Eczema took a vacation with us......

Have you had any allergy tests done? Skin tests are the most accurate, and the IgG blood test.

Other than that, it could be your vacation was like an elimination test, and you got lucky to find that it was the cat.

My little boy used to break out in rashes when I opened his onesie to change his diaper. I used the 50-cent air filters from Walmart, so I upgraded to the $17 3M ones, and that stopped happening within 24 hours.

I also had my carpets deep-cleaned, and let the cat live outside.

So, I would suggest changing the air filters, deep-cleaning the carpets, furniture, drapes and bedding, and washing all the sheets/bedspreads, etc.

In answer to your question about long it will take to get all the dander out of the house and see an improvement: I have no idea.

Leatherette- we had a similar experience. We were out of town for two weeks last year and ds's eczema cleared up! We were in hotels and he ate some stuff he shouldn't have as well.

We got home and he began scratching. That's when we knew it was the pets I waited too long to rehome the cat even knowing that. We are still finding cat hair in places a few months later and even one or two cat hairs sets him scratching til he bleeds.

It took almost a month without the cat (a dear friend took her) before ds was better. We had to wipe down everything, steam clean the upholstery and carpet, wash curtains- etc. It was a huge job and I still miss my cat, but worth it for ds's health.

Eczema can turn into asthma- this is what happened with my ds- and if I could go back in time and find the cat a new home sooner, I would have.

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Keep in mind that the allergy blood test is called "inaccurate and inconclusive" by the American Association of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. The skin tests are the way to go.

The skin tests only measure the body's IgE response to allergens. Ezcema, in my son's case, was mostly caused by IgG responses.

Most conventional allergists don't understand the IgG test (which is a blood test). IgG problems usually mean there's a yeast overgrowth which caused a condition known as leaky gut.

However, if it's just the cat, then you probably don't have that to worry about.

our son's eczema took a vacation with us too, turns out that soy gave him the worst itchy oozing patch, but he continued to have low grade eczema. A few other things (you may have already tried them) help him a lot. One big one is regular smoothies with LOTS of flax oil, cod liver oil, coconut oil, hemp oil... whatever's in the fridge. Also greens powder and acidopholis or yogurt. The improvement is dramatic, and when he doesn't drink them the eczema seems to come back. We also got a chinese herbal pill prescription that I would blend in with the smoothie (blueberries hide a lot of things!!) that took the exzema right away too (said it removed heat and cleared the liver or somesuch). It's helped the eczema to the point that it is no longer our main concern and we can focus on improving his overall digestive health, which I think is probably more important in the long run. good luck finding what works for your child, and I'm sorry if it might be your kitty.