How to tell if you have allergies?

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Hey I have a question, I was wondering how to tell if I am allergic to something?

The thing is I seem to have a neverending cold, not bad, just a bit of a runny nose. That is the only symptom I have, I don’t have a cough, I don’t sneeze, I don’t get rashes or anything.

I know it is possible to be allergic to either the bunnies or the hay, but to tell you the truth I am not probably going to get rid of either (especially the bunnies). I don’t want to get rid of the hay because we get nice big cheap bales, and I wouldn’t want to give them up, I could get it from a different farmer but, I like this farmer (stubborn me). Also I am definately not geting rid of the buns! Never even crossed my mind as an option, in my opinion it is stupid to get rid of an animal because you are allergic (unless you are deathly allergic).

My mom suggested that I might be allergic to the bunnies, because I have never had allergies before and she knows about the whole ‘not reacting untill you are exposed to the allergen a second time.’ I denied it of corse but it got me thinking, do I? Because I do seem to have a neverending runny nose. I have even gotten used to taking a couple tissues with me everywhere I go, LOL! My mom always complains about finding tissues in my pockets nowadays.

The thing that stupms me is that it doesn’t seem to get any better after a vacuum my room and it doesn’t seem to be any worse when my room hasn’t been cleaned in so long that there is hay and fur everywhere. Maybe I am secretly allergic to something else in my house like….. dust? or mold (I think our basement has some mold on the walls, eew).

So my questions are, Does it sound to you like I have mild allergies? Is there a way to tell without an allergy test? and Is there anything I can do to relive my runny nose?

[wiseleyd]

I am pretty sure that I have allergies to grass hay. I am getting itchy eyes and a stuffy nose and it is worse when I handle the hay. Zyrtec isn’t helping but Tylenol sinus is . I have seasonal allergies, but I am not allergic to any animals, that I know of. I usually get a shot that lasts thru the season in the spring and then again in August. It isn’t too bad. This isn’t too helpful, but you are not alone in this!!!

[wendyzski]

To be really sure what it is you should get tested – it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. They test on your arms with the most common protein that is in a substance (like grass or mold), it takes less than an hour and a little benadryl cream and it’s over.  It’s good to know.

[Elrohwen]

It’s definitely pretty easy to get tested, and I think it’s worth it. if you find it is molds, then you and your parents can maybe re-do the basement and get rid of the mold – that would be helpful for everyone. And a doctor would be able to prescribe something to keep the sniffles away – since your symptoms are mild you would probably benefit a lot by taking a maintenance medicine every day.

Vacuuming typically makes allergies worse, not better, by kicking up all of the particles that were just laying around before. So I’m not surprised you don’t get better when you vacuum.

Allergies are really a personal thing and vary from person to person, but in my experience, allergies to animals usually manifest themselves in terms of itchy eyes, itchy nose, etc. I know many other people who have these same symptoms. For that reason, I would just make a guess that it’s not the bunnies. I have an allergy similar to yours for hay, though it only manifests itself when I’m around bales of hay and really making a mess with it. So my guess would be hay allergies. It’s a totally off the cuff guess, just based on my personal allergy reactions and what I’ve observed in others.

[Sarita]

I have seasonal allergies as well. I also think it’s the pollution of the city and the traffic. Just really a mix of everything.

I do take a claritin daily though. Zyrtec makes me drowsy.

I’ve never been tested but I totally recommend since you are young that you do.

[Sarita]

Also seems like my parents suffer from allergies as well, so I’m fairly certain I must have inherited this.

[bunnytowne]

Yes they are inherited and can also develop out of the blue.   Both my parents had allergies my bro and his grandson are really bad.

I take clarinex daily and some nasonex when needed.   Mine are year around due to the mold.   But trees in fall and grasses in spring make it worse.     I take shots and that has really helped.   I can actually breathe thru my nose and the meds work now.

If you have runny nose probably allergies.  Itchy throat dry itchy eyes also can occur.   Sometimes it has been hard for me to tell the difference between a cold or allergies but I learned  if it is a cold it will come with a fever.  If not it is allergies.

I have a shop vac and every time I vacuum I have to get a clog out.  All that hay.   The dust puffs into the air so not good.  When feeding them the hay I get from the feed store stuff flies into the air a powder like dust whatever.  Not good. I try not to inhale it yeah like it isn’t all over the room.   lol. 

It is good to know if you have allergies for you can get shots to help and even if it is a mild allergy getting shots and having  no symptoms is great.

[Elrohwen]

BT, shots really are great! Not sure if her doctor would prescibe them since it sounds like her symptoms are mild, but I think it’s definitely worth a trip to the doctor to find out. Allergy shots have saved my sanity.

[jerseygirl]

Hello MLW
I noticed in another thread re Hay that you mentioned you go down to the basement to get the bunnies hay. Maybe store the hay elsewhere and see what happens. If things improve – maybe it’s the mold. If not, hay may still be a factor.

Do you think the running nose started around the time you started getting the baled hay?  What about the WSP?

Maybe sit down and do some thorough investigating. Write stuff down. Try assess when this started and if it worsens at times. Does this persist all day, even when you’re out and away from the animals and hay?

So other common things that may trigger runny noses…
-Dairy Intolerance (not allergy, intolerance )
-Wheat intolerance
-some food chemicals and preservatives
-new perfume or deodorant, soap, even toothpaste or shampoos.
-plug-in air freshners
-dust mite, mold etc
can’t think of others just yet …

Some people find doing regular nasal irrigation with saline solution helps with sinus issues.

[RabbitPam]

MoonlightW, it does sound like allergies. I second the suggestion to get scratch tested. It can be one of dozens of trees and grasses, seasonal, foods. It would be awful to assume it’s one thing, like rabbits, and the truth is it’s eggs or mold or pine trees. Even hand creams or a new perfume, or earrings made with nickel – all allergy options. Getting tested is simple, and what you do about it is advised but not necessarily requiring medication.

Allergies are cumulative, too. You can also develop them more as an adult, so my perfume allergies were onset in my 30s. Ugh. I now use unscented shampoos and detergents. But you will only have a mild reaction if it’s just one thing, and much stronger reaction if a couple of allergies combine. Example, you’re allergic to goldenrod and feathers, so you take a trip, lay on a down pillow and when you drive by a field of goldenrod you go from stuffy nose to sneezing your head off.

Several members here have bunny and/or hay allergies, but they choose to live with it. In that case, shots help a lot.

[Elrohwen]

Ooo, Jersey, yes, my doctors are all over the “neti pot” sinus irrigation thing. They want me to use it every day (I usually don’t) but they claim it is the best thing you can do. I assume they have some research to back this up or they wouldn’t be so insistent.  I don’t get immediate results from it (some people do) but I’m convinced it helps me get over colds normally without getting a sinus infection.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

OK thanks guys, I will do some investigating and will consider getting tested. My runny nose does persist throughout the whole day, weather I am home or not… Maybe I am allergic to my own hair…. JK is that even possible?

I might end up just getting tested, and hopefully it is mold or something because if it is bunnies or hay I am probably not going to do anything about it, I like my bunnies and the hay I get too much to get rid of either! I mean its just a tiny runny nose, nothing like what I get when I have a real cold, UGH! If it was like that then I would have been questioning a lot earlier!

Thanks guys! Maybe I should go around and sniff things and see if it gets worse when I inhale a certain thing. Come to think of it I don’t think it is the bunnies because it is unchanged when I bury my face in Fern and inhale (I think Fern smells good ). Maybe I am just allergic to Thistle – no I don’t think that is possible either. I should go sniff my basement walls and the hay bale and various objects in my house, LOL, I don’t know if that would even work, but it is worth a try!

[Elrohwen]

Would you be open to taking an allergy medicine every day? Something over the counter might work (claritin, for example) or something prescribed. Your symptoms seem mild enough that you might be able to get rid of them completely with one pill a day.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Yea, that would definitely be a possibility, my mom even considered I take something to see if it goes away – to check to see if it is an allergy.

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