Alergies to my pigs & a new pig

[caribear]

I have 2 pigs now. I love getting Nacho out & holding her, etc. We have had her about 4 months. I would sneeze & itch cleaning out the cage. My head was completely clogged up. I thought I was allergic to the Aspen bedding. I recently changed to pine to give it a try. Now, I still sneeze & all.

The weather is nice currently so I am wearing short sleeve. I hold the guineas now & my arm turns red & my arms are full of hives. Before the bedding change, I would hold her up to my neck & snuggle her. My neck would turn bright red & itch. I thought it was from the aspen. I think I am allergic to my guineas. I don't plan on getting rid of them. I love Nacho. We got a new one & maybe it's terrible but I haven't clicked with him(neutered) yet. I guess he's just not good enough for my Nacho girl.

Does anyone else have allergies to their guineas? I was thinking I would maybe have to wear masks & kept them wrapped in a towel if I have short sleeves on. What do others do to keep the allergies under control?

Oh, I have another question. The new one looks like he is nipping at her bum & making her run around. Is this normal for pigs to do? Will it continue? If I were her, I think it would annoy me. They do chatter all the time though. Nacho was very vocal even without him.

 

[thecarerescue]

I can have terrible allergies to the pigs and rabbits. Rabbit urine really sets me off. I don't get hives but my nose runs and my eyes, throat and ears itch like mad. So I'm meticulous with cleaning the rabbit cages so there isn't a build up.
I also react to guinea pig hair sometimes as well, so I'm forever taking Claratin and Zyrtec or some other form of antihistamine which helps a bit. Definitely comes in handy when I'm cleaning 15+ cages on a Saturday morning!

 

[seagirl96]

I have been getting hives on my neck from snuggling with my piggies too. I am trying to keep them on my lap more. I have no allergy to my dogs, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I have nine young & healthy piggies. The oldest are about two and a half years old and there is no way they are leaving. I am thinking of trying fleece to cut down on dust because I know I am allergic to dust mites. Any insights or advice would be gratefully accepted.

 

[tillie]

Have you tried carefresh in their litter tray and newspaper with fleece on top the rest of the cage. I am allergic to anything and everything but carefresh is great. Pine is one of the worst things to set my allergys off, the smell goes straight to my chest and I cant breath and my eyes start to itch etc. I have a cotton shirt with long sleeves that I wear when handling any of my animals otherwise I get a real bad rash. Sometimes I also wear cotton gloves if my hands start to play up. I also take antihystamines.

 

[seagirl96]

I use aspen because carefresh is too expensive with 9 little ones. I have thought of trying fleece and am waiting for my son & daughter-in-law to try it first & report back.

My little terrors like to chew fabric in a big way, though. Do you have that problem? I made a tent with a towel and they were eating the towel threads like spaghetti. I had to snip a thread with scissors before Honey ate the whole thing. I am waiting & hoping that everything comes out all right! We are trying a fleece tent and that is somewhat less tasty. They all have timothy & meadow grass hay from Oxbow 24/7 but still find other things interesting to chew.

 

[Patch the Pig]

My husband has been having allergy attacks like crazy since I brought the second pig home. Before he was just stuffy but now he's miserable I hope maybe he can develop an immunity. I was allergic to my pigs when I was younger (I got the skin rashes) and the hay was the worst. I seem (fingers crossed) to have grown out of it. But I know allergies can develop at any time. I'm switching to fleece as soon as it goes through it's fourth wash so maybe that will help!

 

[lynn's Cavies]

I am allergic to my guinea pigs and rabbits. I take Reactine everyday and Flonase, which is a steroid nose spray. I am also allergic to my cat but for some reason I can tolerate her in the house and in the bedroom but I do get itchy eyes. My nose also gets plugged up a bit. I notice it in the mornings. I've had her for a long time though. I won't be able to get another cat.

Anyways, back to guinea pigs. I had them for about 3 years inside the house and every morning I would have my cup of coffee with them. I would sit and watch them. They had their own room. Then suddenly one September I started getting plugged up. Well, I thought it was the coffee but when I drank the coffee not in their room I didn't get plugged up. So I knew I had developed allergies.

I tryed many things: hepa filters, towels instead of pine bedding, different allergy pills. I ended up having to move them to our detached workshop/shed. I only have 3 piggies right now and at one point I had 9, that pushed me over my threshold with allergies, even with them outside I was having asthma and allergies.

Now that I have 3 pigs I don't have problems cleaning the cages. My allergies and asthma don't react but as soon as I try to bring them inside I have strong reactions. So unfortuanately, for me I have to keep them out in the workshop. I do spend quite a lot of time in there and then leave when I feel stuffed up. It works out well but I know a lot of people do not have this option.

I'm very torn if I should adopt any more pigs in the future as I feel guilty about them not being able to be inside. Sigh...

Take care,
Lynn

 

[Piggersrule]

I have allergies to anything and everything on 2 or 4 feet with fur/hair and feathers. I react to Pumpkin the worst. I don't know what it is with her but she really makes me sick if I hold her. I am asthmatic and after about 5 minutes with Pumpkin, I am reaching for my inhaler. My whole body will beakout with hives that look like cigarrett burns. I just can't handle her at all anymore. My kids will play with her more to make up for what I can't do. When I used pine shavings I would wear a mask, that helped alot. Now I use fleece and it's not as bad but I still wear a mask though, because of Pumpkin's hair. If you are getting hives on your arms than wear a longsleeve shirt, that helps alot. I wish I could take an anahistamine but I get a real bad reaction from it that usually puts me in the hospital.

 

[this_lil_piggy]

Before you come to the conclusion that you are allergic to the pigs themselves, consider that it may be an allergy to their hay that they are touching and then transferring to you. I had a terrible time with Timothy hay. I would sneeze and itch and get watery eyes after handling it, or the pigs. I switched to bluegrass hay (orchard grass) and it has almost completely eliminated my problems. I don't react to holding my pigs or cleaning their cage at all anymore. When I dig my arms down into the box of bluegrass it makes my arms itch a bit, but after a hand wash I am fine. I don't have any eye or nose reaction to the bluegrass at all.

Changing hay type, and limiting handling it directly (use gloves, or have someone else fill the rack)are easy things you can do to make sure that the hay is or isn't the actual allergy trigger before you decide it is the pigs.

Also, just a thought for you... If you are allergic to aspen it is almost a given you'd be allergic to pine as well. People with allergies are often allergic to pine. I would try switching to fleece, or some other non-wood type bedding as well.

 

[HowietheGreat]

I get hives to from holding them-I do not think it is the hay. I just wash my hands and arms after holding them. THey go away pretty quickly. I also make sure I do not touch my eyes. It's a small price to pay for loving the little buggers.

 

[amarallj]

I have the same problem. If I just touch my cavies I break out in hives. I thought it was the bedding so i switched to fleece and that still doesn't help. It could be the hay so I will try that next (thanks this_little_piggy).

If I just pick them up and don't get them anywhere near my face my allergies are so bad that my eyes swell shut and I litterally cannot open them so i do not hold them unless I have to and I will only do it at night.

I have tried all different kinds of allergy medicine (even RX) and nothing helps. Everyone tells me I need to find them another home but nobody understands the love I have for my boys. Only all of you here.

Please, if someone has a remedy to our suffereing please let us know.

 

[Rachel's Cavy Cove]

I have the same reaction as you do. I have given up on holding my pigs other than to give them a look over, brushing (one is long haired) and to take them out of the cage when I change it. Even with long sleeves and gloves I still get hives and I get stuffed up too. It started about a month or so after we first got them. Meds don't do much to help.

Part of me thinks it would be easier to find another home for them but I am so attached to them at this point that the thought of getting rid of them is terrible. Plus if I ever wanted another pet, my husband would use me getting rid of the pigs as ammunition that what I want is "just a phase" or that I would be allergic to the other pets too.

It's a total catch 22!

 

[seagirl96]

Wow, I guess my allergies are not that bad. I just get red & rashy. I am just afraid it may get worse, as my allergies tend to do that. But I'm keeping my piggers.

 

[caribear]

Well, thanks for all your responses. I am going to get some Hunt Club bedding tomorrow & try that. It is cheaper then the Carefresh but made out of cardboard. I hope it helps some. If it doesn't help, I will try the bluegrass hay. I am trying to find out what is bothering me, I do think it's the pigs, but hope not. I do clean the cage everyday with vinegar so I don't think there is much build up. I guess I will just have to wear long sleeves/pants & maybe a mask. I hope it doesn't get worse. I really adore Nacho. I love snuggling her. I'm not getting rid of her anyway though. I thought maybe after my kids grew up, I would get a herd. I guess not now with these allergies!

Oh, has anyone tried the Hunt club bedding? How is it? Thanks again everyone.

 

[Naomi]

I am allergic to everything, and my pigs are no exception. I react to Shannon far worse than Stitch for some reason. I had thought of giving them both a bath but it's been cold and chilly here so I haven't, and besides why traumatize them when an allergy pill will work for me.