Allergies to the tank?

G

grim-bob

[Laurie (my wife) has been having what we believe is allergy problems since about April of this year (although it is not conclusive it is allergies). It has mostly been uncontrollable coughing. She has been to the doctor (and allergy specialist) numerous times throughout the summer. She has been on several rounds of different antibiotics, several different allergy meds, asthma inhalers (fast acting and steroid) and has had several different strong (loaded with vicodin, etc.) cough medicines and none has helped.

We have been thinking back on anything that changed around the time some of this started. We moved into our new house in Aug. 03 (8 months before it started) but realize anything in the house could be the culprit. We added our tank in Febraury of this year (2 months before it started) and she is worried it might be part of the problem. We haven't really changed much else (same soaps, detergents, air fresheners etc.).

Has anyone heard of anyone having major allergy problems with their tank? She doesn't fiddle with the tank at all only stays in the same house as it. We are asking the dr. as well.

Please don't let it be the tank...... I don't know what I would do without my wife :devil2:

(just kidding Laurie) :laugh long:]
 
[I doubt it is directly to anyhting in the tank but one thing it might be is due to the humidity the tank produces. Many mold and pollen spores thrive in high humidity which your tank no doubt provides!

Try buying a dehumidifier to see if that helps. That would be my first suggestion.]
 
[I have never heard of tank-related allergies, though maybe it has something to do with the humidity it produces??

It could be just a new thing for her. It isnt uncommon for an adult to develop allergies when they have never had a problem before. Has she tried Zyrtek, Flonase, Allegra? Does she smoke or anyone else in the house?

Good luck figuring it out, I hope she feels better soon!]
 
[That's along the same line I was thinking. When we started with the tank I considered buying a dehumidifier just to cut down on the mold growth possibility a tank might bring. I may go ahead and take that step in case that is part of the problem. The house is new so there shouldn't be any old mold growth, only new if any at all.

The allergy specialist called back and said he hasn't seen any historical data suggesting fish tank and allergy problems.

I'd still like other to chime in if they have heard of anyone at all having allergy problems related to the tank.]
 
@Amanda wrote:
[It isnt uncommon for an adult to develop allergies when they have never had a problem before. Has she tried Zyrtek said:
[She has had minor allergy problems in the past which only lasted a month at most. She has tried all of the allergy meds listed as well as singulair and another I can't remember. Very anti-smoking in the house and for the most part around us. That's why we are banging our heads against the wall.... Just very frustrating and we are looking in all directions.

I hope she gets better soon too..... Her unhappy=me unhappy :p]
Click to expand...
 
[This might sound nuts to those without the experience, but I had horrible allergies all due to a messed up back. 3x a week at a chiropractor for 16 weeks followed by 1x for another 16 weeks (and now I'm at every other week) and they are gone. I had a very severe case, and nearly every piece of my back was out of whack. It was initially due to knee surgery 8 years ago that caused me to limp. Gradually, my hips were out of line, and my back compensated. Then, I opened my own pet care business and being jerked around by 100-pound labs did the rest.

My chiropractor specializes only in chronic cases that have usually been building for a while. I used to think that chiropractors were quacks, so this is a very serious recommendation.

So, did she happen to injure herself in any way within the past 1-2 years? Car wrecks? Bumper cars? Back strain? Big dog? I know it sounds nuts, but allergies are related to the immune system. The immune system can be comprimised by vertabrae (sp?) putting pressure on the spinal cord.

Just a thought...I'm a whole different person these days (have been going for 1.5 years).]
 
[Does she do anything ever to help with the tank? Does she clean the collection cup of your skimmer? Handle salt before mixing?

Misty's suggestion is interesting, btw.]
 
[She doesn't do anything with the tank at all. She takes a look but don't touch approach. At least right now anyway, she is ready to try fragging some corals at the workshop :D . The only thing that I think could be tank related is if something was being released into the air via evaporation or vaporization from the overflows OR possibly something related to the higher humidity (although it's not that much since I only evap maybe 1/2 a gallon a day). But she has some symptoms even away from the house (although whatever it is in the air could be on her clothes at that point).

We are not sure it is tank related at all. Hopefully not since we both enjoy it very much. We are just trying to rule things out. I will most likely put in a dehumidifier since it has an added benefit with the tank being in the house anyway. The chiropractic thing I hear all the time from my brother, since he is one, but she hasn't looked in that direction yet.

Hmmm.... very frustrating. Let me know if anything else comes to mind on it.]
 
[Josh, a few things come to mind that might help your wife out. First do a walk around the outside of your house, check for any plants you Can’t recognize or are suspect, take pictures of them. Next goto your attic and inspect For rodents or any signs of rodents. Next thing I would do is change every filter in the House and upgrade them to the cloth kind. Purchase an air cleaner or two and put them
In high air volume areas or places she sleeps or spends a lot of time in. The last thing That comes to mind is have the ducts cleaned in your house, it may be a new house but
You never know what might be trapped in there. Take the pictures and try to identify The plants, after that consult your doctor about them. My wife added this, have her Change her shampoos and body soap and laundry soap, she may have an allergy to One of them, simple week test should let her know. I hope this helps.]



Edited By misery on 1097591944
 
[Hope you guys find the cause, I have never thought about a tank related causes but...

My wife and I have always lived on the coast (Navy) there were a couple of times when we where out during low tide that my wife had large alergy attacks. Twice she was hospitilized for intense breathing treatments.

The alergy Dr. told her it was caused by the release of gases from the die off during the low tide. I know everyone has smelled the sea at low tide. My wife is alergic to something released in that smell. (Does that make sense).

I was wondering while reading your posts if it could be related to the gases released by your tank. I had similar thoughts because my tank is in our bedroom and she has not been sleeping well since it has been up. (Waking up congested, coughing, tightness of her throat, coughing. The same symtoms as before.

Please keep us posted and I hope she feels better.]
 
[Humidity also allows dust mites to prosper. If it's a wood stand that you bought used, it might have mold in the wood from previous spills/leaks. Good ideas everyone.

Might be worth going to an allergist and having the screening run.]
 
[She went through the allergy screening and only showed a very slight allergy to dust mites nothing else. So if it's not dust mites then it's something that they aren't normally testing for. We already use the high quality air filters etc since I have allergies. Haven't had the ducts cleaned so that's an idea. We've even switched to hypo-allergenic pillows and mattress cover over a new mattress. I religously keep the housed sprayed for bugs and baited for rodents (we used to live in Azle surrounded by pastures and the lake). We have been using the same soaps for a while and did temporarily switch all of them earlier this summer to see if she had developed an allergy to one of them. Outside (at least in the front yards and my back yard) there aren't any types of plants around that we haven't had before in our landscaping. I'll check more closely to see if there is anything I didn't notice before. Strangely enough she feels a little better outside. She feels the worst in doors (both the house and other buildings). It's possible it could be something in the stand since it was a used stand. I really appreciate the ideas. Sometimes it's easy to get tunnel vision and not see other things to check.

Luckily it is just a persistent cough and not major life threatenting reactions that I know some get to their allergies. Hopefully we can figure it out soon or hopefully it is just something that has had an unusually long season since our weather has been off this year. Thanks for y'alls ideas.]
 
[Josh,
Along the humidity lines have you done a mold test in the house? I know that you say the tank only evaporates a little every day, but, does it sit on carpet or any flooring that could have absorbed moisture during a minor spill? Anyone who has pulled up carpet after having a tank nearby will tell you how gross the mold/mildew was underneath (even when they thought that no spillage occured).
Along the same moisture lines you can also check your AC condensate pan, other plumbing, and roof for leaks/water sources that might contribute to mold/mildew. These leaks can be slow and normally unoticed but enough for mold to thrive.]
 
[In parallel to this topic, when I first set up my tank, and started cycling the LR, I had my hands in the tank a lot that first week. Moving, cleaning the rock, etc. The Saturday after I started cycling my rock (which was Thursday), I became VERY ill. I woke up with a temperature of 102.8 with accompanying other ailments :uhoh: at about 3AM.

This was odd for me, since I NEVER get sick like that (in fact that was the first time since I was a child). I contributed it to something in the rock, a pathogen I had never been subjected to (Fiji Flu :p). It might be crazy, but that was the only thing I had done, and no one around me was sick, or picked up what I had afterwards.

The next 3 days were spent recovering (missed 2 days of work). After which, I assume I have an immunity to since I'm fiddling with the tank/equipment on a daily basis now.

Just a consideration since a lot of this stuff comes from places we as "urbanized" Americans are not subjected too. Perhaps she will acclimate to the tank in time, if that is even the cause.]
 
[Having the house checked for mold is a good idea. Have you considered adding an air purifier to a couple of the rooms?

The salt thing is also interesting. When my mum-in-law comes to visit she swears she can smell the SW in the house. No one else can, but she has a nose like a hound!
Anyway, I wonder if the evap puts some of the minerals in the air?]
 
[I think generally, minerals are too heavy to be in any evaporation.....I was thinking more along the lines of the bio and organisims....maybe they are light enough to float? If doing water changes, there HAS to be some powder flying in the air...just a thought]
 
[Sounds like Alleopathy to me. This occurs in tanks, where some anemones fight with other anemones even when they are at opposite ends of the tank.

I think your anemone is trying to get rid of your wife. :stare:]
 
[I know that MY allergies act up at this time of year - but I'm allergic to Mesquite trees. (I know, I know.)

But we also have to check the ac filter every 6 weeks, and get a new one, with allergen in it. And "blow out" the ac pipes.

Another thing that helped me a lot was the fact that we got a Kirby vaccuum cleaner. An expensive way to go, but it works SO MUCH BETTER - and the dust and mites, dog hair, dirt, allergies, whatever - are all out of the carpet, as I use the vac every couple of days. And I use it on the curtains, the dog (he loves it!) and for dusting. Thus, no dust anywhere - a good thing, as that another thing I'm allergic to. (The last is cats.)

My other thought was the green algae that is in a tank. You clean the skimmer, and the spores can go through the air. Or they are simply in your tank, evaporating out. Especially if you have a fan on the top of your tank. My fan is aimed at a wall, and you wouldn't believe how nasty it can get, if I didn't clean it every day.

Probably nothing to do with your wife, but a few thoughts from experience....]
 
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