Forums » Smalltalk » AMA - Allergy to furry animals

I'll be honest, I struggled to think of anything "unique" about myself but realized that there is one thing that sets me apart from everyone I know;
I am allergic to all furry animals. Cats, dogs, guinnea pigs, horses, even hedgehogs! Anything with fur.

I picked this as a topic because it is something I've realized people generally know little about and also think very little about, so I thought it might be neat to simply remind and spread awareness that there are those of us that can't bury our faces in the pelts of the family dog or make besties with the neighbour cat, eventhough we may want to.

So! Ask away. There is a lot I could say but figured I'd let you all ask what's on your mind haha!

Ooh, I have some family members who have this and it is really hard. What is the level of severity of your allergies?

When I was younger it swelled my throat to a point that it stopped my breathing. Now it is better, but if I continue to expose myself it starts constricting my throat and I get this "wheezing" when I breathe. It also depends on the animal - interestingly enough guinnea pigs are the absolute DEATH of me haha!

If I just encounter the animal for a short while or am in a place with some fur but no actual animal, I might start to sneeze a bit but other than that I'll be fine

EDIT: It affects me the most if I touch the animal with my bare skin or have them close to my face.

Do you ever break down and "cheat" when you see a cute dog, and pet it anyway?

No, but I let cats stroke against my leg if they want to and let dogs sniff me just to show them I'm no danger etc. But I never pet any animal, no. There was one time many years ago when I met a really friendly golden retriever who I let lick my hand but it was right outside of my house and I immediately went inside and washed it after haha! Worth it though.

Do you ever have problems with ordering things online, like say from etsy? Do you need to contact the seller to make sure they are a no pets household?

No no that has never been an issue actually! It seems to mostly be direct contact or if I am in a closed space where an animal is/has been a lot. Well, that and also when I am near really smelly barns Horses and guinnea pigs are what I am most allergic to so they can make my throat tickle if I just smell them honestly. If I ever buy second-hand clothes etc I always wash them first regardless who or where I bought them from so that has never been an issue either.

Do you take medication or need injections? My kid had pretty severe allergies to outdoor things and animals. She had to take injections several times a week for a couple of years.

I'm really sorry to hear that! I have a medicine I can take that lets me be around animals with no/ little reaction to them, but I only use it when I know for sure I am going to be around animals for a while (like visiting family or friends etc) as the medicine makes me lethargic. It doesn't work on all animals though, I notice I still react to some cats and guinnea pigs despite taking the medicine so it isnt faultproof. When I was younger I had inhalers as I also had asthma, but I no longer have those as my asthma disappeared with age.

Does this ever create issues with visiting family members for more than a couple of hours?

Yes and no. My medicine works for 24 hrs, then I need to take it again. I can do that continuously but the more I do, the more I feel fatigued/lethargic etc so I prefer not to, but technically I could stay over at their place for the night without problem. That being said, even if I do take the medicine I can sometimes have a reaction anyway if I sleep in a bed or on a couch that has a lot of cat hair on it for example, so it's important that I have clean sheets etc and don't have the animal in my face. Usually if I have taken my medicine and have a reaction like that it's nothing serious and I mostly just get an annoying itch in my eyes hah