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anybody allergic to deer?

Liv4Rut

Liv4Rut

Active Member
kind of strange, but im very allergic to deer. as soon as i handle one or gut one, i immediately, cant breath, my eyes swell up and my nose becomes plugged. and i to top it off i start sneezing so bad that i cant stop.all i know is that it really sucks, and gutting a deer with rubber gloves helps a bit and overdosing on benadryl also does too. i was wondering if anybody else has this problem, and do you do anything to help it?
 
That certainly is strange.... I can't say that I have ever heard of this before.... I would tend to guess that it is something in the hide of the deer that you are reacting from.... can you eat the meat without symptoms?? I would recommend starting a tablet of Claritin (generic = loratidine) daily... it is non-sedating and is now available over the counter. Once you get it in your blood stream you should display very little if any symptoms when exposed. A thirty day supply of generics from Walmart cost approx. $14.
 
Live4rut - yes I do know another person who has the same reaction whenever he encounters deer hair. He can bone the meat and eat it just fine, but if he touches the hair without rubber gloves he has an alergic reaction. I will ask around to see if he ever found a cure.

IaCraig
 
cornfed, i can eat the meat just fine thank god!!! what made me post this is, that i shot a doe last sat, and i just washed the arrow in my bathtub because it is reusable and i got all allergic to it again. very strange, when i was younger it was never a problem but now it is horrible, i seriously cant even walk until i take a shot of my inhaler or benadryl, but i will try the claritin, because this is something that stops me in my tracks and i cant even walk a 100 yards without losing my breath and having to stop. thanks for the advice, will try it
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I kinda have a problem with deer. It usually is the day after I kill one and gut it. I end up being kinda tired and a little bit of a headache, Not sure if it is from all the beer that it takes to get that done or not. Any one else have this problem.
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i have the exact same reaction once a year....its really wierd...i can skin 10 deer and then the 11th will turn me inside out w/snot...its not gonna stop me from shooting deer though
 
I kind of have the same problem but it is with big bucks that come within bow range i get weak at the knees, have problems breathing, get a numb and tingly feeling . this usually happens after i do something stupid and end up seeing nothing but whitetail going the other way:redf
 
There was an article by Russell Hull? many years ago in Bowhunter Magazine titled "Deer make me cry"

This gentleman was a pretty well known bowhunter in that day and he told of his allergic reaction to handling deer. He used latex gloves etc... to keep from having the same symptems you describe.

I probably have the magazine around somewhere. I am glad not ot have to deal with allergies.
 
GO SEE AN ALLERGIST!!!! Your reaction is severe and sounds like it's worsening. As with all allergies, your reaction will worsen with repeated exposures. More likely than the actual "touching" of the deer it's the breathing in of the dander that is on the hair. I'd try a good quality HEPA mask, you can get them at some drug stores or through the local hospital or your doctor.
My middle child and I both have very severe allergies and asthma and have to make accomodations all the time. Most likely you can overcome this, but you must find out what route the allergen is getting into your system (skin or inhaled). If you are using an inhaler you are having an asthmatic reaction which if unresolved can lead to anaphylaxis (shock then death by your airway closing down). This is serious SH*T, get checked out by a good allergist!!!
 
My hunting buddy has the same problem. I've always figured it was an excuse to get someone else to gut/skin his deer!!
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I am allergic as well but not to the same point you're. I never had a problem the first 10 years or so that I hunted and then about 10 years ago I started to notice it, my eyes itch and water until I wash them out a few times. I am usually ok as long as I don't touch my face but I still use gloves when handling a hide. I then wash my hands and face very well. It's just not whitetails either. We took our kids to a deer petting/feeding farm and I made the mistake of touching the deer. That was a long ride home until I could wash-up.

Tim
 
I have the same problem with fresh deer blood. My last thirty years has had something to do with whitetail deer and I have allergies related to deer, who can figure. Small price to pay. I just take a allergy pill before I start hands on and always use gloves, works for me.
 
I have one of my hunting buddies that has is eyes swell shut and sneezes to no end. He takes Clariton and it seems to help but he just stays away when we gut and skin.
On another note has anybody ever heard of someone getting sick after eating deer meat? My son has tried deer four different times and each time it was a different locker, different deer and prepared a different way and every time he has vomitted. Strange but he loves to hunt and will continue trying to eat it.
 
I had an Uncle the same way. Allergic to the dander. Just like being allergic to a cat or something I guess.

Pupster
 
I know someone with the same problem. He hunts for a living and is someone that many people would recognize. I won't say his name but he didn't have problems until after several years of taxidermy.

His solution has been to limit his exposure to deer. Many times I can see his symptoms starting up on television after a hunt.
 
LIV4RUT,
My best friend Matt, one of the most enthusiastic deer hunters I know, is ironically allergic to deer. He wears elbow high rubber gloves and a disposable face mask when gutting/skinning deer. He'll take Claritin is he starts breaking out or his eyes begin to swell. He also keeps his hunting clothes very clean by washing them in a non-scented soap after exposure to deer. His doctor said it's the deer dander that causes his problem.
Hope this helps.
-Rick
 
I see a new hunting gimmeck in the works "anti-dandurf shampoo for deer"
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you can give the deer a nice bath before cut them up.
 
Im very allergic to deer,and I do taxidermy!! Heres the weird thing, the more into the rut, the worse it becomes. For the longest time I thought it was latex gloves or something else. Im not allergic to anything else. It was terrible, sneezing, congestion, swollen eyes,
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etc. I now have ways to get around it, when a deer head comes in, it gets a bath in a certain solution for about a half an hour. Does the trick, and yes, when I tell people this, they cant believe it.
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thanks guys for all the advice, i think im gonna get on some claritin and definitely wear latex gloves when i handle a deer. i will also wash my clothes asap to make sure i get all the dandruff off of them. goodluck hunting to all!!!!!
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