Guinea pig allergy reaction

[Pebbles26]

so ive had my guinea pigs for a month now, (love them) but sadly I am allergic, I can't go near there cage without my nose stuffing up and I get a sore throat everytime and a cough, and I sneeze, I keep them in a separate room from the bedroom and living room etc, but I even wake up with a stuffy nose now, even when I'm not around them, I'm at work now and all symptoms have gone, I really am considering rehoming them, I am gutted they are so cute and I really enjoy looking after them can anyone recommend anything to take? to ease symptoms, or is it for the best to rehome them, as much as I dont want to.

 

[DM030819]

Is it definitely the pigs as a lot of people are allergic to the hay? Different types of hay, I think the grass types don't affect people so much.

Anti-histamines are good for allegeries. There's the usual Piriton type stuff or ask the chemist.

Also, don't handle them directly. Use gloves and don't let them on your bare arms.

 

[pig in the city]

If it's mainly nasal symptoms a nasal spray such as beconase may help.
Keep your piggies on fleece and vet bed and use dust free Hay, Timothy hay is a common cause of allergy. If they are long haired pigs get someone else to do the grooming.
All this should help. Many people with pigs get allergies but there is rarely a need to rehome them.

 

[Pigwhisperer]

Some people I know who have had this with cat allergy have gone through a six-week desensitisation period - basically putting up with it until it starts to get better. Which they said takes around 6 weeks. I don't know anyone who has tried with pigs.

Nasal sprays do help eg Beconase. Other antihistamines might take a few days to kick in, or might make you drowsy, so it's worth trying them out one at a time until you find one that suits you. I can't use piriton or cetirizine but loratidine works a treat, but my husband can't use that either - can't remember the name of his one. Good luck!

 

[Freela]

First off, I would try to make sure you are allergic to the pigs and not something else (the hay or the bedding, for instance.) What kind of bedding are you using? Personally, after a lifetime of little animals, I have developed serious respiratory allergies to any kind of wood bedding... I have to use paper or fleece. Even the low-oil woods like aspen bother me now. A lot of people also react to the hay that pigs eat, and switching up the brand of hay to find the least dusty one may be helpful. If it's not something you can control for, I guess it comes down to how much you are able to tolerate as far as allergy symptoms go. You can take a regular allergy med (my friend with cat allergies takes Zyrtec so she can continue living with her two cats) or a nasal spray like Flonase to minimize symptoms.

 

[Eriathwen]

I usually take either Zyrtec or Piriteze and they both work well, if you're using timothy hay or wood based bedding it might be worth swapping to meadow/orchard hay and paper or fleece, I find timothy sets off my allergies so much worse than meadow. When cleaning I wear a face mask and gloves and this seems to really help reduce symptoms.

I must admit that over the years, my allergies have got much better..I'm not sure how. Maybe you build up a resistance after a while. But I used to not be able to breathe for sneezing during clean outs, now if I forget my mask I dont even notice until ive finished and my chest feels a little tight.

 

[bonnieandpoppy]

aw poor you! i know a person who was allergic to horses but she wanted to ride them. she took anti histamines and it worked wonders! she also wore gloves and long sleeve shirts