Hay allergy & horses how do you cope?

F

Farma

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 March 2010
Messages
2,107
Visit site
Just wondered how others cope really, I have always had a hay allergy but this year after a few months break from horses it's come back with vengeance to the point I've developed asthma and yesterday my eyes swelled to the point I could hardly see it was awful I actually don't know what to do anymore, our consumables are stored in a barn and its a problem just going in there now.

Does anyone have this problem and if so how do you cope? Any tips?
 
Could you get somebody nice to fill your net for you?

I find sunglasses help, maybe try a dust mask too. I have to really dose myself up before leaving the house and have been advised I can take more antihistamines than the packet advises. Try your GP.
 
I have a hay allergy and had asthma all my life also allergic to horses :-p I get prescribed antihistamines from my doctors which really do help. Also when I'm really struggling I wear a mask and keep myself as covered up as possible. Unfortunately the only relief for me after a bad attack is inhalors and a bath as the steam really helps. I've also found that I become more tolerant of certain things the longer I spend around them, for instance when I got my first pony at 9 years old I couldn't be with her more than 10 minutes till I was weazing eyes streaming and rashes all over where I'd made contact with her. Now I can spend all day with horses I do some times have skin reactions and if I'm not feeling my best I will have an asthma attack but its much more manageable now. I hope you find some relief from this soon. Best talk to your doctors first though in extreme cases they can offer an injection that's a long lasting antihistamine x
 
I feed haylage rather than hay

In the event of having to use hay I make sure I have my nose and mouth covered, wear sunglasses and gloves
 
Antihistamines and stay as far away as poss.
I have asthma and im alergic to hay and straw and I work on a yard...not a good combination.
A few years ago I didn't take any meds and used to just go with feeling crap. But it got to the point that I got a chest infection which 3 months later turned into pneumonia. Ally allergies had irritated my lungs when sick makingit get worse no matter what meds I was given.
Now I take antihistamine every day and dont touch hay unless necessary.
You can build up some level of immunity to the alergy as I am no where near as sensitive as I used to be.
Good luck its an awful curse!
 
Go to your doctor :)

I take fexofenadine in the morning, piriton at night, opticrom and beconaise for the hay fever , for the asthma I am on ventolin, sere tide 500 and singuair at night.

And where ever possible I get the OH to fill the nets :)
 
Last year my hayfever was awful. Itchy throat eyes and nose to the point I was making them bleed by trying to scratch then. Lorratadine made me fall asleep and cetirizine hydrochloride just didn't work. Went to the docs and was prescribed fexofenadine which really helped and also a nose spray which I think was like a mild anaesthetic to help the itching. Couldn't get an appointment for a few days this year so am taking cetirizine again until I can get another prescription but still not having any affect.

Try not to touch your eyes or nose if you've been filling Haynets - it just sets mine off like wildfire. And also I use an optrex eye bath if my eyes are itchy or have gone a bit gooey where I've rubbed them. A mask would help but the pollen can still get in your eyes so agree with glasses too. Who cares if you look a bit silly ;)
 
You can take tablets AND have eyedrops and nasal spray all at the same time. I am 35 and I have noticed over the past couple of years my hayfever has eased, so I do think you grow out of it or desensitise eventually.

I am fine with haylage, trouble is my horse isn't! Soaking hay helps because it keeps the dust out of the stable. Bedding on nedsbed is good, as shavings make me wheeze more than straw. I try and avoid contact with hay as much as possible. Have you tried feeding it from the floor so you don't have to fill a net? Chuck a few slices in a wheelbarrow and tip it into your stable. Filling nets sets me off terribly! If I have to do nets I will wear gloves and do a week's worth at once so I only have one episode of suffering. I keep haynets on my hay pile and carry them in a wheelbarrow. Wash face and hands afterwards. We are lucky that we have a big open barn to store hay so it's very airy. Plus my horse lives out all summer so no haynets at all for me at the moment.
You can buy clear glasses from ebay, they are like the ones you get at school when you do science. I use them when I am cycling too. They do work to protect your eyes.
Grooming sets me off, so I always groom outside so the wind can blow the dust away. I get a nettle rash from my horse's whiskers but I just ignore that. And I never clip, I always pay somebody else to do it, and stay well away.
Hope that helps!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top