Substrate for a human with a dust allergy

[Wim]

Hello everyone, It's been a while since I wrote here but we are very much enjoying life with our Syrian she (and us) have survived a number of escapes (one which lasted for 24 hours when she got into the wall in the kitchen but that is another story).

Sadly our son has been sniffing and sneezing for a while and now has picked up a bad cough. I am desperately hoping that, if it is an allergy, it is to the dust in the substrate and not Chip herself. We have been using a hemp based substrate and I chose to swap it out for Carefresh but I have just opened the bag and it is even dustier than the hemp so I am reluctant to put it in the cage (Chip is happily snoozing in her travel box).

I am not really sure what to do tonight as I am not using the Carefresh (its going back to the shop tomorrow). I could put fresh hemp in and order something that is truely dust free (if there is such a thing). Alternatively could I tear up a lot of loo roll and have that temporarily until something arrives?

It would be good to hear from anybody here on the board with a similar experience as to what can be done.

[hellobg]

You seem to be from the UK, why not try Fitch? It's like Carefresh as the other say, or Kaytee Clean and Cozy seems like an option as well.

[cypher]

I would go for fitch which is recycled food grade paper & as dust free & hypoallergenic as you're going to get.
The 10kg bag is a good size to get, it will last quite a long time with ham & works out fairly cheap in the long run.

[Wim]

Thank you cypher and hellobg, I'll order some fitch and we'll see how he gets on.

[Amethyst_ice]

I have eczema and find bedding was a nightmare. I use finacard, its a cardboard based bedding and I get it in bales from a site called ratrations

[Pebbles82]

I'd also say Fitch Or Finacard - or a mixture of both. I was allergic to the Hemp - I think it's just because it's plant based if you're allergic to things, rather than the dust. I also found Carefresh dusty. Fitch is nice - it's hypoallergenic basically. I find it absolutely dust free. It's recylced food grade paper so just like chavelled up bits of tissue in some ways - but a different texture. I also use plain white toilet paper for nesting material - as many do - torn into strips, and hamsters will use the strips for nesting and sometimes a bit of the Fitch as well

Finacard is like soft cardboard pieces - I have some and occasionally mix a bit into the fitch for a different texture or if i'm running short on the Fitch. I prefer Fitch because it's softer and hams seem to love it. They can move it around and burrow in it.