This spring, I have developed a sudden and severe allergy to hay. Either that or its the mildest case of coronavirus ever seen that is persisting for months…
Sinus congestion, post nasal drip causing me to cough, itchy eyes (eye drops are my best friend), and skin breakouts and itching when I handle hay. Allergy medicine is doing nothing to help. I also get itchy ears and the roof of my mouth itches after eating, although I have not identified any specific trigger foods.
I’ve started wearing a mask every time I handle hay, eye drops immediately afterwards, and a rain jacket so the hay doesn’t stick to my clothes. This helps but I am still suffering.
The hay is from the first cutting of last year. So it’s nearly a year old. I am refusing to go to the doctor - i had a bunch of allergy tests before. All were negative (bloodwork testing). I think they did a ct scan and scoped my sinuses. All normal. I was told at that point that it is non allergic rhinitis. I do know chemicals and smoke trigger my sinuses, and I am severely allergic to gerbils (tried having one as a pet). I have a history of sinus issues - what starts as a cold turns into a 3-6 week ordeal and usually results in a prescription for antibiotics for a sinus infection.
Any suggestions on not handing hay? I could throw down a hay roll and turn everyone on it, but my easy keepers will get fat. I could turn everyone on a round roll with a net, overnight, take them off in the morning, but then they would have nothing to eat for hours… Put them on for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, but what about overnight?
My hard keeper can stay on hay all day. My pssm horse is on oil and would be obese. It’s better to throw her flakes. But what I’m currently doing is not working.
I’m hoping for rain, less dust, and a new crop of hay…and no more allergies.
Round bale maybe with a slow feed net and muzzle for PSSM horse. You could muzzle PSSM horse for only part of the day if he doesn’t need it on 24/7.
Instead of a round bale you can build a hay feeder and fill it with hay just once a week and muzzle PSSM horse. If you only need to feed the hay once a week maybe a friend could help with that or pay a neighborhood child/person to fill it for you.
DH and I have built some easy non-covered hay corrals that fit over top a pallet. Corners are 4x4s about 3 feet tall, top and middle boards are deck wood, screwed and glued. Just enough to really keep them from throwing hay around, pooping on it, peeing on it and sleeping in it. Doesn’t eliminate waste but helps. If you know it is really going to pour you can either tarp it or put a sheet of plywood on the top to keep it from getting totally soaked. We use the corral for round bales too. The bales last about 3 weeks and we don’t bother to tarp them in the rain but the horses eat it fast enough in the winter to not get too skanky.
I wonder if steaming (eliminates dust, mold, etc) would work? You could call Haygain. Would be worth the money if it works and your horses will love it.
I am allergic to everything with fur and hay, dust, mold, pollen… you name it, I’m probably allergic to it. I have asthma too. I live on a horse farm with hay fields and woods and run a dog daycare from my house. I manage to live symptom free 99% of the time thanks to Nasacort and Zyrtec 365 days per year. I highly recommend allergy testing at a reputable allergist’s office. Do the skin test, not blood.
Edit to add, I had a very persistent “sinus infection” that went on for way too long. Two courses of antibiotics later, I went to an ENT. Turned out I had polyps in my nose. They were successfully treated with steroids. I rinse my sinuses every night now too.
Really you should see a good allergist as recommended above for skin testing. Also can you try another kind of hay and see how you react to that? Or maybe soak this hay before feeding. I have bad grass/weed allergies, i can mow if the grass is damp but not if it is dry.
Our body’s ability to tolerate what it views to be certain antigens can change over time when a particular antigen becomes an allergen. All along the body had been creating antibodies against an antigen (for you, that hay) until one day it just can’t tolerate it anymore and an allergic reaction occurs. You may have heard about some people who suddenly develop a later-in-life-onset of an allergy to pollens, certain animals, lactose, tomatoes, gluten, other foods, topical ingredients, or whatever. They spent their life being exposed without a problem until one day the body rebels, and that’s the end of their tolerance to that antigen.
It never occurred to me that I had seasonal allergies or any other allergies for that matter. I’ve been exposed to orchard grass hay to most of my life and about 5 years ago if my bare wrists or ankles came in contact with growing orchard grass or orchard grass hay, these areas would itch and sometimes produce welts. Three or four years ago I posted on here about my sudden and acute reaction to hay mites. I’ve been around hay since I was 4. I can’t imagine that I’d never been exposed to hay mites in my entire life. Lordy, I hope to never have a reaction to hay mites again! Aside from the severe itching and welts, I developed flu-like symptoms, sharp joint pain, joint swelling and ended up having an autoimmune response on top of that. After that, my seasonal sinus problems increased. I thought it was just a little cold or just my sinus problems (surgical) acting up until I did skin allergy testing. Low and behold, I have allergies to certain pollens, a particular mold, grasses, and I think that was it. Allergic rhinitis (allergic response to certain allergens, AKA hay fever). Now I use OTC allergy meds, plus I’ve had sinus surgery. The allergy medication that I like best because it gives me the least side effects is called loratadine (Claratin). Keep trying the various OTC allergy medications until you find one that works best for you.
For handling hay, I recommend covering all exposed skin so it cannot come in contact with the hay. Have dedicated clothing that you wear while feeding and take it off when you are done or wear coveralls. I wear face masks not only while handling hay, but almost always while I’m in the barn to keep things out of my nose. The times I’ve skipped the face mask, I am always shocked at the stuff I later find in my nose. Yuck! If I’m handling enough hay were it’s blowing up and coming in contact with my neck, I put on a sun protection veil that I got off Amazon. I protects me from just below my eyes all the way down my chest, and completely around my entire neck. It has ear loops, velcro at the back of the neck and can be quickly removed. Wear a hat, so the only exposed skin is from your eyes to the hatband. If you need to cover your ears, you could rig ear covers by attaching fabric to the sun protection veil ear loops.
Get a netty pot and start rinsing your nose each time you’re exposed to hay, or at least once a day. The concept sounded really gross to me before I tried it. Now I love how well it cleans out my sinuses so I have less or no reaction. The netty pot has helped me to breathe so much better. I have the blue plastic one from NeilMed. (do not ever use tap water in your nose! only use distilled water.).
The only way to try to get rid of your allergies is to first identify exactly what they are by having skin allergy tests, and then to try allergy shots. You have to have shots practically weekly for several years and they are not always successful. I looked into it. It was pricey and I could not make the lengthy time commitment. I’ve opted to limit my exposure to my allergens and to take allergy medications.
I sympathize with the itchiness. It’s just awful. My allergies are bad enough that I paid for hay to be delivered and stacked,so that I didn’t need to be exposed to it for a long time. I wasn’t managing a farm though, just a single air fern of a horse (couple flakes morning and night). I needed the physical barriers (mask/glasses) to prevent myself from touching my face. I only wore them when dealing with a hay shipment (prior to paying for delivery/stacking).
I don’t handle much hay these days, but if I do, I make an effort to wash my hands after, so that if I do touch my face I’m less likely to have a reaction (I look like I’ve been in a fight with swollen/puffy eyes, sneezing, shortness of breath, hives on exposed skin). When I get home, I immediately shower to get any additional allergen off. I’ve also had a lot of success with a variety of allergy medicines - claratin, allegra, zyrtec, nasacort, flonase. Talk to your doctor, you can typically take multiple meds if necessary since they address different pathways. I also have asthma, so if I know I’m going to be working with hay, I’ll take a dose of my rescue inhaler as a preventative. I’m currently just on flonase daily.
I had this exact same problem. I was taking Zyrtec, Claritin, and Benadryl every day along with Zatidor eye drops and STILL itiching all the time, having hives. I finally broke down and went to an allergist. It turns out that I’m allergic to dogs, cats, and about every type of grass. I started the allergy shot series. It’s a huge time committment but I’m starting to finally see a bit of improvement almost a year into it.
For my horses, I feed round bales so I only have to touch hay once every 10 days. I put it out then immediately wash my arms or shower and change clothes completely.
For your guys, they have slow feed hay nets that might be an option like suggested above. I have one fat pony who wears a muzzle 24/7 so they can all be together since the rest of the horses need it free choice.
Another option that might be more pricey would be an automatic gate to let them into the hay at only certain times of day. I’m not sure the logistics of getting them out of there. But my herd seems to keep a consistent time of going to eat, then going far away.
Or could you fill a bunch of slow feed nets once a week to limit contact with hay the rest of the week?
I know it stinks. Whenever I watch friends horses and have to touch hay 2x day, I am MISERABLE.
