Allergic to Hamster?

Question

My daughter is very allergic to dogs and cats. She loves animals so much though I have been considering a hamster? Does anyone know if the hamster is in the same ballpark? I would hate to get her one and have to take it away. I do not know anyone with hamsters so she has never been around any. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

More people are allergic to rodents (which includes hamsters) than to cats and dogs. This does not necessarily mean that your daughter will be allergic to the hamster, but it is not a risk I would choose to take if I were in your shoes.

I initially discovered I had allergy problems by persuading my mother to buy me some guinea pigs. Within about a month I couldn't touch them without my arms developing a bright red and itchy rash. I almost never went anywhere near them again (and my mother spent the next 5 years mucking out their cage). I never really appreciated having the guinea pigs either, although I fully acknowledge that I would have continued to give my mother grief about getting me a pet had the guinea pigs never arrived.

If you can, you should try and arrange for your daughter to have contact with any animal you are considering at least twice (the first time her body will merely be considering whether the allergens are something it needs to attack, by the second time, her immune system should have made a decision and developed the antibodies to attack the allergens if it considers them a threat).

Be warned though, that even if you do that, there is no guarantee that she won't develop an allergy to the pet later. This happened to me when my parents ended up taking in my grandmother's dog. After a couple of years I developed an allergy to her, which I found particularly painful because I loved the dog very much, but couldn't go near her anymore. I'm not sure the dog understood either, and used to look mournfully at me, making staying away from her much harder.

Luckily for me, I only get skin reactions to pets, and these require contact with the animal to set them off. It could be much more dangerous if the reaction is breathing related, though. Allergies like these seem to be triggered by a lot less contact - just by being in the same room as the pet, or even the same room the pet has been in. For instance, with cats, allergies can continue to be triggered just by entering a house where a cat used to live, up to three months after the cat has gone.

Answer 2

It very well could be. I have allergic reactions to just about everthing with fur. When I was younger I got a guinea pig and nearly died from the trauma induced. I did NOT have issues with my hamsters, but I don't believe that my allergies were as severe as your daughters. You might see if she has a friend with a hamster that she can 'babysit' for a few days to see how she responds.

Answer 3

Hi, I have a little sister who is allergic to cats, so I got a hamster instead, and she seemed fine with it. I don't know if it's the same as the other animals, but you could try it. I hope it works!

Answer 4

My son and I are allergic to cats and dogs but got along fine with a guinea pig and hamsters. They're smaller so they don't have as much dander (the stuff which usually triggers allergies) plus they're in cages so it's not like they're leaving dander all over the house. It would be worth a try.

Answer 5

Hampsters fall under rodents, which is the same category is obviously mice, rats, guinea pigs and even horses. Bet you did not know that if you were allergic to hampsters that you are likely allergic to horses.

Answer 6

1