Alergies? Please respond

[PYRO]

hey. i have this alergic reaction to dogs and my eyes gte itchy, and my nose gets stuffy. Is there anyone out that that are alergic to dogs and a hegie because i am really worried about getting it then finding out im allergic to it.

[LoriL]

Hi there!

I can only tell you about our experiences. My husband is allergic to: cats, dogs, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters, and probably other animals. His reactions are: itching, watering eyes that will swell shut, sneezing, runny nose, itchy skin.

My oldest daughter is allergic to: cats and dogs. Her reactions are: itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, wheezing, asthma attack.

My youngest daughter is allergic to: cats. Her reactions are: sneezing, coughing, asthma attack.

Both my daughters have severe asthma.

My husband also has eczema.

We have had a hedgehog now for almost 5 weeks without any trouble. Everyone has been able to handle her. There has been no scent trouble.

I chose to use liners instead of shavings in the cage because I was afraid shavings would cause allergy/asthma problems. I also use paper towels in the litter box.

I have heard of cases though where a few people have been allergic to hedgehogs, so I guess anything is possible.

I hope I helped a bit though. :)

[PYRO]

Thank you so much. That helps me out alot.

[Nancy]

I think you will find that many people who have allergies are not allergic to hedgehogs and others with allergies that are allergic to hedgehogs.

Allergies also do not happen the instant you are first around the animal or whatever you develop the allergy to. Allergies can take weeks, months and sometimes years of exposure before you start to show allergic symptoms.

I am horribly allergic to dogs but am fine with the hedgehogs. We owned a dog for 3 years though before I had the first allergic reaction to her. :)

[razzle]

The only allergic reaction I have to hedgehogs is a mild rash from where ever Razzle touches me. If he crawls on my arm, I get a slight itchy, red, raised rash that looks like small mosquito bites. They go away quickly. Seems to be worse when he is in need of a bath. :p It doesn't bother me and, like I said, it's pretty mild and short-lasting. It's funny too when I come out of the bedroom and my boyfriend sees me with a red nose and a slightly puffed out lip and says, "You've been kissing Razzle again?" :kiss:

[HedgieMate]

It's funny too when I come out of the bedroom and my boyfriend sees me with a red nose and a slightly puffed out lip and says, "You've been kissing Razzle again?"Interesting.... I have a very mild allergy reaction to dust and certain type of pollens, no animals. Usually runny nose and itchy eyes. Nothing serious and I don't even take allergy pills unless it gets out of hand.

However, I've noticed my lips have been "puffing out" a lot lately. I keep wondering what I ate to cause that but haven't been able to figure it out for several weeks. Come to think of it, every morning I clean Geoffrey's cage, my nose gets runny too. Nothing serious and it goes away quickly too.

At the very beginning when Geoffrey was curling up in a tight spiky ball, my hands got a mild rash every time I picked him up. Judging from some online info I gathered, I knew it was quite normal, so I never paid much attention to it. But now I wonder if I've developed a very mild allergy to HHs, as Nancy points out above.

Well, even so, my reaction is very mild and it certainly won't stop me from kissing Geoffrey, for sure. ;)

[LoriL]

Very true, I should point out that I do most of the holding and cleaning of the cage and poopy wheel. With all other animal allergies, my family can't be in the same room with the animals-it's not only a touching thing.

But with HHs, it may very well be a touching allergy. Since I have never experienced an allergy to an animal, and I have been doing the majority of the holding and cleaning, the rest of the family has not experienced any allergy symptoms.

Wait, I take that back, I guess I have experienced some problems. When we had Mikey and he bit me all the time, I would break out from that. I'm assuming probably his saliva caused a reaction. Lucy has not bit me, so I haven't had any problems.

[treva.]

I get mild hayfever in the spring and never really experienced any pet-related allergies. But I've noticed when Wolfgang gets me with his quills, my skin gets really itchy right after. Like you all say, it's no big deal, especially since he's been raising his quills less and less every day.

[Pringlesmom]

I have asthma and am allergic to just about everything and I haven't had any reactions to my hedgehogs other than getting a bit itchy when I hold them. It hasent happened every time I've held them either. I find that it happens most when they need a bath and have annointment and pee hiding in their quills. Washing with some soap clears it up right away.