Mouse Allergen Facts, Symptoms, and Treatment
Learn more about common allergic diseases, symptoms, management paradigms, and testing considerations.
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Learn more about common allergic diseases, symptoms, management paradigms, and testing considerations.
Is your patient a candidate for specific IgE testing?
Get detailed information on whole allergens and allergen components.
Ready to test a patient?
Access videos and webinars delivered by key experts in the field of allergy.
Mouse allergens can lead to the development of asthma and rhinitis (aka hay fever), and they're an important cause of asthma-related symptoms in urban and suburban areas. The major allergen in mice is found in urine, hair follicles, and dander; however, it can become airborne and migrate throughout buildings.1,2 Mouse allergy is also an occupational health issue. A condition called laboratory animal allergy (LAA) is commonly observed among laboratory animal workers in pharmaceutical industries, university laboratories, and animal breeding facilities, where prevalence ranges from 11 to 44 percent. Most often caused by mice and rats, LAA has been known to affect technicians, animal caretakers, physicians, and scientists. Symptoms, including allergic asthma and allergic rhino conjunctivitis (which involves reactions similar to hay fever and pink eye), can sometimes initiate as many as two to three years after initial exposure.3
The common house mouse is a primarily nocturnal mammal, and although it's usually considered to be a pest, some are kept as pets.1 Although mice are ground dwellers, they are also agile climbers, leapers, and swimmers.4 In fact, they can leap 12 inches in height, survive 8 foot jumps to the floor, and squeeze through openings of only 0.6 centimeters (0.25 inches) in diameter. Plus, they're able to travel upside down and scale myriad vertical surfaces including wood, metal, wire mesh, bricks, cables, and ropes.1
Outdoors, mice consume seeds and insects, but indoors they eat nearly anything digestible.4 Given their agility, mice can infest a variety of environments such as homes, schools, hospitals, stores, and restaurants, where they can also cause structural damage.1,5
Allergens are located in mouse urine, hair follicles, and dander; plus, they're found in settled dust as well as in the air.1,2 Rodents can infest myriad environments such as homes, schools, hospitals, stores, and restaurants, causing year-round symptoms.5 In fact, in one U.S. housing survey, 82 percent of homes had at least one detectable mouse allergen.1 Overall, housing environments in urban areas are more likely to have high levels of rodents than suburban homes.5
Some people with a mouse allergy may also experience symptoms when exposed to other rodents such as rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits. This is called cross-reactivity and occurs when your body's immune system identifies the proteins, or components, in different substances as being structurally similar or biologically related, thus triggering a response.3
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If you are allergic to mice, your healthcare provider may recommend a plan that includes the following.5-7,9,10
Your healthcare provider may direct you to take one of the following medications to improve your allergy symptoms:
If you're with someone who's having an allergic reaction and shows signs of shock, act fast. Look for pale, cool, and clammy skin; a weak, rapid pulse; trouble breathing; confusion; and loss of consciousness. Do the following immediately:
Most scientific literature focuses on how mouse allergens exacerbate asthma symptoms, perhaps leading to reduced lung function. However, at least one study indicates that mouse allergy is linked to year-round rhinitis (aka hay fever).6 Symptoms of hay fever can include:7
Symptoms of laboratory animal allergy (LAA), a disease commonly observed in workers in pharmaceutical industries, university laboratories, and animal breeding facilities, include allergic asthma and allergic rhino conjunctivitis (which involves reactions similar to hay fever and pink eye).8
Rodent allergens also can cause serious adverse health effects, but a chain of events is typically necessary for this to occur. After exposure to the allergen, some individuals develop allergy. Next, further exposure leads to the development of asthma or rhinitis (aka hay fever). Once a respiratory disease is present, additional exposures can cause exacerbated respiratory symptoms.1
Together with your symptom history, skin-prick testing or specific IgE blood testing can help determine if you are allergic to a particular allergen. If you are diagnosed with an allergy, your healthcare provider will work with you to create a management plan.
*These products may not be approved for clinical use in your country. Please work with your healthcare provider to understand availability.
Sensitization to furry animals is common and a risk factor for the development of allergic rhinitis and asthma.3 In fact, asthmatic children who are sensitized and exposed to high mouse allergen concentrations at home are at a greater risk for symptoms, exacerbations, and reduced lung function.6 Laboratory animal allergy (LAA), an occupational allergy to rodents among laboratory animal workers, is common.3,8 Although symptoms are usually mild, anaphylaxis is possible and could be life-threatening.8