Deer guttin' hives!

[harbinger]

Anybody break out in hives when they gut a deer? This happened to me on the last three deer I gutted but never before that... anybody have an idea of why?

[Ozone]

If your waring gloves it may be a alergy. If you arnt you may want to try some.

[NEEHAMA]

where was it? hands only? armpit's? whole body? how long did it last. what did the doctor say?

[SAVAGE300]

my wife gets hives as well on the inside of the arms on the soft spot just down from the elbo and it looks painfull, she may not get in the cavity as i do, we also would like to know why, my arms are fine any help would be fine as we have tryed almost every lotion and oils thanks

[Gunsmoke]

I don't know if it can be classified as hives....but my hands and forearms get terribly itchy after I have field dressed a deer. It has not happen with moose yet. I cannot get rid of the itch until I wash up properly with soap and water. I think it may have something to do with an allergy to the hide or blood.

my 2 cents,

[mark]

The skin gets a little itchy as the blood dries on. This is normal, hives are not normal, that would be an alergic reaction to something for sure!

[harbinger]

ya, it just happens wherever I'm touching the deer, hands and arms pretty much. I thought maybe it was a reaction to some sort of grass or something the deer rolled around in, its weird cause it never happened before last year and the deer I gutted were all from different areas. Maybe I'm allergic to some deer blood type? Maybe I'll try some gloves...

[Bigbuckadams]

No hives for me, but my brother gets them badly. Some kind of allergic reaction to deer hair, his eyes also get very irritated and swell up.

[overthetop]

if you shoot em early might be ticks

[tmarschall]

Harbinger.... Some alergic reactions require a "buildup" of the allergen before the reaction occurs. You may have heard about this with bee stings... a person may have been stung several times, then all of a sudden one sting puts them in the hospital. But I haven't a clue as to what could be causing the problem. Maybe ask a nutritionist if you can find one, or alternative medicine doc... they generally know more about whats going on with the human body.

[Tarp Man]

If you are really going to use gloves, I highly recommend getting some shoulder-length ones from a veterinarian. Who really manages to gut any animal bigger than a grouse and keep all the mess below the wrists? Come'on! You could buy a box of the blue non-latex gloves which are a bit more durable, but only wrist length. The veterinarian arm-gloves with blue gloves over the top is a more realistic scenario for gloved gutting.

[WyoStillhunter]

Hives are a systemic reaction coming from inside the body as opposed to a surface irritation. Hives almost always appear bilaterally, that is, in corresponding areas on both sides of the body. For instance, both elbows, both knees, or both sides of the torso. I am wondering if you are experiencing hives or simply an allergic reaction.

Gloves are a good way to go. I buy the arm-length ones from Wal-mart or K-Mart down here. Then I wear two pair of vinyl gloves over those. That way if I prick the gloves I still have pretty good protection. When the gutting and field dressing is over I pull them off and seal them in a ziplok bag to carry out. Hands and arms are pretty clean and the drive home smells alot nicer, too.

[SAVAGE300]

thanks everyone, seems common, will have to get the wife shoulder lenth gloves