I tried to respond by private e-mail since I wasn't sure if I wanted this
blasted off to 2000+ people or whatever our membership is, but it bounced
more then once.
 
Still, I wanted bwilliam to see this, and maybe it will help someone else.
[Moderator's note: Thanks for posting -- I'm sure it can help others too,
and that's what the FML is all about :-)  BIG]
 
Hi bwilliam!
 
Yeah, me too and its a bummer.  I have a skin allergy to ferret oils, which
is terrible, cause I love my ferrets and didn't have any symptoms until
having ferrets for 6 or so months.
 
Because I won't give up my ferrets, my solution is wash my hands very
throughly - and face too after handling them.  Face because when I have
the oils on my hands and touch my face, spots get red and itchy.  I also
use cortisone creme, over the counter stuff, twice a day, to deal with the
worst of the effects and use a lot of lotion - a lotion barrier somehow
keeps the oils from irritating my skin.
 
Honestly, I'm totally against people getting pets and then dumping them
and giving them to a shelter BUT I think your situation, if not easily
overcome, is why ferret shelters exist - and if you had to place your
little girl, well its the right thing, because often allergies don't show
up right away.
 
Ann
[Posted in FML issue 2530]