Allergic to Roe

Cam-S94

Active Member
When I was young, I remember suffering bad when I touched a roe. I'd sneeze and my eyes would be very itchy. I forgot about it until yesterday when skinning my first deer (roe buck). I suddenly started sneezing and it got quite bad, my eyes got a bit itchy as well. I don't get respiratory problems from it, it just feels very much like hayfever.
I was wondering if anyone else also suffered and if anyone has any solutions to it? Would it be worth wearing plastic gloves and safety glasses when skinning them to prevent getting the hair on me? I'm assuming it's something on the summer coat as I only get it on Roe in their summer coat. Muntjac, Fallow, etc cause no problems at all.
 
Allergies are usually from the dander (skin particles), saliva, blood and other fluids rather than the hair itself. Hair is actually pretty inert stuff. There have been a few threads on here about deer blood and allergies in the past if you have a search.

Alex
 
Dont know if there is any grounding to this but thinking outside the box as its only when roe are in summer coat and you say it feel like hayfever im assuming you suffer from hayfever? and roe often lie up in rape so secondary transfer of pollen from the roe's coat to hand and then from when you are rubbing your eyes? like i said probably completely wrong and has no grounding but its just an idea.

George
 
I suffer badly from hayfever, in fact so badly that I spent most of the summers of my life inside with the windows closed etc. unable to go or, or to sleep.

This sounds like a hayfever like allergy to me but the thing is if it had been hayfever then I would have expected you to be commenting that you get it when lying in a field waiting for deer or similar. For me the hayfever season runs from 2nd week in June to 2nd week in August (different people are different) so I assume you don't get hayfever when out stalking at any point over the summer?

However, I am also allergic to horses - no matter what time of year I'm exposed to them it brings on hayfever type symptoms which make me feel quite miserable. This is a shame as I love horses. Now I'm not sure exactly what it is about them that gets to me but this sounds similar to your problem, though needless to say I'm not actually shooting them and skinning them :)

I have found a solution to my problem, after many years, it used to be called Flixinase and is now called Pirinase. Basically you sniff it up your nose each morning. The catch if you are only occasionally exposed to roe deer is that it takes you to use this stuff for about 2 weeks before it starts to be totally effective. There is no point using it for one day and then deciding it didn't work, because it won't work under those circumstances. I've started using it now to get ready for the peak of my hayfever season due in a few weeks time. There is also another similar product widely advertised on TV called beconase (spelling might be duff but you get the idea) and it might also be worth a try for you as well. I would give each a month of a test, using every day, before I decided if it worked or not, any less and you can't be sure.

Finding the right thing that worked for me really changed my life and that is not an overstatement of the situation as I can now go out, and get some sleep, during the summer.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I've just had a look at the previous threads about deer allergies. Very interesting and helpful, thanks for that csl.

As for the rape idea, I think that's a very valid point as rape is the crop I suffer worst from with hayfever. However, around where I shot the buck is everything but rape. I believe it may be a mixture of all sorts and that would explain why I don't seem to suffer with deer shot in the winter because there is little pollen around then.

Thanks caorach for your suggested treatments. I'm pleased to hear that you've found a cure because hayfever and the like really is frustrating. I will give what you have suggested a try. At the moment I am using standard hayfever tablets from Boots and they are really working with the hayfever. My dad is also allergic to horses, as well as cats. I think this may be linked to me and gives me more reasoning to believe that it is something from the animal itself that makes me sniff and sneeze.
My conclusion so far is that it is skin particles and any other particles in the coat of the deer which are being dislodged when skinning the animal, and I am then inhaling them. I reckon I a mask to put over my mouth and nose would work and I'll give it a try as we've got some at home.
Once again thanks for the replies and I will report back if I find a cure.
 
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I used to suffer from hay fever too, also had the horse hair allergy bit when a mate asked me to help him trim his horses coat, he'll did I itch! if I am correct the doctor gave me a cortisone jab and it broke the hay fever cycle so maybe your doc may be able to give you the same injection? Though I believe they are reluctant as folk sometimes have very very rare reactions to cortisone. Also get cheap hay fever tabs from boots or super drug and take an hour before you skin the deer. Hope you get it sorted as it's a bloody pain when you have an allergy.
 
I find roe are quite allergic to 30.06,joking aside i luckily seem unaffected by deer but rabbits are the killer for me always have been since i was a kid,never seemed that any of the hayfever remedies ever helped much,also have hayfever so tried most of them,only ever touch one now to sling it in the back of the pick up if someone wants one,i won't attempt gutting one these days as its always fatal setting off my asthma,wearing a face mask would probably help but also affects my eyes badly so eye protection too would help,not a lot else i can say to help but fear you may be stuck with it,the worse attack i ever had as a kid was from a donkey and never been near one since.
 
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Two acquaintances of mine - one a stalker and one a client - are allergic to roe. One in particular suffers a very strong reaction, almost to the point of anaphylactic shock. It's only roe, muntac don't seem to cause anywhere near the problem.

willie_gunn
 
Sorry for the late reply guys. Been fishing today and my brother got his first deer yesterday which I skinned on my own. I wore a mask over my mouth and nose and a pair of safety glasses. I was completely unaffected and didn't sniff or sneeze one bit. My eyes didn't get itchy at all either.
Thanks so much for all the replies as I have now solved my problem and I am gonna buy a load of masks from screwfix as they do them cheap.
Thanks once again, Cameron.
 
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