My arms itch :(

So with this glorious whether i've been cuddling Gabbi whilst wearing t-shirts rather than sweatshirts.

Within minutes the inside of my arms itch, particularly the lower arm around the wrist and red blotches/small lumps appear.

Now clearly i'm just going to put up with it, it's not Gabbi's fault after all, but I was hoping someone who's experienced this themselves has any advice/hope for me?

Is there anything I can do to help prevent/reduce the effects of it happening (eg. "magic potions")?

Has anybody sufferered this to begin with, but then become more immune over time?

ANY feedback gratefully received, thanks all.

never had any allergies but i know my sister got a rash and was itchy after cuddling one of her dogs in the past and she went to the doctors who advised her to speak to the vet (yes we all had a good laugh ) the vet told her to change the dogs shampoo

This is me!

Allergy to dog saliva is what it is. When Diesel licks me I get small itchy red bumps where she has licked.
Antihistamine tablet each day is all I can take for it.

Luckily Diesel now knows what ' no licking' means.

Only safe place she can lick me is my palms

Trouble is Jackieb, it happens when I'm just holding her

The licking thing affects only my neck, but that's not a "problem" as I try not too let her... palms is fine

Sounds like you might have a dog allergy. Have you been around dogs before? If you have it could be a reaction to the shampoo you are using on her.

All I do at the moment is rub germolene in (I love the smell anyway!!) and put a long sleeve top on for a bit.

jstaff, I had a mongrel for 17 years growing up he was collie/alsation/various other mixes and had no problems... had longer hair though. I think it's the short bristly hair, but it only affects my lower arms and wrists.

I haven't washed/shampoo'd her, should I have??

Might be worth a trip to the doctor there could be a medication you can take that will help control the reaction if it's an allergy.

That is odd though if that's the only area that it is affecting. Allergies can change as we age though. We usually only wash Suki when she starts to smell really bad or rolls in something like poo that she shouldn't or gets too muddy to be running around the house.

ME TOO! I get a huge rash up both my arms whenever I cuddle Vlad! (doesn't stop me cuddling him, but it is uncomfortable after!) I end up just washing my arms thoroughly after! When he was a small puppy and I would pick him up it would also affect my lower neck and any other exposed skin!

Gabbiadini wrote:All I do at the moment is rub germolene in (I love the smell anyway!!) and put a long sleeve top on for a bit.

E45 cream with cortisone in should do ok for you. my gemma has exzma and uses this

pixie79 at least i'm not the only one!!

Sounds like yours is worse than mine, like you I'm not going to let it affect how I play with her, etc as whilst it's annoying it's not that bad.

Cleaning with antibacterial gel and smothering in germolene is all I do and it does relieve it pretty quickly, the trouble is the other day I forgot to cover up and got germolene all over poor Gabbi

Thanks julie i'll try that, I'm hoping to find something to rub in BEFORE it happens which may help prevent it... don't know if such a thing exists though

My daughter gets the same - it's linked to her childhood asthma. She takes a Piriton tablet every night & a non-drowsy anti-histamine in the morning. That's usually enough to stop the reaction.

U will prolly find it is the saliva on her coat from where she cleans herself.

There is a cheap home kit blood test u can do to see if u are allergic to doggie dander which I did before we got diesel mine was negative but unfortunately it dosent test saliva. My doctor confirmed the allergy for me.

I take a bog standard 1 a day allergy tab which helps. And don't let her lick me or if she does what I call a ' ninja lick ' I wash the area straight away.

I've also found if my skin is dry it is more reactive whereas if it's moistuited it us less so.

Other than that, there is little u can do apart from washing ur dog every cpl of weeks and teaching her 'no licking'

The things we put up with for our furkids !

That makes sense Jackieb, I didn't consider the saliva on her coat!!

Now that you mention it, I sometimes get it on my arms or on my chest .. I never really thought about it until now !

I had a bad rash on my arms a couple of years ago and got a tub of Aqueous Cream from the chemist. It cleared it up a treat. It is a light, non greasy moisturiser and it can also be used in place of soap. It worked for me.

Aqueous Cream is amazing.

Yep had exactly the same .. well the itching only, on the inside of my forearms when hug Max with bare arms (had the same with Zac) ... just put it down to short coat irritation to the skin

I get the same thing with Leo, i find an anti-histamine works a treat

I take 180mg of Fexofenadine (Telfast) every day due to allergies and urticaria (those itchy bumps you get on your skin). Works a treat. Safe to take long term, however always see a Dr first just in case for some reason you can't take a particular anti-histamine. Sounds like you def have an allergy. As long as I take the Fexo I'm fine, if I miss a dose I itch like mad! As the others said, use a soap free wash - Aqueous Cream is great. I use Aveeno (has colloidal oatmeal in it) shower wash. They also make a moisturiser with menthol in it which is fabulous for itches. Aqueous Cream is also a great moisturiser and heaps cheaper
All the best and let us know how you get on. (Rascal-girl here....forgot my password so signed in under hubby!)

If you have had dry, scaly or red, itchy skin before it could be eczema that is flaring up after contact with dog saliva. Treatment is hydrating creams such as aqueous and topical steroids, plus antihistamine for itch.
Do you have hay fever or asthma as these often go together with skin allergies, called being 'atopic'.
If only recent and only caused by licking, then allergy to dog saliva. The rash is urticaria, and seen in many skin allergies, like a nettlerash. A once daily antihistamine will help, Zirtek or Telfast are very good and non-drowsy. Piriton does not last that long and is sedating. Avoiding contact is the best, it is possible to develop some tolerance over time.
See your GP for advice, he can do do a RAST blood test for animal dander etc and one could also do skin-* testing. Home kits are not reliable.
I am allergic to cats, so we don't have one. Good luck

I wonder if you could rub on some barrier cream to the affected areas before cuddling...

what a dilemma you poor things!

I DO suffer from hayfever, yes.

I'm taking one anti-histamene a day at the mo, but it doesn't seem to help.

I might try a barrier cream next, as suggested.

Don't worry neither myself nor Gabbi is missing out as I just put up with the itchy arms... it's not unbearable, just undesirable!

Besides, as Summer is probably now over it's back to sweatshirts & hoodies again

Anti-histamine and try witch hazel gel

make sure you are using creams and ointments, not lotions....lotions are not as good. Vanicream is a wonderful one, aquaphor, neutrogena hand cream. cerave, cetaphil, purpose, all have cleansers and creams that are wonderful also. I personally suffer from asthma, allergies, and exzema, all three. my exzema is on 90% of my body from head to toe, and if i eat, er touch something wrong i'm broke out. I can't get to warm or to cold in temp or i break out. there is so much i have to be careful with. Zyrtec, allegra-d, clartin are all really good long lasting day time anti histimies

We used to keep a cats for years as children to control vermin as we lived close to a river and lots of agricultural land. After our last cat died we didn't replace her with another cat we just got another dog as we found them better a vermin control.
After zero contact with cats for at least 10 years I discovered I had developed an allergy to cats after stroking a friends cat. My eyes turned bloodshot and itchy and started to water constantly. Strange as it may sound it coinsided with a hayfever allergy also. Neither had effected me before this. Dogs dont affect me at all.
anti-hist does the trick for me. Dont know how these things develop but if anybody could shed some light on the subject I would love to hear about it.

If one type of antihistamine isn't helping, try a different one. Claratyne does nothing for me, however Telfast works a treat. Polaramine works, but puts me to sleep (not so great!) All the best