Blood worm poll and allergies

[YSS]

Not allergic to frozen bloodworms, but I am alergic to a few allergens.

[Discus master]

Nope Ralph... Free of charge like all great info here on SimplyDiscus is for hobbyists Of course theres always the Donate button...http://forum.simplydiscus.com/billspaypal.php?

Seriously ...glad you figured it out..Allergic reactions like we are seeing with Blood worms can come on spontaneously and they only progress with exposure....ultimately hobbyists can get so allergic that you can have respiratory issues as if you were allergic to a bee and were stung...no one with any level of allergies to Bloodworms should risk using them....
(this has been a civil service announcement from your Friends at SimplyDiscus.com)

-al

I feed frozen blood worms all the time, I have not had issues yet although I am alergy prone like to tree nuts and certain antibotics both of which had to build up in my system before I started to have a reaction. I have been doing discus and feeding the frozen blood worms now for abuout 5 months I wonder if I to will get a reaction and if so when and how bad it will be. I do notice my wife thought y fingers on my right hand were turning like an orange color I thought it was from somking but I have been smoking for years with no issue no I wonder if this is from the blood worms any one experince like a slight discoloration around the finger area where you hold the blood worms from I hand feed. Also on the worm issue if you can give the discus worms from live food why not the frozen food they were alive at one point rite? or does the freezing process kill the worms?? I kniow a little of track but I just thought of it sorry.

[brewmaster15]

I feed frozen blood worms all the time, I have not had issues yet although I am alergy prone like to tree nuts and certain antibotics both of which had to build up in my system before I started to have a reaction. I have been doing discus and feeding the frozen blood worms now for abuout 5 months I wonder if I to will get a reaction and if so when and how bad it will be. I do notice my wife thought y fingers on my right hand were turning like an orange color I thought it was from somking but I have been smoking for years with no issue no I wonder if this is from the blood worms any one experince like a slight discoloration around the finger area where you hold the blood worms from I hand feed. Also on the worm issue if you can give the discus worms from live food why not the frozen food they were alive at one point rite? or does the freezing process kill the worms?? I kniow a little of track but I just thought of it sorry.

an initial sign of an allergic reaction is a flushing of blood to the site of the allergen....so yes...its possible that what you are seeing is an allergic reaction. If I were you I would not touch your eyes after handling your blood worms....actually, I would not handle them without Nitrile or latex gloves.

hth,
al

[Discus master]

an initial sign of an allergic reaction is a flushing of blood to the site of the allergen....so yes...its possible that what you are seeing is an allergic reaction. If I were you I would not touch your eyes after handling your blood worms....actually, I would not handle them without Nitrile or latex gloves.

hth,
al

Good to know, I do like to hand feed them and they do love the frozen blood worms so I would hate to have to stop giving that to them, so if gloves are the answer than I will try this, thanks for the advice. Now what do you think about the womr thing??

[brewmaster15]

.... Now what do you think about the womr thing??

I think its a great topic for another thread.

-al

[Discus master]

I think its a great topic for another thread.

-al

I will start one thanks!

[KEWX]

So is an allergy to "bloodworms" (an insect) the same kind of allergy people get to cockroachs?

[brewmaster15]

So is an allergy to "bloodworms" (an insect) the same kind of allergy people get to cockroachs?

very similar responses.... but different allergen....Blood worms allergy is in response to a hemoglobin related pigment in the midge larve... cockroach allergies I believe are in response to everything from roaches saliva,feces, and body parts..... still the human bodies basic immune responses are the same for any allergen.
hth,
al

[KEWX]

very similar responses.... but different allergen....Blood worms allergy is in response to a hemoglobin related pigment in the midge larve... cockroach allergies I believe are in response to everything from roaches saliva,feces, and body parts..... still the human bodies basic immune responses are the same for any allergen.
hth,
al

Interesting!!!

[bidnerkeo]

WOW I had no Idea so many people had allergic reactions to bloodworms. I work at a LFS and feed frozen BW on a regular basis, about every other day and have been doing so for almost 10 years. I guess I must be one of the lucky ones because I have had no noticeable allergic reaction. I've noticed a few of you have mentioned Hikari brand FBW and I wonder if the brand makes a difference, I use SF Bay brand. I'll have to pass this info on to my customers and make sure they are aware of the risk of allergy. Awesome info Al.

[fishorama]

One of my lfs owners has developed an extreme reaction to bloodworms. He only sells the blister packs, no flat packs & I think tries not to touch even those.

[DiscusOnly]

WOW I had no Idea so many people had allergic reactions to bloodworms. I work at a LFS and feed frozen BW on a regular basis, about every other day and have been doing so for almost 10 years. I guess I must be one of the lucky ones because I have had no noticeable allergic reaction. I've noticed a few of you have mentioned Hikari brand FBW and I wonder if the brand makes a difference, I use SF Bay brand. I'll have to pass this info on to my customers and make sure they are aware of the risk of allergy. Awesome info Al.

On the Hikari website, they have the following note:

PLEASE NOTE: Handling a frozen food that is derived from a live animal can cause the same allergic reaction possible by handling the live animal itself. To avoid potential problems, always wash your hand immediately after use and avoid contact with your nose and mouth prior to washing.

[Dudley Eirich]

I don't have allergies to bloodworms but thought I would throw in a few comments. I am a scientist (Microbiologist) and it isn't surprising that people are developing allergies to bloodworms. I believe the problem is more likely to develop from the proteins in the freeze-dried products.

A bit of background...when companies first started adding enzymes (proteins) to laundry detergents, the workers developed severe allergies to the protein "dust" (finely powdered, dried protein that gets into the air, into the lungs, on the skin, clothes, etc) that would be created during the production process. That "dust" is highly allergenic. Once you develop the allergy, that same protein in wet form would also cause the allergic reaction, particularly if it can get into the body through a break in the skin. Those companies still add enzymes to detergents but they encapsulate it to prevent the dust from forming and getting into the air. People that work a lot with animals (experimental mouse colonies for example) can also develop severe allergies to the "dust" from fecal material, mouse dander, etc.

So my recommendation would be to handle the freeze-dried product with a lot of care, particularly if you are prone to allergies. The freeze-dried product could generate a fair amount of allergenic dust, particular if it is handled a lot or if the container is moved, shaken dropped, etc. Wearing gloves is good, but I would get the dried worms into the water as quickly as possible and don't handle them too much. I would never put them into a blender, at least not dry, since you would create lot of potentially allergenic dust. You could blend them wet, however, and feed them to smaller fish.

The frozen bloodworms are less likely to stimulate the initial allergic response, although some proteins are more allergenic than others, so it is probably wise to handle the frozen variety as little as possible. Usually allergies develop from repeated or heavy-duty exposure to an allergenic protein. Once you develop the allergy from the freeze-dried form, you would also be allergic to the frozen form as well, but you probably wouldn't react quite as severely.

By the way, I haven't had much luck with my fish liking either the frozen or the freeze-dried bloodworms. I have generally fed beef heart mixes and supplement with some Tetra color pellets.

[billko]

I feed blood worm (frozen) and have done for years and no problems with allergy reactions.
I know alot of Discuskeepers who don't feed it as they think it's unsafe for the fish.
No problems feeding it over the years to my fish, but it,s not an everyday food for them and they only get it 2-3 times per week.
Billy

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,

Just to explain it again... The allergen in the blood worms that gives people the reaction is thought to be a pigment in these "worms"...one related to hemoglobin... a pigment in Humans... I say "worms" in quotes because its important to distinguish that these are not true worms but the larvae forms of a fly or more accurately a midge.

Some info...

Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1992;64(3):185-8.
Insect hemoglobins (Chi tI) of the diptera family Chironomidae are relevant environmental, occupational, and hobby-related allergens.

Baur X, Liebers V.
Berufsgenossenschaftliches Forschungsinstitut für Arbeitsmedizin (BGFA), Institut an der Ruhr-Universität-Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract

Six hundred and forty-two persons with hobby-related (n = 205), occupational (n = 85), or environmental contact (n = 352) to the midge and larval allergen Chi tI were studied. Frequencies of IgE-mediated sensitization in these selected populations were 36.1%, 24.7%, and 9.6% respectively. Occupationally sensitized subjects who had been heavily exposed showed higher levels of antibodies, were more frequently diagnosed as having bronchial asthma and less frequently as having conjunctivitis, and had a significantly shorter latency period when compared to environmentally exposed people or aquarists. Our results are evidence for a higher risk of sensitization and of bronchial asthma in highly exposed subjects.


source..

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1399031

and ...

Clin Allergy. 1985 Jul;15(4):335-43.
Evidence for haemoglobins as common allergenic determinants in IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to chironomids (non-biting midges).

Tee RD, Cranston PS, Dewair M, Prelicz H, Baur X, Kay AB.
Abstract

Chironomids (non-biting midges) are known to cause IgE-mediated hypersensitivity in man. This study compares the cross-reactivity between the chironomid midge Cladotanytarsus lewisi ('green nimitti'), a widespread cause of allergy in the Sudan and Chironomus riparius (= thummi, CTT) where larvae are used as pet fish food and where haemoglobins were previously shown to be major allergens. As with C. riparius, immature forms of C. lewisi also contain allergenic material since skin test responses to larval, pupal and adult extracts were obtained in Sudanese individuals. Crossed radioimmunoelectrophoresis of the C. lewisi larval and pupal extracts indicate that they contain a higher proportion of the allergenic fractions than adults. Further evidence of common allergen determinants between C. lewisi and C. riparius were obtained by the demonstration of positive skin-prick tests, in Sudanese patients, to extracts of larval, adult and isolated haemoglobin extracts of C. riparius. Cross-reactivity between C. lewisi and C. riparius was also demonstrable by RAST inhibition studies. A dose-dependent inhibition was observed using both the C. lewisi adult midge RAST and the C. riparius haemoglobin RAST, the two respective antigens, and sera from individuals hypersensitive to either C. lewisi or C. riparius. Due to the immunological cross-reactivity found between these distantly related species, we conclude that chironomids should be seen as significant environmental and occupational allergens.



Insect Allergy. Chironomid Midge Allergy.

Accession number;99A0798288 Title;Insect Allergy. Chironomid Midge Allergy. Author;ITO KOJI(Fratern. Memol. Hosp.) Journal Title;Allergy in Practice
Journal Code:Z0246B
ISSN:0285-6379
VOL.;NO.252;PAGE.837-844(1999) Figure&Table&Reference;FIG.5, TBL.3, REF.34 Pub. Country;Japan Language;Japanese Abstract;As allergic diseases to chironomid, asthma, rhinitis, etc. caused by imagines or larva of chironomid are reported in north Sudan and Germany. There are reports indicating chironomid is the inhalation allergen in the open air. This paper describes the ecology of chironomid and its allergenition, and outlines the contents of allergen test methods such as IgE antibody measurement by inquiry, cutis test and RAST, IgG antibody measurement by ELISA, histamin release test, and inhalation induction test. Chironomid allergen shows extremely low cross reaction to allergens of acarine, house dust, silk and mosquito in Japan, on the contrary it shows cross reaction to moth.
source...http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/articl...99A0798288.php


I highly advise and encourage any one feeding these "blood"worms... do a net search on "blood worm allergies"

very very enlightening.

-al