Bloodworm allergy

[The_Watcher]

i have resorted to feeing the thawed ones with a turkey baster because of itching. i have rosacia already, and it makes it flare up.

Gee and I thought that I was the only one....(been a problem for me for over 20+ years ago)
My hands start to swell up and itch... gets into the blood stream and may appear in bloches on my arms.
Gone in 20 - 60 mins.
Freezed Dried or Frozen same results.
I don't bother with it ... there are too many other choices these days.

[cichlidchic]

i have resorted to feeing the thawed ones with a turkey baster because of itching. i have rosacia already, and it makes it flare up.

[cichlid1409]

glad to know im not the only one....

[fishboyt]

I itch sometimes after feeding my fish bloodworms.

[fshfrk]

Only on HFB could this be researched and figured out. Good job you 2!

[Mzungu]

Interesting:

http://www.jiaci.org/issues/vol16issue01/11.pdf

The antigenic determiners responsible for sensitization
have been identified as hemoglobins [2,17,18] low
molecular weight (erytroquorins). These hemoglobins,
and in particular component III, are powerful human
allergens. The hemoglobins demonstrate great poly-
morphism depending on the environment and the state of
development of the insect [19, 20]; the maximum number
is found at the larval stage and progressively diminishes,
reaching the minimum in the adult state.

[Zulaab]

Hmm.. I see a need to drop by CVS and pick up a box of latex gloves.

[imagirlgeek]

Anyone allergic to bloodworms?

Here's my story. I just figured it out last night...duh.

Most of the fish in the tanks in my office eat frozen bloodworms. Gobies, SA Puffers, Pea Puffers, Discus, and Angels. So I buy the big 16 oz. flat packs. I smash it with a hammer and then feed the chunks. A few months ago, I started getting what I thought were mosquito bites after I fed *sometimes*. I'm right-handed, so that's my feeding hand, and sometimes after I finished feeding bloodworms, my arm and wrist would burn and itch and I'd have little welts all over. I thought it was a mosquito because that's exactly what it looked like.

What I realized last night was that I only got the "mosquito bites" when I had to reach down into the bottom of the bloodworm pack and the melting bits would get on my arm. The weird thing is, it doesn't bother my hands at all. I took an antihistamine last night after I started having a reaction and the welts were gone in about an hour.

Disclaimer: I realize that it shouldn't have taken me months to figure this out, but it looked like mosquito bites, itched, and wasn't an every day occurrence. I definitely wasn't thinking outside the box.

Anybody else allergic to bloodworms? What is it about them that causes the reaction??