- Take a daily antihistamine. If your allergies aren't too severe (in other words, if being in the same room as a guinea pig doesn't send you to the hospital for a neutralizer treatment), then taking an over-the-counter antihistamine can be a huge help in reducing symptoms.
- Place the guinea pig cage as far from the sleeping area as possible. When the humans lived in the one floor apartment, their allergies were a lot worse. Now that they live in a three floor townhouse, we have our own floor and they have theirs, and the amount of hay dust tracked through the house is greatly reduced.
- Be careful about how you approach floor time. The humans used to let us roam all over the big area rug back at the old apartment, but now we have a concrete floor with puppy pads that can be tossed when floor time is over.
- Use a towel or blanket when handling guinea pigs. One of the humans has allergies that are so bad that her skin will develop welts after handing us directly. They're not sure if it's the residual hay dust on our paws or if it's us, but using a blanket or towel eliminates this problem for them.
With these four adjustments, the humans are able to live pretty much allergy-free. We hope that if you have guinea pig allergies, too, these tips can have you breathing easy!
Wow, this is such a helpful and relatable post! Guinea pig allergies can be a real challenge, but it's so reassuring to see practical tips that make life easier for both the piggies and the humans. I've experienced similar struggles with hay dust, and I can confirm that antihistamines are a game-changer! It's great to hear that simply creating distance between the sleeping area and the guinea pigs’ cage has made a noticeable difference for you. I live in a smaller space, so I’ve found that using an air purifier near the cage helps reduce airborne allergens, especially from the hay.
ReplyDeleteFloor time adjustments are also key. The switch from letting your piggies roam on a rug to using puppy pads is genius! I’ve been using a similar setup with washable fleece liners, which work well and keep things cleaner.
As for handling guinea pigs, I definitely get the struggle with skin irritation. I find that using gloves along with a towel helps me when my allergies are acting up. It's incredible how such small changes can make a huge difference in reducing reactions!
Thanks for revisiting this topic—it’s comforting to know that, with a few adjustments, living with guinea pigs is still possible even with allergies!