Stepdaughter Allergic to Everything
 

Let me begin by telling you that I am not an allergy sufferer; however,
I have a new stepdaughter who has terrible allergies to what appears to
be everything under the sun. Her father, my husband, has custody over
the girl and her brother for a two-week long period during the spring.
Naturally, he wants his children to come to our house, which includes as
its residents a Persian feline (who will be vacationing at my friend's
home for the length of the girl's stay) and an admittedly untidy woman.
Of course, I plan on cleaning top to bottom before the girl arrives. It
may take some time, as the cat has lived here a while and has laid claim
to all available surfaces as her personal shedding grounds. I'll also
stock the kitchen with enough ice cream and Benadryl to keep my
stepdaughter content for her next fifty visits. Any other advice for
temporarily allergy-proofing my home?

wrote in news:MPG.1ce2f22f98396bf3989685
@news.prodigy.net:

Let me begin by telling you that I am not an allergy sufferer; however,
I have a new stepdaughter who has terrible allergies to what appears to
be everything under the sun.

I plan on cleaning top to bottom before the girl arrives.

Any other advice for
temporarily allergy-proofing my home?

Make sure when you clean that the cleaners you use won't contain
something she's allergic to. If you can't find anything that's supposed
to be hypo-allergenic, at least try to use fragrance-free cleaners.
Also, try to get personal products (soap, shampoo, etc.), that are
fragrance-free for her use. For some people, even having a bar of
regular soap in the bathroom can trigger their allergies just from the
fragrance getting into the air.

Disclaimer: I'm not an "expert", this advice is based on personal
experience and common sense only.


--
Larry Weil
Lake Wobegone, NH

wrote in message
.. .
Let me begin by telling you that I am not an allergy sufferer; however,
I have a new stepdaughter who has terrible allergies to what appears to
be everything under the sun. Her father, my husband, has custody over
the girl and her brother for a two-week long period during the spring.
Naturally, he wants his children to come to our house, which includes as
its residents a Persian feline (who will be vacationing at my friend's
home for the length of the girl's stay) and an admittedly untidy woman.
Of course, I plan on cleaning top to bottom before the girl arrives. It
may take some time, as the cat has lived here a while and has laid claim
to all available surfaces as her personal shedding grounds. I'll also
stock the kitchen with enough ice cream and Benadryl to keep my
stepdaughter content for her next fifty visits. Any other advice for
temporarily allergy-proofing my home?

Personally I think that if she is allergic to cats there is little you can
do. I doubt cleaning will have much effect. I'm allergic to dogs which is a
shame as I like them. I can pet or play with them for a few mins with no ill
effects but If I stay in a house with a dog for more than a few hours (eg
overnight) I get hayfever like symptoms that can last two days after I
leave. I regret to say that no amount of cleaning seems to work and I don't
really expect it to - how can you get rid of all the dust in a house, it's
not really possible. I've noticed that whatever it is lingers on clothes -
if I wear a pullover that's been near a dog without subsequently being
washed then that can also set me off weeks later.

This might sound daft but.. perhaps you she could sleep in the garden if the
weather is warm enough. Set up a tent and make a game of it. Otherwise
keeping windows and doors wide open might help. Assuming she doesn't have
hayfever as well :-)

Colin

wrote:
Let me begin by telling you that I am not an allergy sufferer;
however,
I have a new stepdaughter who has terrible allergies to what appears
to
be everything under the sun. Her father, my husband, has custody over

the girl and her brother for a two-week long period during the
spring.
Naturally, he wants his children to come to our house, which includes
as
its residents a Persian feline (who will be vacationing at my
friend's
home for the length of the girl's stay) and an admittedly untidy
woman.
Of course, I plan on cleaning top to bottom before the girl arrives.
It
may take some time, as the cat has lived here a while and has laid
claim
to all available surfaces as her personal shedding grounds. I'll also

stock the kitchen with enough ice cream and Benadryl to keep my
stepdaughter content for her next fifty visits. Any other advice for
temporarily allergy-proofing my home?

The only hint I have is to remove the cat and clean the house as far in
advance of the girl's stay as humanly possible. I have cat allergies
(fortunately not severe, but a pain in the neck) and I have more
problem at the houses of my tidy friends with cats than I do at the
houses of my messy friends. This is because my tidy friends, in an
attempt to be considerate, will vacuum the place right before I arrive,
which (as far as I can tell) only serves to throw huge amounts of cat
dander up into the air where it's convenient for me to inhale it. My
messy friends just leave it where it lies, and it's actually less of a
problem for me then. If you can clean up well in advance of her visit,
it may give the resulting dust time to settle back down. If you can
start forbidding the cat access *now* to the room where your
stepdaughter is going to sleep that will help a bit too. Freshly
launder any blankets, etc. the cat may have slept on in hot water.

The truth is, though... you're not going to be able to de-cat the house
completely, so you will just have to help her manage the symptoms. I
assume that if you're doing this at all you're not expecting the
results to be life-threatening!

Beth

wrote in news:MPG.1ce2f22f98396bf3989685
@news.prodigy.net:

Let me begin by telling you that I am not an allergy sufferer;
however,
I have a new stepdaughter who has terrible allergies to what appears
to
be everything under the sun. Her father, my husband, has custody over
the girl and her brother for a two-week long period during the spring.
Naturally, he wants his children to come to our house, which includes
as
its residents a Persian feline (who will be vacationing at my friend's
home for the length of the girl's stay) and an admittedly untidy
woman.
Of course, I plan on cleaning top to bottom before the girl arrives.
It
may take some time, as the cat has lived here a while and has laid
claim
to all available surfaces as her personal shedding grounds. I'll also
stock the kitchen with enough ice cream and Benadryl to keep my
stepdaughter content for her next fifty visits. Any other advice for
temporarily allergy-proofing my home?

I commend you for trying to create a hospitable environment for your new
family. I would agree with everything you've listed on your to-do list
for your stepdaughter. A thorough cleaning, as well as maintenance of
the spick and span state of your house, are always strong guards against
allergies. Be sure to remove any thick blankets, curtains, and rugs that
might hold more loose kitty fur than what meets the eye. Those cat hairs
do find a way of getting everywhere, in my experience. A good vacuum
should get rid of all unwanted dust and dander particles regardless of
whether you're dealing with a hardwood floor or a carpet, and it will
take care of all the areas underneath or behind furniture that are
difficult for regular-sized folks to get to. There's a kind of vacuum
(it's called the Roomba robot vacuum, maybe?) that you can program to
work even when you're not at home, if you're strapped for time. Good
luck on your new role as stepmother.

Have you seen a naturopathic doctor? Naturopathic doctors get just as
much education as conventional doctors, but they can solve many
problems a conventional doctor can't.

"Brad_Chad" wrote in message
ups.com...
Have you seen a naturopathic doctor? Naturopathic doctors get just as
much education as conventional doctors, but they can solve many
problems a conventional doctor can't.

Naturopathic doctors should be licensed by the state, and they should
actually be required to attend school. Some get their "degrees" from schools
that advertise on match book covers.

Further, the claim that they get as much education as a REAL doctor is
specious. What they are taught is useless.

"Naturopathic doctor" is the politically correct term for "witch doctor."

Mark Probert wrote:

"Brad_Chad" wrote in message
ups.com...
Have you seen a naturopathic doctor? Naturopathic doctors get just as
much education as conventional doctors, but they can solve many
problems a conventional doctor can't.

Naturopathic doctors should be licensed by the state, and they should
actually be required to attend school. Some get their "degrees" from schools
that advertise on match book covers.

Further, the claim that they get as much education as a REAL doctor is
specious. What they are taught is useless.

"Naturopathic doctor" is the politically correct term for "witch doctor."

Too broad a generalization.
Gotta try one or two and see what they have to offer.
We all know there are plenty of ****ty, indifferent MDs out there.
*
*

"Blues Ma" wrote in message
...
Mark Probert wrote:

"Brad_Chad" wrote in message
ups.com...
Have you seen a naturopathic doctor? Naturopathic doctors get just as
much education as conventional doctors, but they can solve many
problems a conventional doctor can't.

Naturopathic doctors should be licensed by the state, and they should
actually be required to attend school. Some get their "degrees" from
schools
that advertise on match book covers.

Further, the claim that they get as much education as a REAL doctor is
specious. What they are taught is useless.

"Naturopathic doctor" is the politically correct term for "witch
doctor."

Too broad a generalization.

Nope. I was being way to kind. I could have called them fakirs, frauds and
fools. The entire idea is, AFAIAC, fraud.

Gotta try one or two and see what they have to offer.

I do not have to try jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge to know that it is
not a good idea. Likewise, after observing the harm done by these witch
doctors, I do not have to go to them to know they are useless.

We all know there are plenty of ****ty, indifferent MDs out there.

So what? At least their training has a basis in reality.

Mark Probert wrote:

"Blues Ma" wrote in message
...
Mark Probert wrote:

"Brad_Chad" wrote in message
ups.com...
Have you seen a naturopathic doctor? Naturopathic doctors get just as
much education as conventional doctors, but they can solve many
problems a conventional doctor can't.

Naturopathic doctors should be licensed by the state, and they should
actually be required to attend school. Some get their "degrees" from
schools
that advertise on match book covers.

Further, the claim that they get as much education as a REAL doctor is
specious. What they are taught is useless.

"Naturopathic doctor" is the politically correct term for "witch
doctor."

Too broad a generalization.

Nope. I was being way to kind. I could have called them fakirs, frauds and
fools. The entire idea is, AFAIAC, fraud.

Gotta try one or two and see what they have to offer.

I do not have to try jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge to know that it is
not a good idea. Likewise, after observing the harm done by these witch
doctors, I do not have to go to them to know they are useless.

We all know there are plenty of ****ty, indifferent MDs out there.

So what? At least their training has a basis in reality.



Clearly,.......................................... yours does not.
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