# My Skin Turns Red After Playing With My Ratties...



## RainOnRahoon (Dec 17, 2012)

So, I have been noticing lately that I get a bit itchy after handling my rats. And today was the worst. I had my oldest out, and she was crawling all over me, as usual. But I had to put her back in the cage after a fairly short amount of time, because my neck and arms were itching to the point that it hurt. And when I looked in the mirror, they were bright red, and I could see every little scratch from her nails (not that she was actually scratching me any more than her usual walking around on me, just from where her nails touched my skin). Has anybody ever experienced something similar? And is there anything I can do to prevent it? I've had my oldest for a year and a half, and my youngest for just a few months, and I've never had this problem before. And I don't want to have to stop playing with my babies.


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## haunt (Sep 9, 2012)

Yes, you're allergic to your rats.
I used to have a roomate who had two rats, and as much as she loved them, it was often difficult for her to handle them for extended amounts of time.
I would suggest taking a benedryl before holding your rats, or finding a lotion that helps soothe the itching. :S


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Lots of people are allergic to their urine/saliva, which gets into your skin when they scratch you. You can trim/file their nails, wear long sleeves, and wash with a mild soap immediately after handling them. You can also take allergy medications but Benadyrl makes me sleepy!


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## RainOnRahoon (Dec 17, 2012)

Ah, thank you both! I was wondering if I was allergic, but wasn't sure because it hasn't happened up until now. I will look into some non-drowsy allergy meds.


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

I've also noticed this, but I seem to react worse to my friends females than my boys....I think because her girls are way more active and hyper, climbing all over me.I just wear a hoody and I'm fine...only time I've got pretty bad was last night as my boy Lurch insisted on climbing all over my neck/shoulders. I was fine for a while then maybe after an hour I started getting itchy and had to put him back.Next time I think I will wear a scarf! Lol! I wouldn't worry too much, I just put aloe lotion on after and the redness goes away very quickly.


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## pipsqueak (Sep 5, 2011)

my skin gets a little red, but i think its just from their little talon like nails, haha.
but i dont get itchy or anything.


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## Incandescent (Dec 17, 2012)

This happens to me as well, especially on my neck/shoulders. I used to work at a pet store and I loved to carry our big breeder boy around on my shoulders while I worked... but my shoulders and neck would be beet-red by the time I put him back in the cage, and it would itch/burn. It was worst when he peed, so I decided I was probably allergic to his urine. My girl rats don't seem to bother me nearly as much as the boys did, but that may also be because my girls are crazy-hyper babies and Methuselah the breeder was as old and mellow as his name would imply.

Haven't found anything that particularly helps for me, but I also haven't tried. I resolved that if it kept getting worse, I was going to cut off the bottom half of a hoodie (everything from the armpit down) and just wear the top half of it across my shoulders so I could carry my rats around anyway, allergies or none. But I'm astoundingly bull-headed and irritated to be developing my first allergy, so that probably wouldn't be everyone's first choice. ^_^


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## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

you could keep some lysol wipes handy, and wipe the areas they crawl all over. this might help with preventing a reaction.


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## Blaze (Jul 16, 2012)

Yep, you're allergic. I've been allergic to mine as long as I've had them, and I'm on a daily antihistamine just so I can stand to be around them.

My rats caused me to develop something called "chronic hives," which I didn't know was even a real thing until the doctor told me. If I skip a day of my medicine, even if I don't touch the rats, I break out in hives all over. Ugh. It's a miserable experience.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

A very long time ago, when I turned 13, I started getting regular tonsillitis attacks. Oddly enough it turned out that I had become seriously allergic to a whole bunch of different flowers, trees and foods. So rather than move into a bubble I started this series of injections, first weekly, then eventually monthly but over the course of a couple years the allergies are reduced to a minor annoyance. I can eat all the foods I'm allergic to and even sniff the flowers that would've closed my throat. I have to admit that when maple trees bloom in spring I'm still likely to get symptoms similar to a mild flu. And I do keep an antihistamine on hand just in case.

All in all, the injections work to treat and I would strongly recommend the procedure to anyone with allergies. Although I agree that getting regular injections is unpleasant it sure beats a lifetime of taking medications.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I have this issue too. I just wear a huge house/bath robe whenever I'm holding my rats if I have any skin showing.


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## RainOnRahoon (Dec 17, 2012)

Ahh, I think I would rather take little pills than get shots. If it were to get too bad, I may consider that, but needles are not my favourite thing in the world.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

In my case my allergies were actually life-threatening as in I got a high fever and my throat closed up. My dad went so far as to fell all of the maple trees on both properties. The shots actually slowly desensatize you to the the allergen and I have a huge maple in my front yard now and in spring everything turns yellow with the pollen... then and only then do I get the flu like symptoms until it rains... 

As I recall, the shots were unpleasant and it took lots of trips to the doctor.... and in retrospect I was about 16 or 17 not 13 because I drove myself to the doctor's office for at least some of the shots. But in any event it was back in the 1970's and I've been more or less "cured" ever since... Really, compared to people that suffer allergies all of their lives, the shots are no big deal.


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