Janet Boss wrote:

Not really. I think it is more a matter of genetics as well as where I
live.

For sure. I think allergies are complex, with many contributing
factors. So your lack of pets may have played a role, while I've
definitely got crappy allergy genes.

Oh well, that's what they made good medicine for!

I've yet to find something that works *and* doesn't have intolerable
side effects.

I've been on Xolair for a few years now, and the difference is quite remarkable.

My asthma isn't severe or persistent enough for insurance to cover
Xolair.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Shelly wrote:


My asthma isn't severe or persistent enough for insurance to cover
Xolair.

I have absurd IgE counts, so they didn't hesitate. The really big
difference though is that I have not had hives since I've been on it,
which is a record over the last 20 years.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

(the)duckster wrote:

Just a figure of speech.

I don't think that phrase means what you think it means.

I'm personally very liberated about child care
arrangements as long as there is a responsible human in charge.

If you are actually "very liberated" (whatever that means), you
might consider adjusting your language.

You are correct. The research on kids raised with animals suffering less
from allergies is anecdotal as far as I know. However, at least in the
case of my daughter it seems to be true.

You have no way of knowing. She may not have had allergies anyway.

I make this assumption knowing many native born Chinese along with their
American born kids living in this area (who would prefer eating a dog to
owning one),

Okay, that was A) ignorant and B) unnecessary.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Janet Boss wrote:

I have absurd IgE counts, so they didn't hesitate. The really big
difference though is that I have not had hives since I've been on it,
which is a record over the last 20 years.

Oh really?! I get awful hives, both on my skin and inside my mouth
and throat. It's horrible. I've gotten pretty good control over it
by just eliminating certain fruits and raw veggies from my diet, but
it would be nice to be able to eat them again.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Jan, Kozzie Girl and Sylvie" wrote in message
...
(snip)
But, I'll never forget walking in to my son's room, he was maybe 6 or
7, and had gotten in trouble for so stupid thing. There he and his
dog (Cupcake his Golden Retriever) sat. Our son's arm around his dog
having that heart to heart talk. They were best friends, where ever
one when the other was there. I truly believe they were kinder
souls. Cupcake live for 15 years. Our son will never forget his time
with his dog.

That is so beautiful.

In article ,
Shelly wrote:


Oh really?! I get awful hives, both on my skin and inside my mouth
and throat. It's horrible. I've gotten pretty good control over it
by just eliminating certain fruits and raw veggies from my diet, but
it would be nice to be able to eat them again.

We're not even sure what has triggered mine, but they last for many,
many ,months, even on pred and other meds. The episodes kept getting
more frequent and more intense and more lengthy. We had to do
something, so I'm really grateful for the Xolair.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Shelly" wrote in message
...
(the)duckster wrote:

Just a figure of speech.



I'm personally very liberated about child care
arrangements as long as there is a responsible human in charge.

If you are actually "very liberated" (whatever that means), you
might consider adjusting your language.

Well let me try to make it perfectly clear, then. I don't think it matters
if Mother Goose, Uncle Igor, Santa Claus, the Christmas pig, your grandma or
either or the parents watch the child with the dog. Just so long as
someone is keeping an eye on the baby.

Who watched your baby with your pets while you couldn't? Or were you always
able to be there?

You are correct. The research on kids raised with animals suffering
less
from allergies is anecdotal as far as I know. However, at least in the
case of my daughter it seems to be true.

You have no way of knowing. She may not have had allergies anyway.

Without a double blind, peer reviewed study, you are correct. However,
based on my observations of many Chinese friends mostly without animals, and
watching my own who has grown up with them, I just made an educated guess.

What were your own personal observations?

I make this assumption knowing many native born Chinese along with their
American born kids living in this area (who would prefer eating a dog to
owning one),

Okay, that was A) ignorant and B) unnecessary.


Hm? Among my southern chinese friends eating dog is considered a delicacy,
Northern Chinese, however, not so much.,

Kind regards,
(rthe)duckster

(the)duckster wrote:

Well let me try to make it perfectly clear, then.

Never mind. I give up.

Without a double blind, peer reviewed study, you are correct.

None of those things would tell you whether or not your daughter
would or would not have developed allergies.

However,
based on my observations of many Chinese friends mostly without animals, and
watching my own who has grown up with them, I just made an educated guess.

So you're just guessing that your Chinese neighbors (and apparently
their American born kids) eat dogs?

What were your own personal observations?

My SIL is from southern China. I'm pretty sure she hasn't eaten any
dogs since coming to the US. (Or before then, for that matter.)
But anyway, I'm not sure what the hell the entire subject has to do
with anything. WTF?!

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article VrFUj.20152$Fv.8289@trnddc03,
\(the\)duckster wrote:
Without a double blind, peer reviewed study, you are correct.

No, not so much. Put it this way - if you flip a coin, you
can't predict with any accuracy what the result will be.
Flip a coin 500 times, though, and you can do a pretty good
job predicting the aggregate outcome. That is to say,
research might be able to produce a range of likelihoods
that she'd develop allergies but it wouldn't be able to
answer the question definitively. (I think this is one of
the reasons that people who like black-and-white answers
don't like science.)

Hm? Among my southern chinese friends eating dog is considered a delicacy,
Northern Chinese, however, not so much.,

A couple of years ago I saw a news segment on an American
woman living in a Chinese city who bought live dogs at a
food market and took them to visit seniors in assisted
living facilities, where apparently the residents typically
had never looked at dogs as companions but only as food.
According to this news bit she was very successful both in
doing therapy with these dogs and in changing views of dogs
among the people she worked with. However, you never know
how representative this kind of thing actually is of
cultures you (well, I) don't know, etc. But still, it was
impressive.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda Shore wrote:
However, you never know
how representative this kind of thing actually is of
cultures you (well, I) don't know, etc. But still, it was
impressive.

My understanding is that there are dogs bred for food and dogs bred
for companionship, and they are not interchangeable. My
understanding is also that the eating of dogs in China is pretty
much restricted geographically to a few areas *and* is rare even in
areas where it occurs. So, really, talking about those Chinese (or
Chinese-American?) people who eat dogs? Kind of A) inaccurate and
B) othering.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)