allergic to the bunnies?

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i have never had a problem with my guys till just recently, i dont know if i am just having allergies , a cold, or what. I was just in the rabbits run and i was loving them, kissing , hugging and all that and my eyes starting itching horrible, and different parts of my skin are itchy, not the parts that touched the rabbits, but other parts like my side, and a spot on my arm that was covered. IS it possible? i just went upstairs and washed my hands and face and am hoping that it gets better. I also have been noticing that when i hand out the hay i usually have horrible sneezing fits. Oh i hope i am not allergic, is it possible this is the problem?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

How long has this been going on?

Have you changed their feed or anything lately (litter, detergent you use to clean their cage blankets, etc.)

 

[Pet_Bunny]

It could be a number of things. You will have to narrow it down and pinpoint the cause. Hopefully it is not the rabbits. There was another member DebbieBlueEyes who had problems for along time until she realized it wasfrom her rabbit and she had to give it away.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I miss her! She's such a great gal!

 

[Jenson]

It is possible to develop an allergy. I always had cats since I was a baby, then when I was 12 I suddenly got a bad allergy to them. I have mild allergies to most animals, including rabbits, but the more time I spend around them the less reaction I get, so I'm quite lucky. When they're moulting it's pretty bad though, and if I bring one of the Rex into the house I will still get a sneezing fit and itchy throat and eyes.

Try massaging the buns with your fingers to get the loose hairs off then rubbing them with a damp cloth. This helps me a lot, and they enjoy it too! Also, a breeder recommended I give a sprinkle of linseed on the feed, which made it a lot better, and made their coats nicer too. You can also buy anti dander wipes for pets, which helped me with my dog allergy, but you'd have to ask a vet if they're safe for your buns.

As for the hay, this also sets me off. You can try dust extracted hay, or if it still doesn't help put the hay in a bucket of water for a few seconds and let it dry off a bit. It'll stop the dust flying around.

Hope this helps. It's horrible being allergic to animals!

 

[MsBinky]

As was said, it is possible but it can be other things as well.

It could be the hay. I am allergic to the hay and sometimes they lie in it and i get terrible allergies. You should try hay cubes and see if that changes anything.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

oh i dont even want to think about having to get rid of the bunns, :shock::X:tears2: thankfully we arent there. The only thing that is recently different is the hay i was using oxbow but had to grab a bag of the Kaytee, the place i get my hay was not opened and i took in another foster piggie so i needed more, and i noticed that that is about the time that it started. Bit also i have this sinus, thingy going on (dont know if it is from the hay/rabbits or just a coincidence that it was at the same time)



i guess i will have to see if it goes away, see if it is allergies or a cold. And then do some test like rubbing the rabbits all over me,lol. right now my nose is itching like crazy and i just filled the piggies hay. i guess if i am allergic i will just have to buy alot of claratin,lol

 

[tonyshuman]

you know, it could have been the being outside part. maybe some autumn-pollinating flower (mums?), or mildew on the leaves on the ground? (here i'm assuming that the run is outside, but maybe that isn't so)

i am VERY allergic to cats, and a bit allergic to hay (i'm on 2 prescriptions year round for pollen, mold, dust allergies), but Tony only bugs my nose when i snorff up a big ole chunk of his molted hair. it seems the allergens that buns produce are a lot different than cats, etc.

i have noticed that kaytee hay is a lot more dusty than oxbow, i think due to manhandling the hay gets more pulverized.

 

[ellissian]

Im really stressed about bunny allergies right now actually!!!

My daughter is having a terrible time with her asthma lately so her consultant is going to do an allergy test for rabbits! I soooooooo hope she isnt allergic to them, I have no idea what I will do!!!!

ETA her consultant said that rabbit allergies are more common and can effect asthmatics quite badly

 

[MsBinky]

Ellissian, that is true. However, there are also other factors that come into play such as litter and hay. An air purifier with an ammonia filter can be really useful and I use singulair which is taken daily to control my allergies. Hopefully she won't be allergic but even if she is, you still have options which might get them under control enough not to have to get rid of them. The only thing to worry about right now is a grumpy doctor because it's all too easy not to understand the love for bunnies and say get rid of them. :hug:

 

[lagadvocate]

When my buns are molting really bad, I'll get a little runny nose and sneezes, but I think that it may be their fur actually going up my nose!

But, my hubby is allergic to them...He had an allergy test a few years ago that confirmed it. He has chronic bronchitis and "mild" asthma. The good thing is that he does fine as long as he doesn't get right down on the floor with them and takes his allergy medicine regularly. He can give them little pets sometimes and it doesn't bother him if they come up on the couch (as long as they're not molting). I do all cage cleaning and grooming, and I vacuum the house4 times a week. We also use air cleaners and they catch a lot of fur in the pre filters.

But he can help me to give meds and such as long as it's brief and he washes up right after.

Interestingly, starting about 2 years ago, he would break out into hives if he handled any of the longer haired breeds. That was scary.

When we moved to a better ventilated apartment it helped a ton. We're lucky that his allergies aren't too severe. If they were, then we just couldn't have them.

 

[Butterfinger]

Sorry to hear about your....whatever it is you seem to have It sounds like allergies to me, but it may not necesarily be rabbit allergies.
From what you described, to me it sounds more like you're allergic to the hay (Switching brands recently to a dustier, different hay). I'm allergic to hay, and I have to say that the more I'm exposed to it, little by little, it's starting to go away. ...And it's definitely better than being allergic to rabbits (My mom is, and it's pretty terrible. She can't touch them or be in the same room ).
But be careful if you start sniffing bunnies; I don't think that will tell you anything. Rabbits get hay dust in their fur when they eat it, so you still wouldn't be able to determine if it was the hay or the bunny.
Perhaps your daughter is allergic to this new kind of dusty hay? It doesn't make a lot of sense for you and her to both have reactions at the same time you get new hay, ...and then have it be the bunnies. (It could happen, though, I guess only the doctor will know for sure)

Good luck with the test/ allergy issue!
Allergies are evil things to have :X

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

ok i am now thinking it is not the bunnies, but either a cold or a seasonal allergy. i sneeze on and off all day now, but seems more aggravated after hay distribution, so the dusty hay i am sure is just aggravating it. i started taking claratin yesterday and will keep taking it till i no longer have it. I just hope it eventually goes away becasue if i dont stop sneezing i am going to hurt something from sneezing so much.

 

[ellissian]

MsBinky she already takes singulair for and neo clarytin for her dog allergy. Plus all her other asthma meds and now daily steriods. I'm soooooo hoping she isnt allergic to Hope and Harvey, I just dont know what i will do if she is!

 

[MsBinky]

That sucks. I came imagine the next step will be injections. Which inhaler is she on? Has she had advair?

 

[Haley]

It sounds like the hay- my allergies get bad if Im around it too much. Some suggestions are to wear gloves when you touch they hay and also a face mask when cleaning cages might help.

I have two huge HEPA filters in my bunny rooms- it definitely helps with the allergies.

 

[ellissian]

The inhaler she is on now is Seretide 125, I know you call things different names in other countries. As the Singulair tablet here is called Montelukast! Then she takes an easy breath inhaler.

I hope she is allergic to hay other than the rabbits fur/dander, but since its dog dander she is allergic to already Im thinking its going to be the bunnies themselves.

 

[tonyshuman]

yeah, unfortunately it may be the bunnies themselves. i know i'm not allergic to dog dander, but i am to cat spit, and i'm not allergic to bunnies. my brother is allergic to dog dander, and he gets a little bothered by Tony. i hope the allergist has good news for you--that it's not the bunnies. because of allergies in the house, i never had pets when i was little--just two very unhappy gerbils (always trying to escape), a gecko that fried himself on his heating rock (we didn't know that heating rocks were bad for them--i was about 6), and a colony of guppies from a school science project that inbred and got all creepy due to the closed gene pool effect. i never knew how much i liked animals until i got my own, and it makes me sad that i'm so badly allergic to cats, because i'd probably get along well with one.

allergies suck-i'm just waiting until we can genetically engineer the allergic stuff out of animals (most people are allergic to one particular protein the animal secretes in spit, dander, etc, and they've made cats that don't have the spit protein, but they're super expensive!).