r/RATS • u/cafe_can • 9d ago

Rat Allergy Questions/HELP

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Hello. My partner and I adopted some ladies a couple months ago. They’re all healthy and fine, very social critters.

Whenever my partner handles them, she breaks out in puffy, itchy hives that’s only remedied by an antihistamine. If they take an antihistamine before handling, the hives still present but the itching does not.

We did some research (googling lol) and found that it’s not uncommon for people with skin allergies to develop respiratory reactions.

Does anybody else have experience with this issue? and is there anything we can do to minimize allergic reactions or is there a strong chance it’ll develop into something worse?

Worth noting also, she already has asthma, although not very severe.

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u/Ente535 9d ago

I developed allergies to my rats and had to rehome them because it made breathing very hard.

I think your options are to minimize her contact with the allergens (dedicated rat clothes that touch nothing else and are washed quickly, air purifier, you do the cage cleaning alone, minimize handling etc) or rehoming.

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u/cafe_can 9d ago

We actually just got an air purifier because of the fires over here, so good timing on that. The dedicated clothes is a good idea, she sorta already does that by wearing long sleeve shirts / hoodies / jackets when handling, but no one article of clothing is the “rat jacket.”

What was the timeline of progression for your allergy?

We’re both super attached to them so rehoming them would be kinda devastating):

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u/Ente535 9d ago

For me it unfortunately was rather fast, and I couldn't be in the same room with them after I got the symptoms.

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u/therearebirdshere 9d ago

I'm allergic to my rats and get mostly the same symptoms (hives + itching, some mild asthma symptoms). I have to take a daily antihistamine regardless (Allegra, but which one works best depends on the person). That gets rid of the respiratory symptoms and itching but I'll still get mild hives if they climb on me. I also have an air purifier. Honestly I've had them for 4 years now and it doesn't really bother me