Over the Counter antihistimines?

[Bettacreek]

I've probably spelled that wrong, but I'm too lazy to check a dictionary. Anyways, I'm "allergic" to mice and rats, but I'm setting up colonies for breeding. I also have asthma, so, if there are mice/rats in the house, I have problems breathing. Anyways, cutting aspen bedding out of the picture helps (I'm also allergic to aspen, go figure), but, are there any over the counter drugs that help with allergies? This post makes me sound extremely frail, but, honestly, I'm not, I just have numerous "lovely" problems with breathing. Anyways, the only one that I can think of is benedryl, but has anyone had any luck with it, or are there any others out there?

[SatanicIntention]

Asking your doctor would be the wisest thing. Diphenhydramine(benadryl) is a good one to use but can make people either drowsy or hyper. Chlorpheniramine(ChlorTabs generic) works great and doesn't cause drowsiness. One pill every 4-6 hours works well. Loratidine(Claritin generic) is also a really good one, as is Zyrtec(no generic, is expensive).

All work well!

[jknudson]

I have cat and small animal dander allergies, and dusty wood beddings bother me, so I can feel your pain. I use prescription Allegra or the generic, but it works really well for me. I have also used OTC Claritin with success. Benadryl makes me drowzy, even the non-drowzy... so I don't take that.

[tigerlily]

I'm not all that fragile either, but I have allergies and asthma to the rats, mice and dust as well. So you probably know the key to it is to catch it before it starts. Take meds well in advance to working with animals. I like Zyrtec myself. 1 pill lasts 24 hours, LOVE IT! But I also wear a dust mask when I'm cleaning cages. It makes a huge difference, even if I look like a total dork. (well more than normal anyway )

[Bettacreek]

"But I also wear a dust mask when I'm cleaning cages. It makes a huge difference, even if I look like a total dork."

I don't know why I never thought about that. Lol. I'd rather look like a dork than sneeze for ten minutes straight like a bigger dork. Lol.
I think I'm going to check into one of the 24 hour ones, because simply having them in our home is bothering me (and we only have 5 mice that are cleaned every day to every other day). Plus, the 24 hour ones are hopefully less likely to cause drowsiness (I cannot use non-drowsy, as it makes me feel like I was just drugged with ten pounds of speed). Thanks guys, I'll update when I find the one that works for me.
I'm also glad to know that I'm not the only one that has these "problems" yet still keeps the "offending" animals in the house. Lol.

[SatanicIntention]

Just a small tidbit, cleaning those mice everyday is going to make them stink more. When I clean my mice, their tubs get dumped but not wiped out. Wiping their scent out makes them re-mark it, which then makes the tub reek. My mice get cleaned once a week, using a small amount of pelleted pine with aspen on top, and they just smell musky to me. That's just what I've found works for me, and may work for you.

[kc261]

Since you'll be living in the house, going with one of the ones that you take 1 a day and it supposedly protects you round the clock is probably a good idea, if it works for you. I will say that my success with those hasn't been that great. I still have terrible allergies when certain pollens are in season, and almost none the rest of the year, so I've stopped taking allergy medicine because I didn't see the point of taking it year round when most of the time I didn't need it and it didn't seem to help when I did.

Also, wearing a dust mask when working in the cages and/or washing up thoroughly afterwards can help a lot. "Washing up" to eliminate allergies means a lot more than just your hands. Depending on just how bad your reactions are, try any or all of the following and see which ones help the most: change clothes, wash hands up to elbows, wash face, flush eyes with saline solution, use a saline nasal spray and blow nose thoroughly, shower. For me, when those certain pollens come in season, washing my face and flushing my eyes with saline several times a day seems to help more than any of the drugs I've tried.

Another possibility, but I'd get this one cleared by a doctor or pharmacist first, is that apparently for occasional usage, it is ok to double up with 2 different antihistamines. I was told benadryl and claritin are ok to use together, but don't take them at the same time. So for example, take the claritin at night, but its effects should last 24 hours, then take the benadryl during the day as needed. So if cage cleaning day is really bad for you, this might be an option.

[python.princess]

Zyrtec(no generic, is expensive).

Actually it does come in generic now. I think we've had it in our store for about a month now. I would try either that or loratadine (generic Claritin)

[tigerlily]

You may also want to consider a hepa air filter for that particular room as well.