hedgehog allergy, who has one?

[fantapants]

when i started keeping APH i noticed that extended periods of time handling them would laed to a rash developing on my fingers and palms. i have persevered with it and it almost vannished over the summer when i was on very, very strong antihistamines and steroids. Now i am off the meds and my allergy has been getting worse and worse. I just picked up each hedgy to weight them....i use a dustpan and a bowl to move them to minimalise contact. but it still didnt help. i dont even remember touching them but my entire right hand has come up in welts and my finger and thumb swelled pretty badly. its going down now but only after a double dose of AHs.

anybody else suffer like this? any advice? i am going to have to start wearing gloves as my OH has said if it gets worse i have to rehome them.

[Shell195]

When I first got Elvis I used to come up in a rash when I handled him but thankfully it went away with time. I always thought it was the spines pricking that did it but maybe Im wrong
Im sure someone else on here gets some kind of rash but I cant remember who

[felix93]

Yes my hands all flare up badly when I handle one, the rashes last for at least a week. Now I just don't handle mine, I passed all the heggies to my son. But I do clean them out everyday, I only use newspapers to put down for them, so all I do is to roll up the newspapers, wipe with damp sponge and wash their wheels and that's it.

[Philldan]

Try bathing them.... I react, but it's not as severe after they've been bathed so I just base their bath times upon when my hands flare up!!

[fantapants]

Originally Posted by felix93

Yes my hands all flare up badly when I handle one, the rashes last for at least a week. Now I just don't handle mine, I passed all the heggies to my son. But I do clean them out everyday, I only use newspapers to put down for them, so all I do is to roll up the newspapers, wipe with damp sponge and wash their wheels and that's it.

well thats a bit like mine. but mine has gotten worse over time. i am allergic to all sorts of weird stuff but i never thought hedgehogs would be on the list. the itchiness is still there and the swelling has gone own but its still bloody ugly to look at. and if it gets any worse i am going to have to get somebody else in to look after my hogs.

[Animal-Encounters]

Warning yuck factor:.........i had to same thing with mine, my little finger swelled up not long after i got him. It started in little red marks and within a week it had covered the whole of my little finger with blisters then they went a yellowy green. After a while it cleared up and then the same thing happened a few months later...now the bad news- it was ring worm. The doctor confirmed it for me and a visit to the vets showed my boy had it. It took months to treat him and the poor guy had to endure loads of medicine and sprays. It wasnt too bad a quick cream and it was gone forever. The doctor told me it looks very similar to an allergic reaction in some people so is very reg misdiagnosed as not all people show a blister yelo/green rash many just have a slight soreness. Speaking to the vet he says he is not suprised as he said he sees about 5 hogs a week with it and he is sure they all have it to some degree! I was shocked as thought it was something very rare but apparently not what the expert told me!

[Shell195]

Originally Posted by Animal-Encounters

Warning yuck factor:.........i had to same thing with mine, my little finger swelled up not long after i got him. It started in little red marks and within a week it had covered the whole of my little finger with blisters then they went a yellowy green. After a while it cleared up and then the same thing happened a few months later...now the bad news- it was ring worm. The doctor confirmed it for me and a visit to the vets showed my boy had it. It took months to treat him and the poor guy had to endure loads of medicine and sprays. It wasnt too bad a quick cream and it was gone forever. The doctor told me it looks very similar to an allergic reaction in some people so is very reg misdiagnosed as not all people show a blister yelo/green rash many just have a slight soreness. Speaking to the vet he says he is not suprised as he said he sees about 5 hogs a week with it and he is sure they all have it to some degree! I was shocked as thought it was something very rare but apparently not what the expert told me!

Ive seen and and handled some of the hogs in question and they had no symptoms of ringworm at all, in fact they were stunning healthy specimens
I really think this is just an allergic reaction

[animal addict]

I get a prickly red rash esp if they stay in one position for a long time thankfully I have learnt to ignore the itchiness and it has gotten better - as philldan suggests try bathing them may lessen the reaction. Lots of people seems to get itchy rash type skin esp in the beginning but it usually gets better in lots of cases. Its often the spines pushing dander into our skin that causes the reaction. I guess some people like yourself just have more severe reactions than others which doesnt get better

Ringworm is a fungal infection - lots of animals can be carriers but hedgies certainly dont all have it to certain degrees - we'd all have ringworm otherwise as its highly contagious - there have been cases where hedgies have had ringworm but its usually bad imports that havent been quaranteened properly or passed from another source -say between cat/dog - human - hedgie kinda thing - Ringworm often initially shows up as a raised red itchy circle on the skin and it wont go away without anti-fungal treatment - the lesions etc is usually only at the later stages and more commonly on the scalp or in facial hair. It can be a nightmare to get rid of!!

[fantapants]

Originally Posted by Animal-Encounters

Warning yuck factor:.........i had to same thing with mine, my little finger swelled up not long after i got him. It started in little red marks and within a week it had covered the whole of my little finger with blisters then they went a yellowy green. After a while it cleared up and then the same thing happened a few months later...now the bad news- it was ring worm. The doctor confirmed it for me and a visit to the vets showed my boy had it. It took months to treat him and the poor guy had to endure loads of medicine and sprays. It wasnt too bad a quick cream and it was gone forever. The doctor told me it looks very similar to an allergic reaction in some people so is very reg misdiagnosed as not all people show a blister yelo/green rash many just have a slight soreness. Speaking to the vet he says he is not suprised as he said he sees about 5 hogs a week with it and he is sure they all have it to some degree! I was shocked as thought it was something very rare but apparently not what the expert told me!

thanks for the advice but i know its an allergic reaction. i am *lucky* enough to have reactions too......soap powder (daz and ariel).....rubber gloves.....latex......PVA glue.......starch......deep heat......penicillin....bananas...... the list goes on and on. and sadly, once a reaction starts to soemthing itdoesnt get better, every time i am exposed to it it gets worse. antihistamines reliev it on a temporary basis but it takes days to calm down.

so. gardening gloves it is.

[Animal-Encounters]

Originally Posted by Shell195

Ive seen and and handled some of the hogs in question and they had no symptoms of ringworm at all, in fact they were stunning healthy specimens
I really think this is just an allergic reaction

Sorry hope i havent offended anyone. I just wanted to share my experiences. My guy looked amazing and was totally perfect spines and even his skin under the spines looked fab. not dry/flakey etc and no discolouration. it was only when the vet put him under black light he glowed up like a christmas tree. and funnily enough in my case my children had handled him and my hubby just as much as me but i was the only one who caught it. guess i was lucky it was just me and noone else x