>I can barely change out their bedding because of the serious effect
>it has on me...
>
>I know that excessuve bathing often generates more oil production and
>I'm pretty sure it's the oil that I am allergic to.

Sounds like dust mites to me.

You need to initiate a top to bottom cleanup of your whole house.

Ferrets, as I'm sure you're aware, get into, under, and on top of
everything. The little dust mites love them, as they provide a
never-ending source of food.

Of course the mites end up in the bedding, where they eat and poop
(it's the poop from the dust mites which cause the allergic reaction).

Bathing the ferts probably ADDS to the problem: as they get greasy,
more mites will stick to them.

Of course you can't do a whole house cleanup in a day, or even a week,
but why not let the ferrets be your guide?

Start cleaning in the most remote place where they go and hide. Vacuum,
vacuum, vacuum -- even if it's under a bookcase in the far hall.
Chances are that's where the most dead skin, dust mites and food for
same are living -- and breeding!

Once that's cleaned out, follow the little guys around to their SECOND
favorite hidey-hole, and clean that out too.

Make a game out of it, even if you have to take an antihistamine every
four hours.

Follow your furrkids around and clean up... Mine are intrigued by a
vacuum, and I'd bet even a DustBuster gets 80% of the mites and the
food they live on.

You'll eventually get back to their bedding, which you clean and start
the cycle over again.

It'll take a few cycles of following them around and vacuuming,
vacuuming, vacuuming -- it might take a month! But it will be a daily
fun-time for them, and I bet 10:1 your allergies will subside if you
just play the vacuum game.

Jim

[Posted in FML 5722]