Ever since I got my 3 does and my buck with intentions of breeding meat for my family, I have had red swollen eyes and a sore throat. The wife dais it's the rabbits so I looked online and found some info on allergy conjunctivitis. (pink eye) the symbols and everything match the description online. I have Ben just dealing with it and plan to see a doc soon. I stayed away from the rabbits for a day or so and it went away. Now it's back. Wondering if anyone else has this problem. I will just deal with it if I have to as I'm that tired of feeding my family rice and noodles nut wondering if there is a medication or shot or somthin that would help.
Allergic to rabbits?
- Thread starter Ninabl
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Oh, no, Ninabl... say it isn't so! 
Supposedly, allergies to dogs and cats are much, much more common than an allergy to rabbits. Rabbit allergy is relatively rare, but it does happen. It certainly sounds like you might be allergic to rabbits.
You could, however, be allergic to hay instead, if you got hay to feed to the rabbits. Hay often throws hay dust into the air as you pull off bunches of it to feed. Have you ever had these symptoms around anything else?
It is admirable that you are willing to suffer with the allergies to provide meat for your family. If they get bad enough, though, they can flatten you like the flu.
You have a few options:
1. You can wear goggles to protect your eyes while you tend the rabbits. You might even wear a dust mask. If you can't stand the mask, be sure to breathe only through your nose while you tend the rabbits. Your nose will filter the air somewhat, but not as well as a mask. Blow your nose when you are finished, and use saline spray to help rinse your sinuses. The cheapest saline I have found is the generic brand at WalMart.
2. You can use allergy eye drops. Just look for one that lists your symptoms on it. These will probably give you a bit of a strange sensation in your eyes, as they dry up the excess fluid and medicate your eyes, but they can work well.
3. You can take antihistamines. There are many kinds. Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton are both generation 1 antihistamines that work very well, but at a price. Both can knock you out, and Benadryl can make you feel loopy. Chlor-Trimeton does not do either to me, but Benadryl does both! You do not drive while taking either, until you know whether it will affect you or not. Generation 2 antihistamines typically don't work as well, but have fewer side effects. They work well enough, though, for lots of people. You just have to faithfully take it every day to maintain it. These would be drugs like Claritin and Zyrtec. The pharmacist would be able to help you decide what might work best for you, or what might be good to try first. Pharmacists are a valuable resource of information, as they've been through medical school like doctors have, and they can often save you a trip to the doctor. Just go to the consultation window and ask to speak to the pharmacist. If they tell you to go to the doctor, though, they pretty much mean it.
4. I don't know if there are allergy shots for allergy to rabbits. That would be an expensive route to take, too, and you'd have to be tested for allergies first. Of course, I speak as one with no health insurance.
5. I would have said you can have your son take some of the responsibilities for the rabbits, but I saw him in that one picture with the chest-of-drawers hutch you made, and he's only like maybe 2 years old, right? Guess it'll be a while before he can take over.
I hope I've given you some ideas for how to proceed. I've dealt with allergies for some 30 years now, but rabbits are one thing I am not allergic to.
By the way, for buying the antihistamines -- I buy Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton at WalMart, and only in generic. They are the cheapest by far, even among the generics. The generic Benedryl is called "Allergy Relief", and the generic Chlor-Trimeton is called "Chlor Tabs".
I buy generic Zyrtec and generic Claritin from Rite Aid when they go on sale for buy one, get one free (you have to have one of their little cards). I buy the largest count bottles and get as many as I can afford.
Good luck! :clover:
Supposedly, allergies to dogs and cats are much, much more common than an allergy to rabbits. Rabbit allergy is relatively rare, but it does happen. It certainly sounds like you might be allergic to rabbits.
You could, however, be allergic to hay instead, if you got hay to feed to the rabbits. Hay often throws hay dust into the air as you pull off bunches of it to feed. Have you ever had these symptoms around anything else?
It is admirable that you are willing to suffer with the allergies to provide meat for your family. If they get bad enough, though, they can flatten you like the flu.
You have a few options:
1. You can wear goggles to protect your eyes while you tend the rabbits. You might even wear a dust mask. If you can't stand the mask, be sure to breathe only through your nose while you tend the rabbits. Your nose will filter the air somewhat, but not as well as a mask. Blow your nose when you are finished, and use saline spray to help rinse your sinuses. The cheapest saline I have found is the generic brand at WalMart.
2. You can use allergy eye drops. Just look for one that lists your symptoms on it. These will probably give you a bit of a strange sensation in your eyes, as they dry up the excess fluid and medicate your eyes, but they can work well.
3. You can take antihistamines. There are many kinds. Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton are both generation 1 antihistamines that work very well, but at a price. Both can knock you out, and Benadryl can make you feel loopy. Chlor-Trimeton does not do either to me, but Benadryl does both! You do not drive while taking either, until you know whether it will affect you or not. Generation 2 antihistamines typically don't work as well, but have fewer side effects. They work well enough, though, for lots of people. You just have to faithfully take it every day to maintain it. These would be drugs like Claritin and Zyrtec. The pharmacist would be able to help you decide what might work best for you, or what might be good to try first. Pharmacists are a valuable resource of information, as they've been through medical school like doctors have, and they can often save you a trip to the doctor. Just go to the consultation window and ask to speak to the pharmacist. If they tell you to go to the doctor, though, they pretty much mean it.
4. I don't know if there are allergy shots for allergy to rabbits. That would be an expensive route to take, too, and you'd have to be tested for allergies first. Of course, I speak as one with no health insurance.
5. I would have said you can have your son take some of the responsibilities for the rabbits, but I saw him in that one picture with the chest-of-drawers hutch you made, and he's only like maybe 2 years old, right?
Guess it'll be a while before he can take over.I hope I've given you some ideas for how to proceed. I've dealt with allergies for some 30 years now, but rabbits are one thing I am not allergic to.
By the way, for buying the antihistamines -- I buy Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton at WalMart, and only in generic. They are the cheapest by far, even among the generics. The generic Benedryl is called "Allergy Relief", and the generic Chlor-Trimeton is called "Chlor Tabs".
I buy generic Zyrtec and generic Claritin from Rite Aid when they go on sale for buy one, get one free (you have to have one of their little cards). I buy the largest count bottles and get as many as I can afford.
Good luck! :clover:
I was very allergic to rabbits. My eyes would get so swollen I couldn't see out of them. If rabbit hair got on my clothes I had to change or I'd be covered in itchy blotches. The cure? Daily contact with rabbits. In the beginning I had to take a lot of showers and wash my hands, face and arms a lot but it did the trick. I now have no problems unless a rabbit hair actually gets in my eye. It took about a year but it was worth it.
skysthelimit
Well-known member
I am definitely allergic to my rabbits. That is how I got my first rabbit too. A friend who was an opera singer got one in college. After her throat started swelling, she gave the rabbit to me. It takes a while and a lot of fur for me to succumb. I wash with special soap. I keep antihistamine tabs in my purse whereever I go, just in case I start breaking out in hives.
Thanks for all the good info. I'm going to try some ove the over the counter stuff you have suggested. It seems I remember as a child I had a issue with dogs and cats to. I now have a cat that sleeps on my headboard. My son did turn 2 in April! That was a good guess. I got him feeding the chickens but don't feel comfortable with him putting his hands in with the rabbits. I am building A new cage that should be done soon. (had to sell some stuff to get the funds to speed up the project). I am hoping that it will be better ventilated and boing that will help.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Ninabl,
Miss M covered it all with one exception- try not to touch your face or eyes after handling the rabbits until you wash your hands. Maybe you could keep some baby wipes near the rabbits so you can wipe your hands often. I agree that it is much more likely that you are reacting to the hay or something else you feed to them though.
Good luck! I hope you are able to keep your rabbits.
Miss M covered it all with one exception- try not to touch your face or eyes after handling the rabbits until you wash your hands. Maybe you could keep some baby wipes near the rabbits so you can wipe your hands often. I agree that it is much more likely that you are reacting to the hay or something else you feed to them though.
Good luck! I hope you are able to keep your rabbits.
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A lot of us on this forum have been there, and some of us still are. Every time something major comes up, Shay starts selling trains. I just about have to stop him from selling them all. They are a great stress reliever for him, so I want him to have some of them.Ninabl":2iad8jws said:
But remember, please, that if your throat starts swelling like Sky's friend, you're pretty much done. You can try some drastic hazmat-style protocols after that if you want to see if you can keep them, but it's not worth your life. My guess, though, is that if you were going to react like that, you already would have.
Keep us posted!
opcorn:As of right now all the rabbits are pellet fed. I have a cousin that works at the southern states and got me a 50 lb bag of pellets for cheap. I couldn't turn down the deal. I plan on trying other feeds once I get a little more knowledge on it. As for the sore throat. It was bad for a few days but cleared up. I think it was irritated from the drainage from my eyes. I had a green mucousy mess from my eyes. As of right now everything is getting better. I took a hot shower and washed my eyes out really good and that seemed to help a lot. Last night after I went out to feed the rabbits I washed my hands and arms up to my elbows and changed my shirt before I touched my face. I just went out again and fed and watered them and did the same to wash up afterwords. So far my eyes are clear and not red. I might just need to pay more attention to the wash up after I handle them. Again thanks for everyones help and input helping me deal with this matter.Miss M":1eole9x5 said:A lot of us on this forum have been there, and some of us still are. Every time something major comes up, Shay starts selling trains. I just about have to stop him from selling them all. They are a great stress reliever for him, so I want him to have some of them.Ninabl":1eole9x5 said:
But remember, please, that if your throat starts swelling like Sky's friend, you're pretty much done. You can try some drastic hazmat-style protocols after that if you want to see if you can keep them, but it's not worth your life. My guess, though, is that if you were going to react like that, you already would have.
Keep us posted!
skysthelimit
Well-known member
I keep sanitizer and a paper towel dispenser in the barn, and most days I wear and apron. I also have a completely different outfit for bunny/dog duty, and change before I enter the house. But yesterday I spent too much time there, and had to run in to rinse my burning eyes.
Quick update. My eyes started clearing up after about a week. I think it was just a reaction to the dander because I had never Ben exposed to rabbits before. I have had no problems for about the last week and a half. Thanks everyone.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
YAY!
