Chronic Sinusitis: please come talk to me about allergy to HORSE HAIR!

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I have had my skin prick test results.

I am extremely multi allergic, and oddly enough, I am very allergic to horse hair. I havent been near a horse for over 7 years!

Consultant says it must be in my soft furnishings then.

My sons violin bow is made from horse hair, but I am rarely in contact with it, and besides, it has only been in the house since Christmas.

Does anybody have any experience of this?

Well - kind of. I'm extremely allergic to horse hair when its on, or recently from, a live horse (once had to go to hospital after a friend accidentally wore her riding gloves in my car) - and I have had mild reactions to v. old sofas but that could also be due to dust. Have never reacted to anything like a violin bow, though.

My exposure to horses was b/w the ages of 0 and 2 - when allergy manifested itself, and now 35 years later am just as allergic as I was then. So maybe your allergy does stem from 7 years back.

Strangely, although I had lots of food allergies as a child these all more or less cleared up by adulthood. My environmental allergies have, if anything, got more severe.

How odd. You must be very sensitive. Do you find that anything helps?

The consultants said I should be taking antihistamines daily. I am already using flixonase, but she recommended Clarityn. Any experience?

I am allergic to so many things. Weeds, trees (but not really pollen), dust mites, cats and dogs, but horse hair had the strongest result, I find it strange.

I think I shall go see a specialist, I mean, I knew I am allergic to many plants, such as poinsetta, carnations, lillies, etc, and cats, but horse hair?

I use Clarityn for hayfever in the summer but don't need anything daily for the horse hair - just strict avoidance (and immediate use of ventolin inhaler if any contact).

Is your consultant sure its the horse hair that is causing your sinusitis? I mean, you could be allergic to horses if you came across one but be reacting to something else day to day.

I have an appointment with an allergy consultant at the end of the month, hopefully I will have more answers then. The consultant I saw yesterday was an ENT consultant, and more from a surgical perspective. When I am this allergic, they are for the time being ruling out operation, I need to get the allergy under control.

I have no idea if it is the horse hair causing my sinusitus or something different. Most likely something different. I read that it is mostly just antique furniture that has horse hair stuffing! We dont have antique furniture, old and battered yes, but not antique!

Nothing to do with horsehair, but I am considering ripping out gas hob, because me and ds seem to have permanently bunged up noses since we moved. Can't be furnishings, coz we have leather suite and no carpets. I supsect, even though gas supposedly is "clean", it still gives out fumes to the surroundings, even under extract.
Just a thought in case you cook on gas, no idea how/if you can be tested for this, I reckon it goes under chemical sensitivities, but it concerns me enough to remove it soon.