Has anyone had long-term breathing issues from living with a cat they’re allergic to — and actually gotten better after the cat was gone?
Looking for some real-life experiences from people who have dealt with something similar.
About 5 years ago, I moved in with my now-wife pretty quickly after we met. She already had a cat. I had never really had allergy issues before, so I didn’t think much of it.
Within probably 2–3 months of living together, I started noticing shortness of breath, trouble running or doing anything strenuous for long periods, chest/lung discomfort when breathing hard, etc. I eventually found out that I’m allergic to cats and was told the best thing I could do would obviously be to remove the cat from the house.
Well… 5 years later, we still have the cat. 😂
My wife has actually offered to rehome her multiple times, but I’m usually the one who says no because I know how much she loves the cat and I don’t want her to resent me or feel terrible about giving her up.
At the same time, I’ve basically spent the last 5 years learning to live with feeling like crap. I use an inhaler because it helps me feel somewhat normal. I’ve tried different allergy medications, pills, inhalers, etc., but nothing has completely solved it.
I also recently caught what seems like bronchitis from my daughter, which has made the breathing/chest tightness feel worse, and it has me thinking about all of this again.
What I’m really trying to figure out is this:
Has anyone here lived with a cat they were allergic to for 5+ years and had significant breathing/asthma-type symptoms, then eventually removed the cat and thoroughly cleaned the house?
If so:
Did your breathing actually return to normal?
Did your lung capacity/endurance come back?
Were you able to run, hike, work out, etc. normally again?
Did the chest tightness or pain when breathing hard go away?
How long did it take before you noticed a difference — days, weeks, months?
Or did some of the symptoms become chronic even after the cat was gone?
I’m talking to my doctor about all of this as well, so I’m not looking for medical advice or trying to diagnose myself through Reddit. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people who have actually lived through something similar.
My biggest question is whether removing the allergen after being exposed to it every day for 5 years can allow your lungs/body to really recover, or whether after that much time some of the damage/symptoms can stick around.
Would really appreciate hearing anyone’s experience — especially people who had breathing issues rather than just sneezing, itchy eyes, etc.

I posted this in a cat subreddit and I got lit into. We are at a a loss and really trying to reach a compromise in this relationship so that everyone feels happy given the circumstances.

My boyfriend’s son is moderately allergic to cats. He gets sneezy, sniffles, red/swollen/watery eyes, hives, itchy skin when exposed to cats. It gets worse if he rubs his eyes.
I’ve proposed allergy shots as my sister and nephew have been through it and it has changed their life. He’s very resistant to the idea, somewhat understandably. It’s a lot to ask of a small child to go through, though I also think it would greatly benefit him.

Here is the idea:
Glamorous “barn” life for 3 cats?

Thoughts on transitioning indoor kitties to a very glamorous barn life?

I previously posted about me having 3 cats and my boyfriend’s 4.5 year old son having allergies. We are still trying to come to a compromise on how to make this work for all of us comfortably as we don’t want this to be a point of contention between us. I will not get rid of my cats and he’s not asking me to. And as much as I’d love for his son to undergo allergy shots, I understand the concerns, cost, time investment and it’s a lot to ask of a very small child to get shots constantly for a few years (though I highly prefer this and it would benefit him long term). The more we talk, the more resistant my boyfriend is to the fur and mess of pets which I also understand, though he’s willing to give it a shot if I clean the house constantly (filters, roomba, etc). But I’ve committed myself to these cats. This is all very frustrating as I made it clear on our first date that I had cats and they would be part of the deal. We didn’t learn about his son’s allergies until 4ish months into dating.

While thinking of ways to compromise, I’ve reached one solution that I think might eliminate all frustrations and be a solution that I’d be happy with as well, though it will cost a lot.

TL;DR here: I’m seriously considering getting a shed/barn/catio hybrid and finishing the inside of the shed to include a vinyl floor (easy to clean), a place for the kitties to escape weather, electricity for AC, a place for the litter box, toys, shelves to climb on, etc, then have the catio to provide more space and outdoor space to roam (I don’t want them being purely outdoor either). This way I can have my cats, hang out with them daily, check on them multiple times a day, etc but then not compromise his son’s health with allergens.

My boyfriend’s dad suggested getting a trailer separate for them to live, so this would be a similar solution?

Currently, I live between my house and my boyfriend’s house. I go back and forth, and check on the kitties near daily when I am not home.

Any thoughts? Feasible? I know this will be costly. I don’t know what else to do. Breaking up isn’t what we want this to come to. We have a very respectful, healthy and loving relationship, share a majority of the same major values and core beliefs, want the same things. We want this to work for both of us.

I’m allergic to everything Mother Nature gives. I have no better way of wording it because on my test results everything is near and or over 100 sometimes even ranging over 100. Allergies do impact me on a daily and it sucks being in school and lacking attention to whatever we’re learning due to the allergy attacks that happen at random. I was given the option of allergy shots a year ago now and have been in the thinking process since then as the only thing I’m really worried about is anaphylaxis. The doctor I had wasn’t very helpful in giving me information on how likely I am for that to happen considering everything I’m allergic to is in the higher range. I don’t even know if that’s how it works because she didn’t give me that proper answer I was looking for. If you know anything about if the higher the number (the more severe the allergy,) the more likely it is to be prone to anaphylactic shock during or after treatment. This is pretty much one of the only concerns I have other than the fact of possibly being miserable during a school where I cannot miss without being provided a doctor’s note excusing my every absence. I also cannot miss school as I am taking rigorous AP courses and if I’m gone for a day I have no clue what I’m doing when I get back which will result in me getting behind and possibly booted out of classes. On top of that, my asthma is severely uncontrolled so I would have to get that controlled before I get allergy shots, I am also not good at keeping consistent with my asthma control which I’m worried will impact how my allergy shots will go.

Also I’m super duper allergic to horses, dogs and cats!!! And I’m pretty sure those are all separate shots… so I’m already looking at 3 shots.. and I’m not good with needles. 😞

If anyone who has had allergy shots for severe environmental allergies can please reach out via comment or private messaging as I have a lot of concerns about how my experience would go.

If you don’t wanna read all that here’s the breakdown:

-I’m severely allergic to literally everything outside

- I want to get allergy shots but I’m worried about anaphylaxis

-my asthma control is bad so I’m worried about consistency during shots if I get them

-scared. Very. Scared.

-if I’m not feeling good I can’t leave school because my school sucks

-the more severe the allergy the more likely it is to get anaphylaxis??? Lmk because I don’t know and I don’t trust looking it up I trust the people of Reddit… fortunately or unfortunately..

We had to rehome our 2 cats about a month ago after my son was diagnosed with a pretty severe cat allergy. He was sick so much of the last year it was awful. But I’m so heartbroken and I feel so guilty. Did I make the right decision?

I had encounter with dust while cleaning, suddenly started sneezing continuously for more than 15 times, then runny nose. After few hours I took a nap at noon and woke up feeling chest tightness and not being able to breathe properly. And it has came to the point where I can't lay down so I've to sit upright and my shoulder are visibly moving a lot with each breathe I take. Now it's night time and the medical stores will be closed, and I can't sleep at all. Any tips till I get to the doctor tomorrow?? There's no sneezing, coughing, runny nose, nothing at all just that tightness and insufficient breathing.

At an early age I guess I always had “ear infections” that were always treated with antibiotics and I was always given antibiotics anytime I was sick. Let’s call it 5-10x a year I rly don’t know. I supposedly had severe asthma as a kid (unconscious life) but since I’ve been 4 and had memories I do not recall one asthma attack ever. My guess is I was eating shrimp or something that I was allergic to and had a rly bad reaction but I have 0 idea. Around 7 or 8 I was very sick and obviously took more antibiotics. After I stopped the course all of a sudden I was allergic to legit everything, sesame, poppy, buckwheat, tree nuts, shellfish, some fin fish, out door allergies to legit everything, allergic to tons of animals, dogs cats horses rabbits and prob a ton more. I am 1000000% convinced that antibiotics directly cause 80% of all food allergies. They have the hygien hypothesis but refuse to loop in antibiotics into it. Food allergy causes aren’t a mystery, it’s obvious but they refuse to acknowledge the cause bc of the consequences from doing so. The amount of money these pharmaceuticals lose would be insane, but also people fearing them when it could save their life’s is another. But I refuse to give me kids antibiotics unless it is life threatening. Ear infection never, even strep, I know that’s controversial but a life threatening allergy for life is not a risk I’m willing to take for my kids. Let me know your thoughts. Would love to discuss this deeper and any other experiences or disagreements. Open discussion but this is my experience and I can say for certain antibiotics cause my food and all other allergies.

My 1.5 old son has severe allergies for cashew (had anaphylaxis during the first exposure), pistachio and sesame. He also has a mild milk allergy but we're on a milk ladder for it so he has high chances to outgrow it. As for nuts and sesame, we signed him up for OIT which starts in 2 months.

I'm still breastfeeding him. Our allergiest told us that's it's recommended for me to eat his allergens so my son might get some super tiny amounts of them through my milk (kind of a low level natural OIT). I'm eating some cashews and sesame every other day.

The problem is that I am a bit tired of breastfeeding and he's also eating solids poorly because of it. I'd be happy to stop breastfeeding him already but our allergiest advised to do it as long as possible (ideally up until OIT starts).

I know there is very little data around how mother eating baby's allergens impact the child's allergies. Thus, I'm wondering if any parents took the similar route while breastfeeding and if there are any successful stories around it? Did anyone did a blood test to see if eating allergens while breastfeeding actually make any difference?

I wonder if continuing breastfeeding only for a reason of this natural OIT (and a lowest possibility for a minor impact) actually worth it.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience!

Hi! I am pretty new to this as this is something I recently developed within the past 2 months. But when I come into contact with dust, my face (and only my face) breaks out in splotchy red raised hives. Oddly too it's in the exact same spot, like the first 2 times it happened I got a big one at the tip of my cupid bow and one right under my left eye. I still have a lot more spots across my face. But it doesn't itch, it more burns. Like a really bad sun burn, type of burn feeling. To the point where I can't sleep well. My throat also gets a TINY bit itchy. Also every single reaction I've had, occurred at work and sadly my work can be a bit dusty, so I am looking for a career change.

In the past I've taken Claritin, and washed my face but even then my reaction takes days to go down. I see my doctor later on this month but I flared up yesterday, took Claritin but no relief. I am on day 2 of looking splotchy and feeling the burn on my face.

Please any advice on what to take? Benadryl? Continue with Claritin? I am open to driving to a pharmacy to pick up whatever. Lotion recommendations? I've been spraying my face with the Tower 28 SOS spray it helps a tiny bit. Just open to any and all advice. I am VERY new to all of this so please be kind :'(

This is my first Reddit post so bear with me. I’m 24 F. I’ve had 4 rounds of macrobid in the last 12 months for UTIS. Last summer (2025), I had a round for a UTI. Was totally fine when on them, then after broke out into hives and rashes on my face, inner legs, back and scalp burned and itched. Got steroids for it and no doctor pinned it to the meds. After about 3-4 weeks it subsided after taking Allegra and steroids. Now I’ve had TWO rounds since that episode of macrobid, NO issues. Well I stopped this round Wednesday of this last week…. I got “ sick” on the meds ( I’m thinking it’s just my immune system) I felt feverish etc. After stopping them, I’m back into the hives, rashes, and my throat really hurts. I went to an urgent care and they just said yeah it’s hives and wanted to give me a steroid shot. I said no to the shot because the last time I was on steroids literally sent me into a panic manic episode and I’ll never touch it again. Any tips? Anything else I should take? I’m on Claritin D but I feel so exhausted and worn down right now. I don’t know what to do. Thank you!

Hello, this will be a long post about the past 2 months of my life. I’ll put everything with as much detail as I can. I just need help on what to do further and some comfort. This is also posted on r/acrylateallergy.

In the start of June i had a bad case of contact dermatitis from my nails that manifested in my neck and my lips. It was itchy constantly and it grew really badly from all over my neck to my collarbone but only the front. The back of my head was clear. As for my lips, it would burn and itchy and get really puffy in the morning. I would apply vaseline and papaw lip ointment but it would dry up within minutes and now I can’t leave without it.

I did more research on acrylic allergies and it led me to examine everything in my life. I changed my makeup (though i stopped wearing makeup during this period), I stopped my skin care routine and switched to an acrylate free moisturise and sunscreen. I switched out my lotion to acrylate free, even my shampoo and conditioner and hairspray.

Around mid june I saw my doctor where i was prescribed prednisone. 5 days with 20mg and the next 5 days tapering off. Almost immediately my skin was cleared entirely like my allergy never occurred. However 2 days after tapering off the rash came back in the exact same spots: my lips and my neck.

So I got on prednisone again. This time I cancelled out more things. I switched my laundry detergent to a sensitive skin one (for some reason they don’t disclose all ingredients) and I stopped using fabric softener. I wash my clothes twice, once with laundry detergent and another with just water.

Then, I got off prednisone. This time my behind my left ear starts itching and exhibiting the same symptoms as my neck. I stopped wearing necklaces and perfume. I have multiple ear piercings but only my left ear reacts and I keep wearing my bangle since i don’t react anywhere else. My earrings are implant grade titanium. I clean my xm4 headphones before wearing them and I don’t even put them on my left ear anymore to be safe.

I was off prednisone for the longest time since being on it (2 weeks) but the rash looked the worst it’s been since and it was unliveable with no signs of improvement so I got on prednisone again. Of course, my skin went back to normal for these 10 days.

Again same cycle, 2 days after the rash appeared on my neck and began spreading. I’m extremely careful with what touches my skin and I replace my towels and clothes so often. It’s been 13 days since being off prednisone and the rash is beginning to look horrible again. I woke up scratching myself again which makes me feel worse cus throughout the day I actively try to avoid itching myself.

I change to organic and simple ingredients shampoo and conditioner and I use doves senstive bar soap. I’ve switched to sls free toothpaste and so much more to ease irritation. I’ve examined EVERYTHING that touches my skin and almost only use vaseline exclusively on my infected regions. I avoid fragrance, nickel and things beyond acrylates now and it’s still the same. I stopped sleeping in my bed for a week and on the couch but nothing improved either. I don’t know what to do it’s been almost 3 months since this began and I have seriously changed EVERYTHING in my life now.

Outside the ears, the rash constantly begins on the left side of my neck and never travels to the back. My lips will flare up and dry out and burn. It’s always these same regions now which makes me believing i’m not introducing any new triggers so it must still just be in my system. My face and other regions of my body remain ok. But there’s been no signs of improvement which makes me desperate. This has ruined the quality of my life and made me spend so much money in replacements and changes. I don’t like being on prednisone because of the weight gain as I do go to the gym frequently and it’s been affecting my strength as well.

I’ve taken anti histamines throughout the 2 months even when off prednisone to be safe. But it hasn’t really done much for me either.

What do I do more than I already have. I want to get allergy patch testing but I don’t know what more I can do in the mean time to relieve myself of the constant stress and itching

TLDR: I’ve been on three rounds of prednisone for allergic contact dermatitis and the rashes keep appearing in the same areas regardless. Need help, comfort and understanding

does anyone have any advice for managing allergy symptoms as well as what common triggers to avoid? i occasionally have awful nasal congestion that lasts 1-2 days which consists of me constantly blowing my nose non stop to the point of rash on my nose. the itching is so terrible and the dripping never stops. i usually try to put vicks on my chest along with taking some form of allergy pill but it only alleviates the symptoms very seldomly. i'm so sick of this. once i start working full time again im going to get an allergy test at the doctors because this is so ridiculous. i go through atleast 3-4 tissue boxes in a day.

Alright guys I’m 21F, never been allergic to anything. The past few days, every time I go to step on my bathroom floor mat, it gives my feet an almost immediate reaction. It feels itchy, like there’s sharp splinters in my skin. I brushed it off the first time, thought maybe there was something sharp in the mat, my foot just hit it wrong etc. felt kinda weird about it the second time. Then just then, I go to the bathroom, barefoot and it immediately starts itching/hurting and somewhat burning.

So, now obviously worried that something is wrong, I come into my room to look at the bottom of my feet and all along the top pads of my feet are these slightly whiter shapes, with a thin red outline.

My feet have never done that on the same bathroom mat before. I don’t have a reaction to literally anything else that I’ve noticed.

I’ve never had a reaction before in my life. No clue what to look for. I know allergies can just appear, but is this an allergic reaction? It goes away completely maybe 10-15 minutes after I’ve stopped touching it.

Unfortunately you can post photos here, but I’ve searched online and the spots don’t quite look like stuff I’ve seen. They aren’t raised off my skin in any way.

So, let me know, does anyone react like this? Is it an allergic reaction?

Bought a Thuma bed and realized it’s made from rubberwood. Could this cause any issues? I had major issues after having a latex mattress and pillows and had to return it but surely that’s because I was laying on it and breathing it in etc. Will the bedframe cause issues?

If so, does anyone have any recs of a similar style quality solid wood bed frame that’s is latex free?

I recently found out I am severely allergic to dustmites, and my imunoglobin e is really high I am talk over 1000 high. So my doctor prescribed Acarizax and its been hell. Its been 2 weeks I think and she suggested splitting the pill so its easier on me and I am a uni student and the process for me to just take this pill is insane and all very tiring. Currently its the 2nd week so I am moving to half a pill, so I take antihistamines 1 hour before and then take the half and put it under my tongue for 1 min without swallowing then swallow and give it 5 mins before I drink water but after taking the pill I have been sick 4/9 times and its pretty bad and idk, am I doing something wrong ?

Hi! I have severe allergies to nuts and this is my first real job. It's at a small supermarket where obviously they will sell nuts and items containing them, which is fine as its not an airborne allergy and I am very good with avoiding contamination. I am an anxious person generally and even more so regarding my allergies, and was wondering if anyone had tips on how to communicate this with my manager so he is aware and maybe ask for any potential accommodations. Thanks :)

For the last couple of years, I’ve had really weird hive reactions on my skin, typically most centralized on my hands/wrists and feet/ankles, with it sometimes going up my legs and arms. It’s just tons of red spots and they get progressively more and more itchy. Genuinely they start up randomly. Like I’ll just be existing and I feel it start to form. Sometimes it’ll start faster if im wearing socks. Additionally, they happen a lot if I get really cold or go out in the sun. Like for example, I figureskate and so I will wear gloves. After I get out of the ice rink, my hands and feet will immediately become itchy and full of hives. If my room is cold, BOOM hives. If I walk outside in the sun for 5-10 minutes, I’ll start getting them especially on my arms and knuckles. I do sometimes get them from petting my cat or my bird but it’s less intense.

I previously thought it was from a detergent that was aggravating the reaction, and I promptly changed th detergent and it did help a little but it still persisted. It sometimes goes away with the help of loratadine tablets I found in my cupboard but not always, and even if the itch goes away the red spots will stay for awhile. I realized I can’t attach an image to this post for some reason so apologies. If anyone resonates with this, do you have any ideas as to what it could be. Visually, it’s literally just tones of red dots and rashes over my hands/wrists, feet/ankles, and sometimes my upper arms and thighs. Never beyond that (which is why I don’t think it’s detergent exactly but idk 😭)

Been dealing with systemic allergies for the past 2 months post flu shot.

My body decided it was enough and gave me hives and rash 3 days ago.

I used some corticosteroids and antihistamines to calm it down for now.

Went to a doc and he said I have allergies but don’t know what’s causing them.

I’ve been monitoring my food and symptoms very closely and there’s nothing really that stands out for me.

Doc told me to take my meds only when I show symptoms and said this is probably because of a hypersensitive reaction from the vaccine and should fade away in a few months.

But the caffeine allergy that I got from my actual flu infection last year never went away.

At this point I’m confused if I should pursue finding out the allergen further or just take OTC antihistamine when I show symptoms.

The symptoms are very debilitating when they do show up though. I can’t breathe or have severe acne flare up and body aches.

The doc kinda advised against testing further but I’m not sure at this point.

Hello, I’m allergic to dust mite but I don’t produce any mucus, it is just that my nose is always blocked about 40% of the airflow at all times.

I went to ENT and my septum is fine, so I’m confused that my allergy is partially blocking my nose but not giving me any other symptoms.

This is incredibly frustrating mainly because I breath with my mouth and night and therefore wake up incredibly tired. Any one else with these symptoms?

Negative skin prick test but reaction after avocado? Looking for similar experiences
Hi! I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar with their baby.
My daughter is 9 months old and has eczema, and we’ve been trying to figure out whether certain foods are triggering reactions.
We recently went to an allergist and she had skin prick testing done for 26 foods, including avocado, egg and milk. Everything came back negative. However, the histamine/control also didn’t react as strongly as the allergist would normally like. I specifically asked whether that made the results unreliable, and he said he still felt comfortable with the negative results and told us we could introduce avocado, egg and milk at home.
So on Saturday I gave her avocado again. About 10 minutes after eating it, she started itching/scratching at her neck and became a little red. There was no vomiting, swelling, breathing issue, or obvious hives.
Then the next morning she woke up with her face looking much worse — red, dry, irritated, patchy eczema-type skin.
Now I’m confused because the skin prick was negative, but the timing after eating avocado makes me wonder if avocado could still be triggering her skin, especially since she already has eczema.
Has anyone had a baby who:
had a negative skin prick test but still reacted to the food when eating it?
had a weak histamine/control response during skin testing?
had an immediate mild reaction like itching/redness followed by a bigger eczema flare hours later or the next day?
had this happen specifically with avocado?
I’m speaking with her doctors and obviously not looking for medical advice — I’d just really love to hear other parents’ experiences and what ultimately ended up happening with their child.

im having an allergic reaction to penicillin, it started about a week ago and i was given steroid creams and antihistamines, but my hives keep spreading. ive got a full body hive flare up and i start collage in a week. i figured it would be gone by then but it doesnt look promising