Hilbert appears to again be having seasonal allergy problems but with
asthma involved this year. We do have access to an emergency hospital
which can x-ray his chest today in case of infection if he worsens.

Here is my general post to the Ferret Health List and Ferret Mailing
List and I would greatly appreciate *****INFO ON ASTHMA TREATMENTS*****
for ferrets from those who have treated asthma more aggressively since
our past experience includes one who controlled well enough with
Benedryl but not more severe asthma.

I think that we should watch him carefully also because sometimes
physical stress can create a need to increase the Fludrocort and
Prednisolone to avoid Addison Crisis.
                                  ---

Our highly allergic little guy began having problems that I noticed
yesterday on my return, exhausted from tending some family needs away.
(With Hilbert very quiet and *hidden* coughing would be in character
till it became impossible to hide, so is possible but not really likely
because he and Steve are so extremely close. What did show up in the
three days when I was away was that he was more clingy but that can
have a range of causes.)

Hilbert has a history of allergies. I don't know the timing for sure
but my notes to others on it seem to show that he has at least once,
perhaps as often as three times had his dermal allergies which can
also get secondary bacterial infections (once severe), and I see that
at *least one of those times it was just about now that it started*
so there may be a local pollen that nails him abut now. I am not
discounting that I might have accidently brought back something like a
pollen in some of Dad's things or on my clothing but the timing could
be a coincidence. I checked the NAB reports and the local pollens did
shift yesterday.

He was gagging so at first i thought it was his stomach, but neither
petroleum jelly for ingested fur, nor a bit of Carafate brought him any
relief. Then my brain finally kicked in a little and we tried a bit of
Benedryl (which he absolutely hates) and each time (twice) that he has
had Benedryl now he has felt and sounded so much better within 20
minutes that he could even play. Steaming him also brings relief. (I
use a clothing steamer with both of us getting steamed together.)

For night I was worried that perhaps Benedryl might not be good to give
so close to his Fludrocort and Prednisolone (both adrenals became very
inflamed from irritation when he had his bilateral hydronephrosis,
bladder diverticulum and cystine uroliths when young but the R had to
have vascular clamps so we are always aware that hormonal cortical
tissue might regrow from remnants though it hasn't yet). What I did
last night was I upped his Prednisolone to 0.4 mg from 0.2 mg. That
also brought enough relief for a while that he could sleep well.

We'll pick up a range of baby foods and we have AD so those will help
provide nutrition and fluids as soupy foods.

Here is part of yesterday's National Allergy Bureau report for this
area and here are the things that differ from earlier in it though with
our first hot spell there could be others: the level of grass pollen in
higher (but in the past he cleared up after about a month so unless it
is a specific grass I don't think grass is the likely problem unless he
has a new allergy)

> 3. Walnut, Butternut: 1/cubic meter
were not blooming before and there certainly are walnuts around here,
and there could be butternuts

>> 1. Plantain: 1/cubic meter
I've been told that the weed variant of Plantain is very common in the
neighboring swamp and it was not blooming earlier.

So, now we will be getting vet care while treating for allergy and
hoping there is no infection, secondary or otherwise. His axillary
nodes are up a bit but not hard and the others are not up. So far his
skin seems okay though he was a bit itchy before the Benedryl, but when
that happens it is a bit itchy for a while and then it just worsens
dramatically.

FERRET ASTHMA TREATMENT INFO (the ferret has the asthma not the people
reacting to him), ANYONE?

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5996]