Current Events > Cat allergy symptoms, but possibly without actual allergies?

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I wonder if there is someone in here who has medical expertise that can help me make sense of a situation I haven't been able to understand. My sister has a cat, one that has lived in our house since it was a newborn kitten. Back in 2018, she got married and moved with her husband to an apartment. The complex that they rented with didn't allow pets, so she had to leave the cat with us. Back around the middle of the year last year she and her husband finally bought their own home, so naturally she came and took her cat. Then last December she needed us to look after her cat while she and her husband were visiting his folks in New Jersey.

Currently, only my parents and myself live in our home and my mother spent most of the month of December in the hospital after having back surgery, My father was spending day after day staying with my mother at the hospital. As a result, I was the only one who was available to look after the cat. I did everything from feeding it to cleaning it's litter box. Then after two weeks, I began to get really sick. My symptoms felt like cat allergies, only I have never been allergic to cats. This very cat literally grew up in our home and was around me day in and day out for most of it's life, and I have never has any health issues that can be attributed to it. Yet I was experiencing heavy nasal congestion and both of my eyes where constantly irritated.

My sister speculated that my symptoms may not have been allergies, but a reaction to the ammonia in the cat litter. I was checking and cleaning the litter box on an almost daily basis. Anyone know if frequent exposure to ammonia can cause nasal congestion and eye irritation?

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allergies can be latent and pop up later. welcome to the club :)

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Classic symptoms of early onset nasal cancer

I'm sorry tc

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Coloradough posted...

Classic symptoms of early onset nasal cancer

I'm sorry tc

i seriously doubt that...

The symptoms vanished a few days after my sister got back and picked up her cat. Since then she has brought her cat with her on a few occasions when she has visited us, after all our mother recently had back surgery and she and my sister are close.

The symptoms have never reappeared, not even when the cat was near me during these visits. The cats is with us now, my sister brought her over for our mother who has a strong emotional bond with the cat. Even right now with the cat in our home, I am not experiencing any allergy symptoms other than my normal seasonal ones.

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Crazy4Metroid posted...

Anyone know if frequent exposure to ammonia can cause nasal congestion and eye irritation?

Based on a quick look at the effects of ammonia exposure, yes.