Allergy's starting to show.

[Rageace]

hi guys, its been almost to 3 years since i had my chin, and allergys have started to show... i even changed the dust bath to something less dusty but its affecting my chins fur as it looks clumpy even after the dust bath and its still affecting me... i started to have difficulty breathing even then sneezing, coughing and my eyes watering and it seems that my throat feels swollen. it takes a half a day or one day to get better again. I then bought surgical mask and use it whenever i clean the cage now its been reduced to just normal sneezing and i'll be okay after 10 to 15 min away from my chin's cage.

I love my chin and i cant bear to give it away.. i can live with buying surgical masks now and then...but something much worst happened..

so i would like to ask here since i cant get any website to tell me whats wrong with me so the main issue is..

I always play with my chin and today after i play with it my forearms started to get very itchy as my chin was laying and running around my forearms. then some patches of my skin started to have mosquito like bite marks the kind that is circular and swollen but its more than one its a few in certain patches.. anyone have got advice for me ? does sending it for grooming helps ? just want to know whether its me allergic to my chinchilla or me allergic to the dust/hay/urine

1. i cleaned the cage 4 days ago
2. i played with it before it dust bathed.

 

[Sandi]

Try taking an antihistamine/decongestant (allergy pill). Some need to build up into your immune system for them to start to work. Unless you live in a high humidity area, I would limit dustbaths to once per week. When you play with your chin do it before you give it a dustbath and wear long sleeves.

 

[Spoof]

It sounds like your immune system is going into overdrive because you are being exposed to too much of something.

Sometimes it is just that your room has collected too much dust (and mites) over the 3 years and you really need to get the carpets cleaned. Sometimes it is something else.

I'd do exactly that - clean the carpet if it is carpet, get a Hepa type filter if you can for the area your chin is in. Quit using dust, use baking soda or baking powder (or if you have a dry brick of sculpter's clay this works great too). Quit using hay for a bit, just give the chin pellets and whatever treats you currently give.

Change the litter to a litter pan in the corner. You can put anything in it you want though I would recommend fleece to knock out pine.

This will rule out your chin.

What I've seen happen is that someone develops an allergy to something and their immune system starts working overtime. This allergy can be to completely unrelated, like cheese. Then you get into something that might have given you a mild or no reaction (like a chin scratch) and your immune system just freaks out because it's already attacking itself.

This is how I discovered my wheat allergy. It was making me super sensitive to things I've been around for 30 years. It took a lot of trial and error and thankfully I am back to normal with no reactions to anything except gluten based items.

Hopefully this will help you find the root cause of your new symptoms. Good luck! )

 

[Godofgods]

I no how u feel spoof. After i was injured my immune system hit dirt. I became allergic to smoke. Which cant be treated other then not being near it. It also makes the immune system even weaker. I started having reaction to everything. Even things i no I'm not allergic to. Lota fun'

As for what rag mentioned. I can relate to that as well. I had most of the same issues. Having allergic problems with hay and dust. And when my chins ran on my arms they would get all itchy and what not. Its a pain.

For me, i only give them dust baths once a week. I do so in the evening when nearing bed time. Give them their dust then go lay down in my room. Come out later to remove it. I also wear dust masks. And once their done sand bathing, i crack up the air filter in front of their cage a bit. Usually by the time morning comes, its all outa the air so i can breath normally. Since i don't reuse sand, i also place the left over in a plastic bag and tie it off, rather then just dumping it in the trash can.

I also use the dust mask for cleaning the cage and feeding them their hay. Overall it does help allot.

It sounds like your immune system is going into overdrive because you are being exposed to too much of something.

What I've seen happen is that someone develops an allergy to something and their immune system starts working overtime. This allergy can be to completely unrelated, like cheese. Then you get into something that might have given you a mild or no reaction (like a chin scratch) and your immune system just freaks out because it's already attacking itself.

That can also be very true as i mentioned earlier. To give you an idea of how inconspicuous the trigger can be, i mentioned that i developed 'smoke allergies'. Causing my to have bad allergic reactions to things. This got progressively worse over time. It took a year or two to realize it, but do the the allergy problems, i was blowing my noise a LOT. So much that i started to become allergic to tissues. (talk about one of the worse things to be allergic to) Have allergies, blow nose. But if you blow nose, it will get a lot worse.

So it really can be some strange triggers. You might want to make some mental notes of times their bad and what you've done recently.

 

[Chin_Pig]

I am allergic to a LOT of things, chinchillas and guinea pigs are among the highest. I am taking immunotherapy (allergy shots) for all of my mold, mildew, pollen, and animal allergies. But this company doesn't test for or add chinchilla and guinea pig dander to its tests and cocktails. I take Zyrtec after trying MANY other allergy meds prescribed by my ENT Dr. Zyrtec worked the best for me but everybody is different. I cannot really say if the immunotherapy has helped because I still need to take Zyrtec for my critters. I gotta say preparing for show season I feel like crap and my deviated septum causes sinus infections alot and during shows I'm doped up on Benadryl.... I 'deal' with my allergies because I'm stubborn and LOVE my animals and showing.

 

[Godofgods]

I am allergic to a LOT of things, chinchillas and guinea pigs are among the highest. I am taking immunotherapy (allergy shots) for all of my mold, mildew, pollen, and animal allergies. But this company doesn't test for or add chinchilla and guinea pig dander to its tests and cocktails. I take Zyrtec after trying MANY other allergy meds prescribed by my ENT Dr. Zyrtec worked the best for me but everybody is different. I cannot really say if the immunotherapy has helped because I still need to take Zyrtec for my critters. I gotta say preparing for show season I feel like crap and my deviated septum causes sinus infections alot and during shows I'm doped up on Benadryl.... I 'deal' with my allergies because I'm stubborn and LOVE my animals and showing.

wow... for a second their i thought i was reading my own post. Sounds familiar' lol

 

[Chin_Pig]

The lady that does my immunotherapy shots says your allergies can change from year to year. I am on year 2 of my shots and they re-tested my allergies and a few were different. But the day I found out I was allergic to cats and the day I found out I was allergic to horses were both devastating days for me (I was like 9 or 10 and those were my most favorite animals ever) My friend had a cat and we played with it every day I was at her house, I would stay at her house for many days at a time and never had an issue then one day I came over and buried my face in the cat like I always did and it looked like someone punched me in the eye, completely swelled shut. :C same with horses was fine till one day.....

 

[Godofgods]

similar here. I was tested before starting my shots. I had to stop them a few months in tho due to insurance running out. Two or so years later i went back, and they had to retest me. I was surprised at a lot of the differences. I used to be allergic to cat, now its saying I'm not. And on the other side, i used to have to food allergies, now its saying i have one to soy bean 0.o

 

[Cuddlebug]

I got stung by bees countless times as a kid (shoes and I have a mutual hate for each other). I would just sit down, pull out the stinger and go my happy little way. No biggie. When I was 20, I got stung in the big toe. the whole toes swelled and felt like it was on fire. It went away in a couple of days, then 2 weeks later I got stung on a different toe. My leg swelled from the knee down. It took six weeks of treatment with benadryl for the swelling to go away and stay away. My doctor told me that I needed to stay away from bees, because I am now allergic and there is no telling how bad the next reaction will be. He also told me that you can become allergic to anything at anytime in your life.

 

[greychins]

I would try switching either to fleece or to a different type of bedding, maybe carefresh. I've run into several people who adopted a chin and then couldn't tolerate the pine. I would see if that's the problem first. If it isn't, maybe the dust? I know there's something (I can't think of what, someone else chime in here) that people use who are horribly allergic to the dust, maybe you could use that?

Other than that, I would agree with everyone else, have the carpets cleaned if possible. When I lived in an apartment and had the chins with me, my allergies felt so much better in the days after the carpet was cleaned.

 

[Godofgods]

I would try switching either to fleece or to a different type of bedding, maybe carefresh.

i wouldnt reccomend carefresh personaly. Not only the potential health risk, but it is signiffacently more expencive. Where im at the price has risen to the point where one bag, (which might last one change) is like 20-30 dollars. 0.o
So i stick to my aspen wood shavings.

 

[Chin_Pig]

i use yesterdays new which can get dust at the end of the bag but i like it a lot. my issue is mainly dust of any kind even dust mites! ewww!!!!