Why am I getting Hives, and my skin is itchy all over the place?

[katie761]

I have always had a problem with Hives and I usually knew what caused them. I have allergic reactions to my rats and when I hold them my body gets filled all over with Hives. But recently I have been developing them everyday, and I have no idea why I have them, Its mostly on my neck, arms and legs, and sometimes I will just be really itchy and scratch my skin so hard that  I get white bumps and bleed. Its really irritating, and I did several researches on it, and its giving me multiple things. But I was just wondering if anyone else experiences this and what do they do to treat it, or at least stop the itching. Its starting to become extremely embarrassing when I leave the house and I have all these white lumps on me. It looks like I was attacked by a million mosquitoes.
Someone please help!! Also if anyone knows of what kind of doctor I would see for this that would be great :)
THANKS

[katie761]

Ugh well that ***** because Im not getting rid of them lol. Im gonna have to go on medication for allergies or something. I was on this one medications, because of all of my animals were making it hard for me to breathe. But I took those meds and they helped. Im going to be a veterinary technician. I can't be allergic to animals lol

[RockRose]

Oh,  I love rats too. :(    I was SO SAD when I had to move my rattie girls outside,  to the little playhouse and heat it during the winter because my husband simply couldn't live in the same house with them and still breathe.  Most people who are allergic to rats,  Katie,  are allergic to a protein in their urine that becomes a part of the air in the home.    So you don't have to handle them to be affected - the protein is floating around.  

It's quite likely your rats are causing your hives.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6316351_allergies-rats.html

[katie761]

I am not currently on meds. I have no changed the bedding in any of the animal cages. Everything is the way it always is. I checked almost every possibility. I looked up online that people develop them for no reason sometimes, i forgot what it was called but they said it can't be treated :( It freaked me out lol

[geminigirl1963]

Have you changed or added any medications?  Even changed dosages on any?

How about anything in your pet rat's housing, such as the bedding, etc.?  If you have, maybe you're allergic to the new bedding or whatever and when you're handling IT, it's triggering your allergic response.

Can you or have you tried any of the over the counter antihistamines such as Benadryl or Claritan?  If so, does it help?  I, myself, usually use Benadryl for allergies, but it can make you sleepy, so beware of that possibility.  Of course, also, PLEASE don't change ANY medication (including trying one of these OTC meds) without first checking with your doctor - you sure don't want to also end up with a medication interaction problem!

[katie761]

I have actually never seen an allergist :(, I think I should though because their are some things I think im allergic too, and I wanna be sure. I hate being allergic to my rats. Im like the BIGGEST animal lover around and Im going to college to be a veterinary technician.
I have tried changing my diet, food diaries, changed soaps, but none of those were the problem.

[FurballsMom]

I wish I knew for sure how to prevent it, because pet rats are very sweet little animals.

The only thing I was wondering is if going gluten and dairy free would help you to reduce the amount of reactive hives you've been getting.

With your history, I'm certain you have seen plenty of allergists in your lifetime.  That's the only kind of doctor I know that could help with anything that is caused by allergies.