allergies to rabbits

[rabbitlover04]

My name is Katie and I am 14. I want to get arabbit for christmas but my mom is allergic to dogs and cats and we areafraid she may be allergic to rabbits :?the rabbit would bein my room but sumtimes she needs to go in there and also my mom is achicken so she is kinda afraid of rabbits so she cant really pick 1 upto see if she gets sick or breaks out or anything. does anyone know ifshe would be allergic to a rabbit if she is to dogs and cats? pleaselet me know. I really want a pet real bad! thanks for your help



~Katie age 14 Michigan~

 

[pamnock]

Hi Katie,

I did receive your PM and will respond to your posts later today, when I have some available time.

Without allergy testing, it's hard to tell if your mom will be allergicto a rabbit. Due to her other allergies, I would mostcertainly recommend going to an allergist. My 16 year olddaughter is not allergic to cats or dogs, but is highly allergic torabbits and horses. I have slight allergies to the rabbits.

Pam

 

[Carolyn]

I'm very allergic to cats and although rabbitswas 'taken off the list that I was tested for', my allergist tells methat cats and rabbits have very similar hair types as allerginsgo.I get shots every week for allergies, and takemedication, but it doesn't give much relief. I am allergic toso many things such as dust, dander, mold, pollen, horses, hay, etc.,that I can't blame it all on my rabbits. Even if it was, I'dstill have them, but that's my choice, not someone who is living withme to have to deal with.

I've had the shots for over a year, and it has yet to really stop all the symptoms.

-Carolyn

 

[pamnock]

Microscopically, cats have very dirty fur:? My daughter doesn't show any symptoms from her cat (whosleeps with her) -- but can't touch a bunn without showing obviousallergy symptoms (runny nose, very red, runny eyes). Horseshave the same effect on her.

Pam

 

[bluebird]

My mother is allergic to guinea pigs but not rabbits.bluebird

 

[Ty-bee]

I'm quite allergic to cats but not to mybunny. I am however also allergic to his hay. Buteveryone is different when it comes to allergies.

 

[Gabby]

my husband is highly allgeric to cats, but not torabbits. I was of the understand from the allgerist that if a personwas allgeric to horses they would be more hap to be allgeric torabbits. There wasn't a mention of cats and rabbits being in the samegroup though.

 

[pamnock]

Gabby -- that's very interesting.Horses and rabbits are the two animals that my daughters is severlyallergic to. (Maybe cavies also -- we haven't had them for a while, sonot sure). The cat, dog and chinchilla don't bother her atall.

Pam

 

[Gabby]

pamnock wrote:

Gabby -- that's very interesting. Horses andrabbits are the two animals that my daughters is severly allergic to.(Maybe cavies also -- we haven't had them for a while, so notsure). The cat, dog and chinchilla don't bother her at all.

Pam

i don't remember all the details it was 2-3 yrs ago... i justremember the buns and horses conment. One my close friends also wentthrough the asault of allgery tests as well as a couple co-workers,talk about pin cousions. as to the animal my friend isallgeric o, she is mildly allgeric to cats, and highlyallgeric to dogs, and i think she was fine with rabbits andhorses. she had 50 injections done at a time over a few weekstime. A series of 50 once a week.

 

[bunsforlife]

rabbits and horses are more closely related genetically then rabbits and rodents

Dunno if that has anything to do with allergies, but whoknows. Could also be the type of furs. My mom isallergic to my sisters Jack Russel, but has no problem with theirCorgi.

I am allergic to the hay, so during hay feeding time I am sniffling and snuffling like mad hehe.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

lol, I'm allergic to the hay, too. But my lastpassion was show jumping (horseback riding) and I was constantly at thebarn. I pretty much lived there, I even slept in a stall when I could,lol, along with my friends that is. Apparently allergies never deterredme because I spent half my time climbing on hay bales or feeding when Iwasn't cleaning out stalls or riding. Half the time I used to go homecovered in hives but it never really bugged me. I am also allergic tohorses, rabbits, dogs, and cats, although dogs effect me the least andrabbits effect me the most. I sometimes break out in hives if I hold mybunnies too long.

 

[Slynk]

Most allergies go away with exposure. I used tobe allergic to bee + wasp stings so that if I was stung I'd haveswelling for days. Now I just get p****d off. My mom used to beallergic to her pet rats but it went away after a while. She never usedto be allergic to the dog; but now that he lives with us she is.

 

[pamnock]

Slynk wrote:

Mostallergies go away with exposure. I used to be allergic to bee + waspstings so that if I was stung I'd have swelling for days. Now I justget p****d off. My mom used to be allergic to her pet rats but it wentaway after a while. She never used to be allergic to the dog; but nowthat he lives with us she is.

Some allergiesincrease with exposure, sometimeseverely. My daughter's rabbit allergies are becoming farworse and she has been frequently exposed to them over the past 15years.

Pam

 

[AnnaS]

I got an allergy to cats when I moved to Canada from Russia. It started about half a year after I came. Weird.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Slynk wrote:

Mostallergies go away with exposure. I used to be allergic to bee + waspstings so that if I was stung I'd have swelling for days. Now I justget p****d off. My mom used to be allergic to her pet rats but it wentaway after a while. She never used to be allergic to the dog; but nowthat he lives with us she is.

I beg to differ. My dad has allergies to many things, and no matter howmuch he is around them or eats things he's allergic to, it NEVER getsbetter, only worse. I have been around animals for about 5 years nowand my allergies have gotten nothing but worse over that period oftime. It's now to a point I can't go outside in the spring and bearound my rabbits because of pollen and the rabbits makes me go nutswith allergies. I have also been around hay for 5 years and i break outin hives a lot more frequently and severely as time passes.

 

[Ty-bee]

I'd have to disagree about being exposed causesthem to go away. I use to have a cat and while my allergies weren't asbad because he was in the house with me 24/7 he could still triggerthem. My allergy to hay use to be mild until I started dating my hubby(farm boy) and spent my summers helping them get the hay in. Just goinginto the pet store and touching the bags of hay gives me hives. Myneighbors have volunteered to feed Mr. Peabody to help ease my reactionbut I refuse. Thats when we bond a.k.a have our little chats. I dealwith the itching untilI can come shower and take my medicine.