter who hasnt been tested does have bad hay fever all year round.

thanks everyone for replies,
of course we went to see GP yesterday n then he got little worse so,we saw after hour doctor
they all said he hasn't got an asthma,it's a virus makes him asthmatic n top of that he's got a chest infection + a cold n i did ask about dogs they said it's not much to do with dogs but then again they can't say it for sure,no one asked/recommaned about taking allergic test
maybe I should change the doctor,seriously.

I was being careful not to say much as this is dog forum
I just wanted to know if asthma is something to do with dogs
people around me think it's bacause of the dogs n the person who brought them home is me,not that I'm afraid of people blaming me for it,its bacause It'd break my heart even to think they might have to go as same to see my child being ill,he's much better today

thanks again everyone.

I hope your child is feeling better. It seems more like your child has a viral induced wheeze and not asthma. If your child was asthmatic he would have had several episodes of wheeziness especially if it was triggered by a dog allergy and you have dogs at home. Hope this problem disappears as your child gets older.

Definitely go to the doctor and get the baby assessed by a Paediatrician and gnt him allergy tested.

I have had asthma since birth pretty much, I also have eczema so I am like a walking allergic reaction.
I take medication daily. I dont find the dogs make it any worse but I do try to take preventative measures. I have wooden floors and leather couches so they are easy to keep clean. We stopped letting the dogs sleep upstairs to prevent shedding in the bedrooms (the snoring was also getting unbearable), I take antihisthamines daily to keep allergies under control and I am vigilant about hand washing.

Some dogs bother me within minutes of meeting them, I dont know why some dogs and not others but generally I am fine. Colds often go down into my chest and make me wheezy, pollen in the Summer is a nightmare, the smell of paint makes me very wheezy as do certain ice creams. I am old enough to know what bothers me though so defo get your little guy checked by a doctor.