[tybeemarie]

My husband and I met our kids on Wednesday, a sibling group of 3 adorable children. We are in love! We had the greatest visit. We see them again next week. I can hardly wait! The youngest, age 5, has asthma (possibly--she may have already outgrown it), and they're not sure what her triggers are. We have 2 cats and 2 dogs, so we are ardently hoping animal dander is not one of her triggers. She did great when she was here, despite playing with the animals, including a cat. I know there are a lot of people of faith on these boards. I would really appreciate your prayers that my little girl is not allergic to animal dander. Thank you! Also, if any of you have pets and children with asthma, I'd love your input. I AM SO EXICTED!!!!

[foldnfly]

Our adopted 3 yr old son has asthma. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We keep a babygate up at the bedroom door to keep pets out. We vacuum and dust when he's not at home. We have to give him 2 treatments a day. his case history is rampant with er visits. Except while in foster care. No one knew he was asthmatic and never gave treatments. But they didn't have pets and the bio family smoked. So we maintained his treatments after he left relative care (smoker environment) since we have pets. He has been with us nearly 8 months and hasn't had a bad reaction. What they say is so true, every kid is different. but they spend so much time in their room keep it pet dander free as much as possible. If she had a strong reaction you would know within hours or minutes. But at times it can be an instant trigger even though there was nothing before. Bone-up on asthma and watch her. You'll know, mom's always know!

[Flanaganak]

Congratulations on your children!!

My son is 4 and has asthma and we have pets. Although, his is triggered by seasonal allergies and we've had our fair share of 2 am hospital visits until we went to a specialist. He was more interested in strengthening his lungs than the quick fix the pediatrician kept giving him (pills and inhalers). You might want to try that if it gets bad. I think the kids become dependent on inhalers, now I know there is an alternative to medicating them!!

Good luck!

[Ktates]

Congrats on your children - fingers crossed that pets aren't a problem for the asthma. I have had asthma since I was about 12 - there are many things that can set it off. If it turns out your child is allergic to cats - keeping the cat out of the bedroom won't be enough. Cat dander is in 20% of homes that DON'T have cats (this is according to my allergist). My husband does residential remodeling - I can tell when he has been in a home with cats because 5 minutes after I give him a hug to welcome him home I start wheezing.

I would definitely recommend visiting a good allergist/asthmatic specialist. Medications have come a LONG way from when I was a child. If asthma is not treated properly (preventive wise I mean) you can actually build up scar tissue (I stopped taking my meds for quite awhile ended up having some issues and my doctor almost strangled me).

That being said it can be a very manageable disease - swimming is supposed to be the best sport for asthmatics as it helps teach you to regulate your breathing (maybe when your child is a little older).
Good luck and congrats on your 3 children!

[wrekdiver]

I was surprised to see at the bottom of your post about adopting from Russia <1yr old. Can this be done?! I am excited to hear this. All the info. I get from the adoption agencies say the children have to be >13mo. But this is only pamphlet information. We have our first adoption seminar on monday.

[leenab]

Hi & Congrats!
Our 4 yr old R has asthma. Things you should ask about are current meds and frequency. Also find out if any allergy testing has been done.

When R came to us he didn't have asthma, but developed it. We have 2 cats. The most helpful thing we have found is removing the carpeting from the house. We have hardwood floors so this worked well for us. I aslo vacum off the couched daily and wet mop the floors daily. I run an air purifier in R's bedroom 24/7 and the cats aren't allowed in there. I removed the stuffed animals from his room with the exception of his favorite dog, which we just bought new. Old stuffed animals can really collect allergens. I clean out the A/C filter weekly too. R can play with the cats, but afterwards I make him wash his hands.

We had R tested and he is allergic to cat hair. But the Dr. said it is something that can be grown out of. He occassionally develops hives and we use benedryl for those.

R takes a neubulizer as needed. Right now he needs it about once a week on average. His big triggers are humid/wet weather, cat hair but he's had attacks when he's been in situations with neither of those 2. We do not let him around people who smoke as we've found that can make him wheeze.

Do as much as you can in terms of eliminating things to collect allergens and medicate when needed..

-LeenaB

[LoveRiddenDad]

None of our kids have asthma, but my S/O does, so we bathe the animals once a week. Seems to totally alleviate all symptoms, though the cats aren't thrilled to death over it.

[Ktates]

Wrekdiver-
I put a post to the thread you started on the Russia forum.