Like dewclaw said, I too handled deer for most of my life and then all of a sudden became allergic to their hair. Once I get it skinned, things settle down for me pretty well. I now have to use nitrile gloves while handling the deer and then I wash my arms and hands well as soon as I'm done. I also try to make sure that I am upwind of the deer while gutting and skinning it to avoid the hair blowing into my face as much as possible. I even keep a gallon-sized ziploc bag of those gloves in my backpack and have learned to put them on before even touching a deer after I have killed one. If I forget to use them and accidentally grab/touch the deer with my hunting gloves on, then I remove them immediately and put on the nitrile gloves making sure not to touch my face at any time. I should mention here that I always gut, skin, and quarter my own deer at a skinning tree at camp to avoid leaving anything around my hunting spots. I don't worry about the guts ruining my hunting spots. I worry about the guts drawing in the predators (coyotes, etc) that end up ruining my hunting spots. So, I even drag my deer out with those gloves on. If it is hot outside, then this allergic reaction is worse. The colder it is the less of an issue it is for me. Weird that it is that way, but for some reason heat and sweating seems to magnify it for me. Once I have it skinned though, there doesn't seem to be any issue for me (some others mentioned the blood causing a reaction for them). Use the gloves! They will help you A LOT!
in just a few minutes, I was halfway down.
