Eczema and Pets

[mamav]

My 5 month old baby girl has eczema all over her body. Unfortunately, she had to be on formula and I don't want to put her on soy formula because I've read about a link to early development and intestinal problems. I'm wondering if anyone has found the culprit to be a cat rather than food. I don't want to get rid of our kitty only to find that it didn't make a difference. Has anyone found kitty to be the culprit?

[MamaMonica]

Yes, we found our cat (and other furred pets) to be the culprit. It was heartbreaking to rehome them, but ds is 100 percent free of eczema now.

[mamav]

How long after the kitty's were gone did you see a difference? Did you have to do anything special to remove the dander from the house afterwards or just the removal of the cat did it?

[MamaMonica]

Hi- sorry didn't see your reply to this thread until now. We first suspected the cat (and bunnies) when we went on vacation and his eczema cleared up after a week out of the house.

It took about a month after the cat left for it to clear up 90 percent. We vacuumed everything- washed the hardwood floors, steam-cleaned upholstery, washed everything in the drawers because cat hair gets everywhere. I wiped down the window sills and closet shelves- including the drawers because cat hair was in there.

His immune system slowly improved and it took months (? don't remember exact time frame) for the last 10 percent of eczema to clear up. Cat dander is persistent.

Wishing you the best.

[guerrillamama]

My 2.5 yo has had eczema all his life. Did not have any pets (unless you count the roaches and mice) up until a month ago. The eczema did not get worse during periods of staying w/ my mom, who has 2 cats, nor has it gotten worse since we got the dog. Nor did it improve after we moved away from the roaches and mice. I still have no clue what is causing it.

[ericswifey27]

I think it'd be safe to say that for some pets are a trigger and for others not. Our son's excezema does worsen whenever he is around cats.

[KathinJapan]

Could you try what the pp did and take a mini vacation to see if things improve with no pets? It was pets in our case, and food. Our cat died and we realized how much thing got better after that... hindsight is everything.
Kathryn

[JenniferKSwan]

A vacation or a skin test may be your best bet to find out if your pet is the answer. Be warned though, it can take up to a year for the dander to totally disappear from your home.

It could still be the formula that is causing the issue (this is not me advocating soy - we try to avoid it at all costs in our home). You may want to find an allergist and do a skin test. They are not always reliable, but could possibly give you a starting off point. You may have to try several allergists that will test your child at such a young age (we had our son tested at a young age and I'm so glad that we did).