I suffer from allergies myself, although not directly from animals that
I'm aware of.  I think it has more to do with the climate and pollin in
my area (California) because when we lived in the south I didn't have
allergies this bad and my sinuses were not nearly so dried out as they
are since we moved here.  A lot of people who have moved to California
from other states develop the same problem due to the dryer weather
conditions and things that grow around here.
 
My 6 year old daughter suffers from even worse allergies than I do,
sneezing and coughing a lot, runny nose and congestion half of the time
it seems like.  My husband has asthma so I'm sure that does not help
matters any.  She had this problem before we brought any pets in to our
home, but it does seem to get worse at times when she holds animals.  We
currently have two rats and two kittens which I recently rescued who
were strays.  Sometimes she holds the rats and is fine, but other times
she gets tiny red bumps on her chest or arms, etc..  wherever the rats
touched her skin.  It fades very quickly and doesn't happen every time,
so I don't think we neccesarily need to get rid of them.  There is no
way she would want to part with them anyway, so it is not even an option
to us.
 
I have also noticed that since I brought the kittens home two weeks ago
or less she got the same type of tiny reddish bumps on her cheek after
she hugged one of the kittens and held it up to her face.  So I have told
her not to hold them by her face anymore and not to kiss them.  I
personally don't want her to kiss their fur anyway because I don't think
it's very sanitary, but that's just me.  I love animals a lot, but I
don't want an animal to lick me on the mouth right after it has licked
it's own bottom!  lol  But a kiss on the hand is fine.  :)
 
I told my daughter's doctor about her allergy problems to see what the
cause of it was and to see what we could do to help her symptoms (this
was before we had the animals just to clarify), but her doctor simply
handed me some unscented hand lotion and some natural soap without
perfume and that was it!  The next time I asked her doctor about her
allergies she simply gave me a free sample of flonaze nasal spray.
*sighs* So needless to say we still don't completely know the cause of
her allergy problem and can only speculate.  I'm going to take her to a
specialist soon and find her a better doctor.
 
I do know that she had the problem before the animals came in to our
home, but still can't deny that the animals may contribute to her problem
since the bumps only appear after she holds them when they come in
contact with her skin.  In our situation we have chosen to keep our pets,
but I don't think anyone should condemn another person if they decide to
not keep their pets if having them is affecting the health and quality of
one's life.  It can affect the ferret's quality of life as well if the
person who has them is unable to hold them and give them much attention
because it makes them sick to do so.  So you must consider what is best
for the ferret, too.  Maybe some are better off in new homes?  If it
weren't for the "rescue" ferrets many of you would not have your fuzzies,
so count your blessings instead of judging someone for giving up their
ferret.
 
I don't think it's irresponsible to find a good home for your pet if
all other possibilities have been considered and you don't see another
way.  Things do happen sometimes.  People get sick; people die; people
sometimes lose a job and have to move across the country and can't take
their animals where they are going, etc... You just never know what
someone else might be going through, so it's not fair to judge.  I knew a
woman where I used to live who would get horribly sick from the slightest
smell of perfume, even body lotions, make up, house cleaners,animals,
etc... She had to sit in a room in the back of our church by herself away
from everyone just to endure being there and she didn't go to social
functions much that I know of.  Some people really do have bad side
effects from exposure to animals and different things.  To say otherwise
is a bit ignorant, because this is a real problem for many people.
Some of us can tolerate it better than others when we have allergies,
but others can't.  I really don't understand some of the incredibly
judgemental people on this list.  Unless you have walked a mile in
someone else's shoes please don't judge them.  Just my .02 worth.  Take
it or leave it, but please don't flame me because I won't read it if it
sounds rude at all.  :)
[Posted in FML issue 4000]