For those who have mentioned problems with allergies, I might offer a possible
palliative which I won't guarantee will work, but there's enough biological
background to suggest it'll help at least *some*....plain old vitamin E.
(Actually, "vitamin E" consists of several related tocopherols which all get
lumped as one.) There's enough information in the biomedical literature to
suggest that vitamin E blunts the inflammatory response of the immune system.
And I ran across an article recently that suggested vitamin E supplements
work in some people with inflammatory conditions of the skin (xeroderma, etc).
Whether it would work in folks allergic to ferrets or other pets, I don't
know, but at least vitamin E is inexpensive and I don't know if it has much
toxicity at all in humans. (I wouldn't recommend giving ferrets vitamin E
without know how they metabolize or store it, which could be different than
in humans.) It is certainly not toxic as are some of the fat-soluble vitamins
(A & D). I've taken it for its antioxidant effects and although this is anec-
dotal, I am unreactive to all major allergens on scratch tests (and when my
ferret scratches *me*) and almost unreactive to histamine. Of course, I could
just be nonallergic so I can't prove cause and effect, but it's biologically
plausible. The only adverse effect I could find is that in high doses vitamin
E can also inhibit platelet clumping, so blood clotting takes longer. Those
with allergies might want to try taking a 400 IU capsule a day for a month
and try to find an objective way to determine if your symptoms are better,
such as using fewer tissues per day.
   Disclaimer: I work for a drug company (Glaxo-Wellcome) but they don't
make vitamin E to my knowledge. All suggestions are my own.
   --Jeff Johnston ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1281]