Just my luck...

[angllady2]

Been there honey, done that.

I am severely allergic to rats. Not mice, not hamsters, not gerbils, not ASF, not guinea pigs, not rabbits, but rats. Every time I hold one, where the claws touch me I get itchy red bumps. Sometimes they go away in an hour or so, sometimes not for a few days if they actually scratch me.

Wanna know something really weird ? Babies don't affect me. Not until they hit about 6 weeks old. I can play with little rat pups, they climb all over me, scratch me with their tiny claws, and it doesn't faze me. Once they hit 6 weeks old, the allergy kicks in.

Worse than that, I get what feels like I imagine an asthma attack must feel like when I clean the tubs. My eyes water, my nose clogs up, then my throat closes off. I cough and gag and wheeze. Once or twice when it is particularly bad, my husband thought he was going to have to take me to the hospital because I simply could NOT breathe. Now I got smart. I wear a simple surgical mask when I clean, and have no problems. So whatever causes it is airborne.

My best advice if you have to handle the rats ? Benadryl. You can buy the generic stuff cheap as water at Wal-Mart. Take one about 15 minutes before heading into the rodent room and it will cut the hives down a LOT.

Gale