Preparing questions in advance can help parents to have more meaningful discussions with their child’s physicians. Parents may wish to ask their child’s doctor the following questions related to animal allergies and children:

1. Do my child’s symptoms indicate animal allergies?
   
   
2. What tests will you use to determine if my child is allergic to animals?
   
   
3. What are my child’s treatment options?
   
   
4. Can we consider allergy shots if medications don’t help?
   
   
5. Do you recommend that we give away our pet?
   
   
6. What animals can we safely keep as pets?
   
   
7. We are not willing to give away our pet. What steps can we take to lessen the occurrence of symptoms?
   
   
8. What steps can we take to alleviate symptoms when we are visiting a friend or relative with a pet?
   
   
9. Will having a pet increase or decrease my child’s chances of developing allergies?
   
   
10. Is my child more at risk for developing animal allergies because I have them?
    
    
11. Is my child at risk for developing asthma as the result of these animal allergies?