From: Eve
Hi Jessica, I sure hope you have some advice for me, because I definitely need some help. Last year my husband and I got our little place in the country (after twenty-five years in town, yippee) and I brought my horses home last summer. Everything was basically okay until winter, except that I was getting some kind of allergy thing going on, and then it seemed like I got more and more allergic to the horses, every time I was in the barn I would sneeze, my nose would itch like mad, my eyes would water, it was really awful. I was going to see the doctor, only when spring came around things got a lot better and I thought maybe I had outgrown the problem or gotten un-allergic or something. But it never totally went away, and now the weather is getting colder and the horses are spending more time in the barn. I turn them out all day in the spring and summer and early fall, and they just spend nights indoors. I really don't want to have another winter like last winter, but I don't know about this doctor appointment thing. I have an appointment scheduled for January (that was the first date I could get) and I guess he will do some allergy tests, but I don't know if it's worth doing, because I'm not going to get rid of my horses no matter what. I know I can just take antihistimenes every day, but they make me sleepy and I swear they lower my I.Q., and my husband gets real tired of me falling asleep halfway through our evening television show. Do you have some advice, please? I really don't want to have to take shots.
Eve
Start right now and make a list of every possible source of your allergic reactions. The horses are just one possibility. Here are some others: Hay, grain, sawdust, pollens, and molds. These are probably very familiar substances - and you should be tested for allergies to all of them.
The fact that your allergies are so much worse in winter makes it seem likely that something in the barn is the problem. I know there's no way to make a barn into a sterile environment, but there ARE things you can do that will help reduce the number of likely allergens in the atmosphere.
First, think CLEAN - clean horses, and clean barn. A vaccuum cleaner is a wonderful grooming tool, whether you use one of the convenient purpose-designed horse vacuums like the MetroVac, or whether you just buy a wet/dry vac and a brush attachment at a hardware store. The important thing is to be able to remove most of the dust and especially the dander - skin flakes - from your horses, without transferring it into the air and letting it become redeposited on the horse, on you, and on everything else in the barn. Using a vacuum can make a huge difference to the air quality. The vacuum can also be used several times a week to give surfaces - tack trunks, feed bins, hanging blankets, etc. - a quick once-over.
Good barns are never airtight, and any barn with good air circulation will have a definite air current at times, so when you're grooming, even if you are using a vacuum, stand UPwind of your horse. This will help the dander and dust go away from you instead of settling back onto your body and clothing.
If weather permits, giving your horses regular baths will also help lower the amount of dander in the air. And don't stop at the horse. Blankets, coolers, saddle pads, leg bandages, tack - anything that you use on the horse should be clean. If there is enough space in your tackroom to install a washer and dryer, you can keep an eye out for sales in your area - or garage sales in your area. Yes, these are major appliances, but they don't have to cost much. Perfectly functional washers and dryers often sell for almost nothing when their owners decide to upgrade their appliances or remodel their homes. For any rider, but especially for an allergic rider, it's very convenient to be able to drop saddle pads, bandages, etc. in the washing machine right there in the barn, instead of carrying them to the house while spreading dust and hair every step of the way.
Any hardware store, and some tack shops as well, can provide you with dust masks that fit over your mouth and nose; inexpensive shop glasses or goggles can help keep flying bits of dust and dander from irritating your eyes. If you keep your hair covered with a hat or scarf whilst you are in the barn, you'll be able to get rid of quite a bit of dust and dander just by removing the head-covering when you leave the barn. If you're riding, put your helmet on before you begin grooming, and don't remove it until you are on your way out of the barn after your ride. Gloves are helpful - they don't have to be fancy, and you don't have to use your good riding gloves when you're not actually riding. For work on the ground, including barn chores, grooming, and tacking up, inexpensive work gloves will protect the skin of your hands and wrists from contact with dander, dust, etc.
Changing your clothing and washing your hands and face thoroughly when you return from the barn will help as much as anything else - and whatever you do, DON'T rub an itchy eye or itchy nose with the glove (or bare hand) that's just been brushing the horse or handling hay or feed!
Keeping a large container of "wet wipes" in the barn will give you a way to clean your hands in a hurry if you absolutely have to scratch your nose or deal with an itchy eye or a displaced contact lens.
Extra vitamin C (500 mg or more) and Echinacea may help decrease the allergic response and boost your immune system. Staying properly hydrated - as many of us forget to do in winter - will help too.
I'd go easy on the antihistamines if I were you - save them for occasions of greatest need. The same goes for nasal decongestants. Antihistamines aren't wonderful when you're working around horses - the side effects are the reason the boxes warn "don't operate heavy machinery", and for safety's sake, you may need to think of a horse as "heavy machinery" without a shut-off switch.
Specific immunotherapy is really the only practical long-term solution (other than not going near horses again... and we both know THAT's not an option, right?). The allergy shots aren't such a terrible thing, especially when you compare their effects to the effects and side effects of antishistamines and nasal decongestants.... and they're very nice indeed when you compare their effects to your allergy symptoms. The doctor will probably test you for a number of "usual suspects" (various dusts, molds, danders, etc.) and will also check for other possible allergens when he knows what's in your barn. Just about anything can set off an allergic reaction, but it's especially important for you to be tested for your reactions to hay, grain, and bedding - and the horses, of course.
Once the doctor has a clear idea of just what substances are causing your reactions, he'll be able to inject you with an antigen. Sorry, it won't be a one-off! You'll need regular injections - every two or three weeks, probably - for quite a while. The shots work by gradual desensitization - it may be six months before you notice significant changes - but what you'll need to remember is that they usually DO work. It's worth having monthly (or more frequent) injections over time (if I remember correctly, three years is still a typical treatment period), when you consider the results and the alternatives.
Jessica
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