Alergies...

[joaquinmtz]

Is there any way to minimize the alergies caused by the GP?

I was thinking on getting a new piggie from the shelter, but my younger son (3 years) is getting alergic reactions (asthma) to the hair and urine of the piggies, and the doctor told us to get rid of the piggies, but I want to see options, before I have to take that decision. Right now I have two GP, and I don't want to get rid of them, but if my son's healt is threaten I will have to.

He gets respiratory problems that can take him to the hospital, and I don't want that, so please help me to be able to keep the GP with me.

I have to improve this issue in the next 2 weeks or the GP are gone, so please help me.

[PiggieMom]

Are you sure that it's the urine and hair for the piggies and not the hay? If it may be the hay changing it is an option. I had to switch from timothy hay to bluegrass hay because of my husband's allergies.

What do you bed the piggies on? Maybe switching to fleece or a more absorbant bedding would help.

We also have a air puriffier in the piggie room. This has helped hubby's allergies a lot.

Does your son hold them a lot? Obviously if so it's not a good idea.

What room are the piggies kept in? Is it possible to move them to a room where your son doesn't spend a lot of time?

[salana]

All of piggiemom's suggestions are good; plus, I would look into getting your pigs treated for mites. Mites live in the skin and are microscopic, but the enzymes they secrete can cause allergies in some people. Good luck!

[Herbie Girl]

I'm not allergic to the pigs them selves but the dust from the hay and bedding. I also have a air purifer in the piggy room but I also wear a dust mask sometimes and that helps.




Becky

[joaquinmtz]

My son is not living with me yet, he and the rest of the family are moving in about 2 or 3 weeks, he has just lived with the GP some days when they come to visit me (we are moving from another city in Mexico).

The doctor told my wife as a warning, that he will be in great danger, because according to the allergie test, hair and urine are very allergenic to him. He is also allergic to some kind of grass so, maybe timothy hay is an additional issue. But as soon as they get here, I will take him to a new allergie test to see if GP are bad to him.

I used to have my piggies in the living room, but yesterday I moved to a bigger house and the plans were to keep them in the TV's room, but I think it is not a good idea anymore, because there will be the TV, videogames, computer and other toys, so my kid will spend a lot of time there. Doctor told my wife that if my GP stays, they have to live outdoors, thay can't be inside the house.

I'm bedding my piggies on fleece with puppy pads, is there anything more absorbant?

My pigs will be treated with advantage this week, I hope it helps

I will trimm the hair, they are long haired, I didn't wanted to do it, but I will have to.

Maybe is a good idea to look for an air puriffier, to see that if that way I can keep my piggies

Thaks to all of you...

[C&K]

Advantage will not cure mites, it is very good for fleas and lice, but not mites. You need to get Revolution for them, (if you are looking for a one treatment, lasts a month, mites will probably not require a separate treatment) or Ivermectin, which can take up to three treatments, one every week to ten days.

I don't know what to suggest. With a three year old boy, as much as it pains me to say this, I really wonder if it is best to persue this at all until you know without a doubt what the reaction is being caused by. Is there a friend or relative who could take them temporarly until you sort this all out?

I can give a ton of suggestions (PiggieMom has you off to a good start) on how to minimize it, but with as sevear as your sons reactions sound, I just don't know if it is wise to play "guinea pig" with your son until you find a solution that is right.

If you really want to give it a shot, I would try all of these ideas at once, and then see where you can go from there:

Keep bedding them on Fleece. Get a few sets of Fleece and an absorbant material (towels and flannel bed sheets can work too). Change the bedding every two days. MAX! Rinse them off outside with a garden hose before you put them in the wash, or wash them at a laundry mat. Afterall, you don't want hair and pee in with your sons laundry which may be the next load. Perhaps in the wash, use a product that breaks down pee at the enzyme level. These are available in a lot of dog mess spot cleaners.

Get a Ionic or Hepa air filter for the pig room.

Have your son wear a mask when near the pigs. A long sleeve shirt is probably also a good idea, maybe you could designate an extra large shirt for him as his "pig smock". Just like how many kindergardens do for kids that are painting.

Get allergy testing done again. Have them test for GP urine, hair, and different types of grasses. (Definately timothy)

Honestly though, with a child this age, I really think that rehoming them is the best idea. I worry though that where you are, you may not find someone who is willing to really take care of them the way they need to be, but you need to think of your sons health first!

I really don't think it is advisable either to house them outside, as Mexico gets pretty hot! If you want to explore this option a little further, especially if you have a lot of trouble with finding them a good home, while this forum does not normally support it, I am sure you can get some help to "do it right".
Have son wear mask around pigs.

[joaquinmtz]

Yeah you are rigth my son is three years old, and he has been at hospital about 5 times, so I won't play with my kid's health

The only thing I want to be sure is that GP are bad to him, because when the allergie test were done, GP were not an issue, we lived at Torreon, Coahuila, and there are no GP, so it was not really on the tests, my son is allergic to cats, but not dogs, for example, so when he gets here I will take him for a new allergie test, to see if GP are really bad to him.

If test results says that GP are bad, I will have to re-home them immediately, I won't take any chance on that.

[C&K]

I am glad to hear about both the testing and how serious you are taking your son's health.

It will be really sad if indeed, he is allergic to the pigs. I am sure rehoming them will not be an easy thing to do.

That said, he is still very young, and may outgrow the allergy. Many people do all the time, things they where allergic to as a kid, they nolonger are as an adult. Perhaps in a few years if he is allergic then you could take him for testing again and see.

Of course, getting a hairless pig may be an option too when he is older, I just really think (looking at my own 2 and 3 year old children) that with as small as he is, there is no room to fool around with!

[fairysari]

I have really bad allergies to cats. I have been hospitalized because of it a few times. I had one of the skin allergy tests, and they spot for cats got so big it overtook the spots next to it. But, like your son, I am also not allergic to dogs. I've never been tested for guinea pigs (it's not in the usual battery of tests) but I am definitely not allergic to my two hairless pigs. I'm glad to hear you are getting your son tested, and hopefully he will be lucky and not be allergic to piggies! You might want to mention when you make the appointment that you want to test him for GP's specifically - they might need advance notice since its not something they regularly test for.

[joaquinmtz]

I asked a job partner to ask her father (who is an allergies doctor), to see if there is a GP allergie test, because as you say fairysari, it is not on the common battery test, the doctor will look up for the reactives for the GP testing, hopefully there is something to see if is it safe for my son.

[C&K]

I asked a job partner to ask her father (who is an allergies doctor), to see if there is a GP allergie test, because as you say fairysari, it is not on the common battery test, the doctor will look up for the reactives for the GP testing, hopefully there is something to see if is it safe for my son.

I know there is a GP test in the US, many people on GL and here have had it done! You just have to make it clear ahead of time that GP's are what you want tested so that they have it on hand!

[cutepiggy]

If your son is allergic to guinea pigs don't put your son through that. My daughter had a reaction to someone smoking one time and it was awful. People get pets and have to give them away or take them to shelters because someone is allergic if you already know he's allergic you would be doing your son and the pig a favor by not getting one.

[joaquinmtz]

cutepiggy, I see your point, and that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

I already have two GP, and I'm not sure if my son is allergic to them, his doctor says that he will be in great danger living with my piggies, but the truth is that he haven't been tested against GP, so that's why I want to test over GP on him