Here's an interesting (and potentially devasting) question: are humans commonly allergic to ferrets? My girlfriend and I bought our first ferret 2 months ago, and for the first month had absolutely no problems. She handled it constantly and had no apparent reaction. We also have indoor/outdoor cats, and have to do some routine flea control, so when we noticed that the Weasel was beginning to acquire fleas, we began adding a _weak_ solution of pyrethrins to his bath water. We also treat the carpets every spring with pyrethrins and flea juvenile hormone analog. On the day following the first bath, Karen (the girlfriend) developed a swelling and rash under one of her eyes, which has steadily worsened over the last month and now looks NASTY. After 10 days or so, the other eye developed similar symptoms and her lips became swollen and chronically chapped. Initially, she assumed that she was allergic to the ferret and stopped handling him, or washing her hands after handling him, and used some topical cortisone ointment on the affected area, which began to heal, but then worsened again. Her doctor confirmed that it is an allergic reaction to _something_, and is treating it as such, but it is apparent that she is still exposed to whatever is entering her system (presumably by going into solution on the wet surface of her eyes). As I said, the symptoms are not pretty and are painful as well. Our guess is that the two prime candidates are the Weasel and the pyrethrin insecticide, but both possiblities seem odd. Karen and I have both owned cats for years, and although I have some minor respiratory reactions to them (thank God for Seldane...) Karen has _never_ had any previous allergies to any animals, as far as she knows. And since our cats go in and out freely, she has undergone periodic exposure to pyrethrins for several years as well, with no ill effects. The sudden and violent nature of the reaction, with no apparent conditioning period, or at least none with lessor symptoms, also strikes us as odd, more like a drug reaction than a pet allergy-- except that it is prolonged, probably by constant exposure to whatever she is reacting to. We no longer add pyrethrin flea dip to the ferret's bath water, but have substituted a regular flea shampoo that we rinse out thoroughly to ensure that there is no residual on the Weasel's fur, and Karen is undergoing systemic anti-histamine and topical anti-inflammatory treatment, with some early improvement in her eyes, but the larger question remains. We have already treated the carpets this year, however. We would like to add to our ferret family, but can't until we figure out whether Karen is allergic to them. Has anyone else ever had (or heard of) a similar experience? Puzzled in Georgia.... Michael Camann [log in to unmask] Department of Entomology [log in to unmask] University of Georgia (706) 542-2303 voice Athens, GA 30602 (706) 542-2640 FAX [Posted in FML issue 1204]