Well, as I said above, it's been my experience -- and I concede I may not be typical -- that my allergic reactions come and go and vary in their strength. For instance, sometimes secondhand cigarette smoke triggers severe symptoms and other times I just find it annoying. Sometimes being around cats sets of both my eye and nose allergies, as well as my asthma, while others, I jus sneeze a bit. I don't think allergies are always 100% consistent or predictable.

In addition, your cat allergies are much more likely to bother you in the bedroom, because you are probably closer to the allergen there. If the cat gets on your bed and you are lying with your head on that bed, then you are being closely and directly exposed to the cat dander there. If you are up and awake elsewhere in your home and the cat is lying or sitting near you, it's not as direct an exposure. Also, the cat dander becomes embedded/trapped in your bed linens, so it tends to accumulate.

With animals, it's their dander that triggers allergies, not their hair. So I doubt the dryer sheets are really helping with that. Dander is tiny flakes of dead skin. With cats, their urine and saliva can also be powerful allergens.

As for bad weather, that was a new piece of information you hadn't mentioned earlier. Studies have shown that bad weather can be an allergy trigger. Experts aren't sure exactly why, but think it may be at least partly that there are more allergens in the air during windy, stormy times.

To learn more about your specific allergies, I'd encourage you to consult with an allergist, who can do allergy testing and examine you to discover more.

To your health,

Kathi

If dust is your problem, don't expect cold weather to make much of a difference. People with dust allergies (I'm one of them) usually have symptoms year round. You can do your best to control the amount of dust in your home environment, but it's pretty impossible to completely eliminate it.

I know what you mean about allergy shots. I took two different series at different times in my life, and they didn't do much for me either. They won't work for everyone, but they do work well for many people.

Good luck,

Kathi