Hay allergy?

[LondonLady]

Is it possible to suddenly develop an allergy to hay when you've never had one before? I've never had any problems with any sort of allergies but the last couple of months I've been feeling I need to cough all the time and my chest feels tight. I'm also sneezing when I'm in the piggies room. I've had piggies for nearly four years now and as I say, I've never had issues before but I can't think what else it could be. I have changed my hay recently - I used to buy it at Pets at Home but now I order it online from Haybox. Could that make a difference? Is that even possible?

 

[fluffysal]

It's possible to develop an allergic reaction at any time. A change in product can bring it on. It's also possible that it's hay fever (mine's been exceptionally bad for weeks) that's being exacerbated by proximity to hay.

 

[Piggies&buns]

An allergy can just suddenly happen.
I never used to be allergic to penicillin but had to go on a course, having never had an issue with it before, and suddenly had an allergy to it

 

[piggieminder]

I sometimes suffer with hay allergies, it seems to be mainly Timothy hay. I've not bought any Timothy for ages, a couple of weeks ago I got some Hay Box soft Timothy for my elderly boars who have become fussy. As soon as I opened the box the allergy started up again.

 

[LondonLady]

Thanks very much for the replies. That's useful to know. Okay then, it looks as if it probably is the hay causing my problems. Thankfully it's not a huge issue at the moment - just a bit uncomfortable and annoying.