parasites???

Question
QUESTION: A few months ago i noticed my rats were scratching alot and had a bit of hair loss. No scabs though. I looked into their fur and saw these orange-ish long specs slowly moving around. Rat lice i guess. I treated them with Ivermectin from my vet. They were still scratching a bit and i read that Ivermectin doesn't work on some strains of lice, and in case they had mites too, i treated them all with the proper dose for each rat of Revolution, which should kill everything.
Months later, they haven't been in contact with other rats, and they still scratch a bit. I concluded it must just be something in their diet, maybe a little too much protein.
But i have noticed that i get little bites of some sort, tiny red whelts that itch so much for a good week, even if i scratch so much it makes a little scab. I'm sure it comes from the rats because all my bites are around my neck, shoulders, and arms, which is where my rats always hang out when i'm with them. (The top of their cage is chest level and i let the top door open when i'm there and lay my arm on the top and play with them and let them run around and climb on me)
What do you think this might be? I feel really bad for them if they have the same super-itchy whelts i have.
Thank you so much!

ANSWER: I do believe, my dear Joleen :) that you are like many other rat owners and you are having an allergic reaction to your rats.   This is really common and I have it sometimes too, esp when I have new babies that have super sharp nails.  What happens is that sometimes people have a reaction to the proteins in the rats urine. When they step in their urine and climb onto you, their tiny nails make itty bitty cuts in your skin that you dont even feel or realize are there. In turn, any residue on their nails go into your skin and your skin reacts to the proteins in the urine found on their feet.  It gets red, welts up and itches like there is no tomorrow, sometimes for days.  The best thing to do is wipe their little footsies off with unscented baby wipes before taking them out of their cage. After they climb on you, wipe off right away using the baby wipes if you want, and apply either cortisone or benadryl cream or something along those lines.  Be sure the rats dont lick the benadryl off of you though, so do this after your done handling them.

Some people become immune to this over time, and other times, once the rats nails become dull, esp due to age, this also helps take care of the problem.  Your best bet is to not allow them to crawl on your shoulders etc....  Instead, take them out and let them play and run around a designated area that is rat proofed. I use a cardboard wall and set it up nightly and let the babies run all around inside the 4 foot tall cardboard play area, complete with their own toys to keep them busy etc..  I usually keep a baby blanket on my legs so when they are all over my bare legs they wont make me itchy.  

Hope this helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow, i had never thought of an allergic reaction. Especially since they LOOK like a small bite, like a flea bite or something.
What you explained makes sence, but wouldn't it happen more? What i mean is, they climb on me so much. I always have all these little scratches on my neck and chest (i have dermo-graphism so they are much redder and more visible than on the skin of someone who doesn't), (and my husband always says he worries about pi or poop on their nails getting into my skin and giving me a sickness). Yet all these scratches don't itch or bother me, it's only these tiny welts once in a while, like maybe once every week or two. Would this be the case with an allergic reaction? Or would these welts happen more regularily?
I'm not too worried about myself, though the itching is very annoying. I just worry that if a parasite is responsible, and this is why my rats are scratching, how unpleasant it would be for them. I want them to be comfortable.
Thank you so much for all the info and suggestions!

Answer
No, the parasites are species specific.  Rat lice are not like human lice and the mites dont like humans, either.

I believe you do have some allergies to the protein in their urine and when it does happen is when they have exposed their nails to the urine.  When you dont see the welts, the rats probably had clean nails.

Make sense?


My daughter has dermographism too after a really bad reaction to penicillin when she was a child!