Cat allergies increasing negative symptoms?

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Our 19-yo son (diagnosed Aspergers by the school system a little over a year ago) seems to have REALLY BAD days after he is exposed to cats. We have known for years that he is allergic to cat dander, so have given him Claritin if we know he is going to be around them. However the allergies seem to affect more than his respiratory system. Anyone else noticed this? Sunday he spent the day at a 2-cat household (without our knowledge ahead of time), and the last two mornings have been difficult to get him going and his attitude is very blah, even though he is not sniffling.

Karen

my son has a hard time getting going when his allergies are bothering him.

Absolutely! My sons both have many allergies (severe environmental and anaphylactic food allergies), and when they have been exposed to one of their environmental allergens (i.e. cat) one of the first things we notice is a huge change in their behaviour, with other symptoms (hives, runny nose etc.) to follow. They will become really, really emotional and completely unreasonable, which makes a lot of sense considering how rotten allergies make you feel. Even after they are feeling better, they will continue to be more tired and irritable for several days afterwards or for the entire season of spring and most of Fall, when we can't avoid exposure to mold etc. This low energy/high irritability could be an after effect of their bodies being worn out from their immune system being constantly at battle, or side effects from the anti histamines or both.

Allergies can make you miserable, so yes, they can increase negative symptoms of any condition. I know that when my allergies get bad enough, I feel like I can't even remember my own name, much less function normally.

Anything that makes you feel bad contributes. Colds, allergies, not enough sleep, overstimulation: anything that makes you not feel well will cause you to be on edge, more sensitive to sensory input, etc. I know this is true for myself, my husband, our bio daughter, and our adopted son with mild retardation and ASD traits(possibly fragile X).

It works both ways.

My eczema gets worse when I am stressed and a lot of itching and stuff makes me stress more.
The same with an allergy I had when I was younger.