LucyDog
Well-known member
I am so worried, I think I may have developed an allergy to my dogs. I have had moderate allergies/asthma for years which has been controlled with medication. I had testing done many years ago which showed that I was mildly allergic to just about every pollen/grass/tree known to man, along with dust, down feathers, mold etc... The one thing I tested negative for was animals which was a huge relief to me since I love animals and have always had a menagerie of dogs/cats/small mammals. In recent years, I have discovered that certain things I am allergic to (specifically down feathers and cigarette smoke -2nd hand of course) give me a nasty cough that lingers as long as I am around the offending substance. Well, over the past couple of weeks I have developed the same type of cough and the only time it seems to go away is when I am not near the dogs! It is the absolute worst at night, which would make sense since my babies sleep on the bed (Lucy often with her head on my pillow). I have changed all my bedding, washed my hair before bed etc...all the things that should remove pollen and other outdoor substances from my bed. I have even bathed the dogs but I am still coughing at night. I have an appointment with my allergist on Friday but probably will only get additional meds (no testing because I have been on too many antihistamines the past few days to get an accurate test result). I don't know what I will do if my babies are the ones making me sick. My cough is bad enough that I am unable to sleep at night and I am beyond exhausted from the lack of sleep. I would not even consider giving them up unless my situation became life threatening but I am thinking I may have to banish them from my bed. I am so sad at the thought of it.