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]