I think my daughter is allergic

[sallysmom]

Ok, so I’ve had sally for a little over a week now. My daughter has been so congested and sneezing when she’s at home. I’m thinking it was a cold because of the weather changing so much (90 degrees on the weekend then highs of barly 70 by monday). Well it’s been a week and I did the test last night… I got sally and put her by my daughter…. SNEEZING FIT!!!!!!! So there it is, she’s allergic…. Since of course my daughter comes before anything else in this world…I’m going to have to rehome my wonderful sally.  So if any of you are in the Muncie, Indiana area, she’s here.

[Sarita]

Are you sure it’s not they hay that she is allergic too?

[Beka27]

i’d suggest you see an allergist and figure out the precise causes of the allergy, like Sarita said, it might just be hay. you’ll need to know this anyways if you plan on getting a cat or dog in the future so see if the allergist can do a test for the basics.

[Ang]

i thought i was allergic to Moreland when i got him and the lovely Binky Bunny people suggested the Hay. Viola it was the timothy hay. I switched to orchard grass and its much better.

[Sage Cat]

Do see a doctor – it could be something else. It is worth finding out and being sure.

I don’t know if putting Sally next to you daughter is really enough to prove it’s Sally. But, I do understand you don’t want you daughter to suffer!

I know a lot of people – myself included – who get major congestion and sneezing when the seasons – or any thing in their home, changes.
It could be just an adjustment.

PS – my brother is allergic to other peoples cats but not his own, just being around them for a short period of time he got use to them – he has 5!

[MarkBun]

Like other people have said, remove the timothy hay and see if orchard grass will do better for your daughter. over 90% of people who believe they were allergic to the rabbit were actually allergic to the hay. They don’t call it HAY fever for nothing

[PeppersMama]

oh my, I live in muncie In. but im not so sure i could take her permanently. i could take her for a period, but i dont know how that would help. I really really wish i could take her for you, but i dont have the room right now or the resources to house two buns, and peppers not neutered yet. Heck im not even sure if pepper is a boy or girl yet! lol! but like everyone else said, make sure its not the hay!

Edited to add:  I will keep this option open though, and if something else doesnt work out for you,  i will try and see if i can find a way to make some room here. I would rather her go to me than a shelter, i dont think there are any shelters here that take bunnies anyway, they would just euthanize them. I wouldnt be able to take her until after my trip at the end of september though. Is she spayed yet? This is an absolutely LAST resort though because i really shouldnt be taking another bun. but i really dont want her euthanized, and im sure you dont either

[Balefulregards]

This is also PRIME allergy season – and the kids at school are all congested, including my own kiddo. We have her on Claritin again.

Also, when my husband showed some kind of “allergy” to the rabbit, we started to eliminate different factors, starting with Hay and litter. A week late – Voila – we found what was bothering him [ it was a combo of hay and litter in our case] and made the switch to carefresh/yesterdays news and Oxbow timothy.

[Beka27]

an article from HRS:  http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-12/allergies.html

[JD]

I’m ridiculously allergic to my holland lop…her fur anywhere near my eyes equals an agonizing itch fit. in one case last Dec. i actually had to go to the ER because her fur caused a terrible pussy (ick!) reaction in one of my eyes. In my case, i started being smarter about the way i handled her. i used to love her up to my face and now content to rest her in my lap away from my eyes. I also change my tshirt after I hold her and always wash my hands.  However, my new Bun Andy (has diff. type of fur) causes a different sort of allergy with me…in this case its more the reaction your daughter seems to be getting (sneezing,etc) but usually before sneezing i’ll get the itchies deep in my ears and throat and my eyes will just start feeling really dry.  I haven’t completely nipped my problem in the bud but frequent cage cleanings as the others have said seems to help as well i think i may have had a hay allergy in the past which may have been contributing to the problem but that seemed to be brought on when I was getting timothy hay straight from the farm store. Since I’ve been using Brome hay or Bermuda…or even the timothy hay from the petstore I don’t have that same reaction. I don’t know quite what it was about the stuff from the farm store that got me. In any case you should definitely take your doctor to have some preliminary allergy testing…allergies are usually pretty darn complex. and good luck to you guys hopefully you’ll work something out for your bun!

[MimzMum]

I went through a period of hardly being able to breathe about two and a half weeks ago. I thought for sure it was the addition of a little mini-rex bun to my brood and was devastated! I decided to try Zyrtec once a day and for awhile things were better. We were also going through a bit of a bloom in our local foliage, so I couldn’t be sure it was the bunny.
I found out it was the hay I was feeding him! It didn’t have pollen stalks on it, but it would crumble and send it’s dust over everything including Fiver’s fur! Once I removed that hay, I haven’t had a problem since and I’ve even been able to give up the Zyrtec.
I do hope you find that the situation resolves itself so you can keep your bun. If not, please be consider charging a rehoming fee so that your bun goes to the best possible home and is not in danger of being used for food or other unscrupulous possibilities.

[sallysmom]

Thank you for all your wonderful advice. I will start with the hay. I am in the process of switching her doctors. I asked her doctor to do allergy tests on both my girls on there last appt and he told me that there were no tests for allergies, you just give them medicine. Bull honkey!!!!!!!  When I was my daughters age, I got all the allergy tests done and they gave me a DETAILED list of EVERYTHING I was allergic too. I’m sure things have only improved in 20 years!!!!! (geeze, don’t I feel old…lol). Anywhooooooo, I’m going to start with the hay. I usually go to petsmart, what is the most cost efficiant hay there that would be good for my sally? Thanks again for all your suggestions.

[ScooterandAnnette]

OMG yes I certainly would be switching doctors! Of course there are tests for allergies! I went through them about 8 years ago, at which time I discovered that I’m allergic to everything. Definitely find another doctor for her, I’d be wondering about this one! And switching hay sounds like a very good idea.
– Annette

[RachelF]

I’ve also been tested for allergies, actually, twice. I was tested when I was 7 years old, and again just this past year right around my 19th birthday. It definitely does exsist. I get allergy shots, because I am pretty much deadly allergic to cats,it used to be even when someone walks in the room with fur on them my throat feels itchy and raw and break into a coughing fit.

Bunny’s have a similar(not the same, but similar) type of fur and their “dander” is not something you see but spreads and is what irritates most people. Any allergist will tell you which dander is affecting your daugher, if that is the case.

Goodluck!

[Beka27]

my brother was about ten (?) when he developed allergies to our cats. he was TESTED for it. lol. of course, my parents thought nothing of getting rid of my sweet kitty cats… and i was devastated. but they were the parents so i had no say. do try and keep your bunny if you can. there was another member here who was allergic to bunnies but she found that she was okay with mini rexes because of the shorter fur. of course this does not help you now, but something to keep in mind. there are always alternatives.

[electro-weezle]

i get hayfever & im also alergic to horses, cats, rabbits etc but i have to work out ways around it seeing as im around those animals all the time! i went to my doctor & he gave me a nasal spray for hayfever & allergy tablets. I also found a really good eye cream from the body shop (i dont know if you have that in america or not!) for when i get reactions! i also try to wash my hands after touching the rabbit & not touch my eyes… i was never tested for allergies – it was just seemed pretty obvious to the doctor that my allergies were related to dust, fur, pollen etc. hope this helps

[MooBunnay]

The options for hay for bunnies other than timothy hay are oat hay, or orchard grass (there are probably others two but these are the two that I use). I am also allergic to timothy hay, so I do not fill the litter boxes (my husband does) and when he is filling the litterboxes, or vacuuming the bunny cages I wear one of those masks from Home Depot (one of those little white paper masks). Also, something else you can do that will help if it is the hay is to get a covered cat litterbox for your bunny (they usually have them in any pet store in the cat litterbox area).

I am not sure about the area you live in – if it is more city like or more rural, but I highly recommend finding a feed store that sells oat hay by the bale if you are going to go with oat hay. I live in Dallas and I found a few local hay places where I buy timothy hay by the bale. That would be very economical compared to getting the hay shipped to you because oat hay can be a bit expensive. Also, check with any local rabbit rescues and see if they sell hay, that is usually cheaper because they buy it in bulk. I previously used oat hay when I was living in California, and I like it a lot, it really did not irritate my allergies. The only thing you have to watch with oat hay is if there are a lot of seed heads, bunnies will eat the seed heads and not the stalks, so take some of those out if your bunnies seem to be getting overweight or any soft poops.

[PeppersMama]

Petsmart in muncie sells oxbow botanical, orchard, and alfalfa; Kaytee Brome, Bermuda, and Orchard; and Peters Meadow Mix….you could try any of those

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Sallysmom! I was also wondering if you give the hay a good shake outside and have an air purifier in the house too. I’ve set one up next to my rabbit’s condo and it really helps along with giving the hay a shake outside to elminate some of the dust. I too am glad you are switching Dr.’s there are absolutely allergy tests, I had it done 5 years ago before I adopted my rabbits to be sure I wasn’t allergic to them or the hay.

[PeppersMama]

did you find out anything more on your daughters allergies?

[sallysmom]

my husband says the bunny’s gotta go.  He’s not going to take a chance. So if anyone in Indiana would want her……

[PeppersMama]

How old is she? is she spayed? Where do you live? and how big will she get, what kind of rabbit is she? how big is she now? depending on these things i can take her, but you would have to keep her until oct. 4th at least, i go on a trip this weekend and wont be here for a week.

[PeppersMama]

also is IS a SHE right? and also are you SURE you cant talk your husband into trying an allergy test?

[jerseygirl]

PeppersMama, if you are able to take her, would the rescue where you volunteer be able to bun sit her until you are back and all set up? You are a Champ btw!

[jacki fullerton]

Please make sure you find a home for Sally, don’t take her to the pound, she may be euthenized.

[Beka27]

i can understand your husband’s hesitation. you need to do what is right for your family. the ideal would be you would know of any allergies before hand, but i know they sometimes can sneak up on you. i’d still recommend she have a thorough allergy evaluation, this will hopefully help you avoid this issue in the future (for ex: you get a kitten, 2 weeks later she’s allergic.)

if you can find someone to take her, you will be giving all items, cage, food, litter, etc. free of charge, right? i think that’s only fair since they will then need to pay for spaying themselves.

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