Anyone deal with pet allergies?

ShuTree

We just got an older puppy on Saturday.  My kids were fine before this and suddenly they are both having clear runny noses and my 1 yr old has runny nose, cough and his eyes were watering a little today.  

 My oldest was sick all the time with runny noses. I remember they never stopped.  When he turned around 2,  it stopped and at the same time our old dog had died. 

 Now I cant help but to think they might be allergic to dogs and we never knew it!!???? 

 What can i do? Can they do allergy tests for my 3 yr old at least?  I feel horrible having brought a puppy home and not even considering this possibility beforehand.

marchbaby

My almost 2 year old was just diagnosed with a cat allergy so your oldest at least can be tested, maybe even your 1 year old.  I believe they like to wait until close to 2.  Anyways, we were planning on getting a kitten but clearly are no now   We do have another cat at home who we are trying to keep.  We replaced all our rugs and bought two air purifiers.  One we keep downstairs in the finished basement and it runs all the time, its where the cat spends most of his time.  The other I am rotating among the upstairs, trying to keep it in my sons room and main living area the most time. 

The reason we thought to have my son tested was we used to have two cats when he was a baby. He had severe eczema, would wake up bleeding.  We tried so many things and nothing seemed to help, until we were down to one cat.  Then it cleared up a lot.  He still has a lot of ear problems though, infections and fluid so we're wondering if thats allergy related.  I go back for a recheck in 3 weeks and hope we have improvements with the new carpets and purifiers.

Good luck!  I hope its just a coincidence!  I am so glad I had my little guy tested before getting a kitten, that would be heartbreaking to give up!  I just hope we can keep the one we already have!