Help I am allergic to my bun

[charliegirl]

I have had seasonal allergies  really bad this year and it took me a while to put two and two together. After a late night trip to the ER for  congestion and  shortness of breath the Dr  told me I have severe bronchitis caused by allergies and  I now have to follow up with my regular Dr  because he thinks  I have now developed asthma. And it seems like my Tokki bun is to blame. With this crazy weather we have been having he has been molting like crazy. When my daughter cleans his cage  it is like a big cloud of fur and I immediately start sneezing and coughing. I take allergy meds every day. 

My daughter brushes him daily and vacuums after to keep the fur down. I am also planning on getting an air purifier in the very near future. Does any one have any other suggestions on keeping the fur under control. Getting rid of him is not an option  I even want to consider. I am crazy in love with this sassy, ear flicking, zooming all over the house, cat lovin bunny of mine. Just  don’t tell him he is a bunny  he thinks he is one of the cats. 

[Bam]

That is just the loveliest picture!

I lint-roll my buns when they shed. I got the tip from a member here, and it works. I brush off what I can with a self-cleaning slicker, then I lint-roll the rest. Use a generic lint-roller, the name-brand types have better glue which is a disadvantage when lint-rolling a bunny. It works crazy well with my buns who both have normal lenght fur (I don’t think it’d be good for an angora or a lionhead). I haven had any fluff flying around my house since I started using a lint-roller on the buns. You will need many sheets of gluey paper though, but it’s worth it.

That said, severe allergies should be taken seriously, asthma is after all not a joke by any means. Are your doc sure it’s the bunny? It’s often the hay, esp timothy. You can try other types of grassy hay like orchard or oat hay.

[SpeedyTomato]

As someone with severe allergies (four prescription meds for these bad) first take the advice of the one above and check the hay first. it sets mine off horrifically. I have to be careful handling some of it or it makes them horrific. I have a kind now that doesn’t set them off as badly. If that isn’t the cause, there is a trick i use with my cats; fabric softener sheets. Most times it’s the dander from the fur, not the fur itself. Get the kind that are unscented and dye free and rub the bunny down with it. It shouldn’t hurt them (if someone knows if it does, tell me, please! Not my intent there). I’ve had to do this with my cats during the time of the year it’s the worst. Doesn’t bug them a bit and picks up the stray stuff. Even the used ones work well. Make sure you was everything well and talk to the doc about it. Mines adjusted mine for the animals as there is no shot i’m giving up my ‘kids’. There is also a life-saving product called a furminator. It works, trust me it does! you can get it for small animals and it does wonders. Just read the instructions very carefully for it. It cut down on my suffering with the cats immensely once i started using it.

[Sr. Melangell]

I had this problem, most bunny allergies are the hay, not the bunny himself, I had this problem, I was told I was allergic to bunnies, but I change the sawdust for blankets never had problems after that, I got Olly in March and he was allergic to all kinds of things so he has blankets instead of sawdust and a special hay we are both happy, I have little children telling me in tears that mummy will get rid of bunny because he makes him sneeze or cough, so I advise them to put hay cookies in the cage and blankets in the cage, seems to work.

[charliegirl]

I never though about the hay. I just bought a new bag yesterday and last night was the worst I had been.
I will definitely pick up a lint roller I had not thought about that or the dryer sheets. I will know more when I go to my regular Dr next week hopefully she will give me something stronger for the allergies I have just been taking claritin and zyrtec .

[Sr. Melangell]

Lovely Cat bunny, I’ve bought hay in the past and its made me sneeze or have asthma attacks, hay cookies are good there’s no dust in them.

[Eepster]

Often it’s not the bunny, it’s the hay.

My husband is allergic to timothy hay. We have to feed our bunny either orchard grass, or meadow hay. My husbands allergies aren’t too severe, so we do get away with timothy based pellets, but since yours sound so severe, that may even be a problem for you.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve heard people with allergies have had success with using Orchard Grass instead of Timothy Hay.

[LBJ10]

I would definitely try to rule out the possibility that it’s the hay and not necessarily the bunny. Or maybe you’ll find you’re allergic to both, but with one gone it’s manageable.

[Vienna Blue in France]

THAT photo is just lovely – it says a thousand words.

(And proves a point that you don’t necessarily need a “pair” of bonded “bunnies” for them to be happy LOL – just look at his face – he is in heaven !)

Fingers crossed that it is the hay that sets you off.
I have no respiratory problems but I did have a dodgy pack of hay last year which gave me reeeeally scratchy arms and spots on torso for a month before I realised what it was….! So you never know. Ggggrrr.

PS – those cats look really unhappy too !! :o))))

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