Allergies My boyfriend may be allergic to my pigs, and I need help

[Lizzieball12]

Hello,

I am the happy mom of three male guinea pigs of various ages and I absolutely love them. However, I also have a boyfriend who is quite literally allergic to everything. He's been having allergy issues thought the winter (We live in Iowa, so he shouldn't have seasonal November through February) and now that spring is rolling around things have only gotten worse.

I really do not want to have to get rid of the pigs or have my boyfriend move out. So if anyone has any recommendations on how to get everyone coexisting peacefully and able to breathe that would be amazing!

I use carefresh bedding in all of their cages and clean them all once a week. I have been debating making the switch to fleece for a little while now, and would be totally willing to if anyone has noticed a difference in their allergies with it. I feel like the fleece would force me to clean the cages more, possibly helping him out. I generally use Oxbow timothy hay or All Things Living from PetSmart, along with Oxbow Cavy Cuisine. I put hay in their cages in the morning and that normally lasts them throughout the day. Are there any changes I need to make?

Thank you!

 

[amandaisamoose]

I can't help much. but could it be the hay he is allergic to? I guess a lot of people are allergic to timothy hay.
does he take allergy meds? could he start?

 

[pinky]

Try switching to Oxbow Orchard Grass. I have allergies and asthma and react to timothy hay but have no problem with orchard grass. You can also get a portable air purifier to keep in the room they're in which might help.

 

[Lizzieball12]

I can't help much. but could it be the hay he is allergic to? I guess a lot of people are allergic to timothy hay.
does he take allergy meds? could he start?

He does take allergy medication, but he's become immune to all of it. He's trying to find something that would work but it's not going so well. That's why I was hoping to see if there was anything I could do to make the pigs less noticeable.

 

[pawner69]

I also have allergies to dust and mold. Switching to the Blue Grass from Timothy hay really helped (maybe less dust?). I also made the switch from Carefresh to fleece bedding. I am very rarely stuffy since making the switch. I clean the cage twice a day and do a full fleece change every week. Hope that helps.

 

[Starthecavy123]

Usually its not the pigs themselves it's the hay. Try switching to blue grass.

 

[AmberCalzone]

Hey! In in the same situation as you, my boyfriends allergies became so bad after the piggies moved in that his nose would bleed every night!

in the end the only thing that did any good was moving the pigs into a room he -never- goes into.
an air purifier helped for a little while but it lost its effectiveness. You can try putting the hay inside paper bags so its not out in the open (incase it's the hay and not the pigs). Switch to fleece and wash every other day, shake the blankets out outside.

 

[piggyroo]

My mother is allergic to my piggies. She broke out in hives the first time she held them and was convinced they had fleas (don't worry they didn't) Here's a photo... I guess you can understand the concern haha!


Now whenever she visits she complains that they give her asthma and that they are stinky ( i think we figured out she meant the hay), so I've made a habit of making sure I vacuum before she visits, give them a wash to get rid of any excess dander, move them into the laundry as it is well ventilated and the sun doesn't shine directly through the window (I think the sun makes the allergens raise off the fleece more) and most importantly, I keep the bale of hay in the garage and about a weeks worth of hay (in an old oxbow hay bag) and their oxbow pellets inside a plastic container.

she didn't say a word about any asthma or allergies last visit.

TL;DR: just try to limit how much piggy-ness is floating around in the room and you should be fine. The piggies will still love your boyfriend if he throws lettuce and broccoli at (...i mean to, of course) them from the door. My piggies go crazy wheaking and popcorning when they smell/hear mum at the door.

perfect relationship of a food slave with no payment-cuddles

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

Do your pigs live in a space where you can shut them off from him? I'm horribly allergic to my pigs, but I don't care. However, my boyfriend is allergic too, and he just avoids spending much time with the pigs. Also, their in my bedroom, so my bedroom door is shut when he's over.