Doctors orders to get rid of tanks

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I recently got an allergy test done (on Friday, to be specific) due to me having a few episodes. It came up that I am highly allergic to many foods, meats, gluten, dairy, etc. Also, I am extremely allergic to molds, mites, and cockroaches. I still have the marks on my arm from where they tested it.

I live in an apartment that was built in the seventies and is a very common complex for college kids to live in (30 seconds off of campus) and thus, has not been kept up very well. On top of this, I live in a very humid aprtment due to all the fish tanks, the gecko cage, multiple house plants, and being that I live in Atlanta. It basically adds up to why I have searing head aches, dizziness, lack of being able to breathe, lack of short term memory, etc.

There are many other things that can cause my symptoms, but as a first measure, my apartment administrators are going to do a full inspection. After this, there are all the steps for things I come in direct contact with (dishes, bedding, etc.). And finally, I have to either get rid of my tanks and my gecko to my parents or a new home.

Now, Caesar (my gecko) I can argue will not cause that much harm. He is in a mesh cage that has almost no moisture, until I mist it. It is a natural cage, meaning dirt, live plants, and daily waterings. I could easily switch that over to a basic all-fake cage. The tanks, isn't as easy. How do you remove the water? You can't.

This is where the advise/help comes in. I don't know what exactly to do. I obviously do not want to get rid of my fish. My parents could take care of my three bettas, but Sebastian (flowerhorn) and the rainbows/danios, I'm not so sure. That's a lot of water changes and higher maintainance that my parents wouldn't have the time for. Is there any articles or anything that has some sort of inclination that one can have tanks when having a severe allergy to mold?

I'm going to do my own personal research, but if anyone can help me out, or any support really, is greatly appreciated. I started keeping fish seriously over a year ago. It was my way of dealing with mourning over the loss of my brother. They have become a part of my life and a part of my daily routine. I say good morning to these guys. They are one of the reasons I bounced back and finished my last month of high school and started college. It would put a big dent in my day if I didn't have them to feed and watch. I would have nothing to do on my Sundays (tank cleaning day).

 

[joel618]

Man im sorry to hear that. Im kinda doing the same thing, my gma passed but more like my mom / friend. Im sure there is something you can do to keep them but Idk what. Good luck.

 

[ilostnemo]

dehumidifier maybe?

 

[Terrance]

I had a mold infestation in my apartment bathroom a few months ago. I didn't really notice it, but most of the bathroom ceiling was black. I guess I don't really look up. My roommates also didn't notice it because the mold grew so slowly. I ended up moving one unit over, and the leasing manager had to get someone to tear down the whole ceiling of the old unit. I had to wash all my clothes and bedding. Throw away my mattress, couch, and anything else that can absorb moisture and collect mold. If I didn't, then there is a chance of the mold growing in my new place.

Anyways, you need to keep your apartment circulated, clean, and dehumidified when you move into a newer apartment next to school. This is the only way to keep you in school and attached to your fish. You will need one or two weeks fulltime to get all of this accomplished. Good luck

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Wow that's crazy. They still haven't come to do the inspection. The management is so shady here. But, I definitely need a dehumidifier. I would have to get one anyway. And I have to properly clean everything and get the wraps for my mattresses and everything. All in all, very expensive. My mother is behind my doctor on the whole getting rid of my fish. She would only take one, my favorite Marlboro. That's it.

I'm pretty stuck, I guess. I can't find anything to really help me talk my mother/doctor out of this. Really depressing, since I just set up my 55g planted tank and finally got everything situated nicely. Oh, and my dream fish, my blue titanium flowerhorn, I finally got. Just sucks.

And the ironic thing, my pet that I have been trying to sell, a male blue tongue skink, is the only pet that won't get me sick. I might end up keeping Eddy after all.

 

[BillD]

If the tanks have glass lids, they won't contribute much to the humidity in the apartment. If you are in Atlanta, I am assuming you have an air conditioner, which will act as a dehumidifier.

 

[andresdeo]

I have to agree with BillD, glass líds, dehumidifier, and regular cleaning of tanks and it should not be a problem.

 

[LyndaB]

First thing I would do is get a second opinion. I've had great allergists and I've had the allergist from ****.

If it were me, I would take all the other steps first, see how much of a difference that made for me health-wise. Only if absolutely necessary would I get rid of my tanks (or anything else I loved that much).

Don't forget too, that you can grow into and out of allergies. It would be a shame to get rid of everything and then your allergies go away on their own.

I used to be allergic to horses, refused to get rid of mine and my body compensated somehow. I never even took meds for it, but the allergies disappeared. I think I overdosed them with horsehair and manure and they gave up.

Fix up your living space first, then see what happens. Good luck!

 

[ShadoeFox]

Frankly, your tanks are likely not adding a fraction of the humidity that atlanta its self is. My suggestion is find your apartments air filter, and change it put for a very good filter mesh (even we have filter media) and pull everything out of cabinents and closets and clean all walls with bleach our another anti mold cleaner. The other notes with dishes are good

A stand alone dehumidifier is also good idea. Acs do little for the air they don't pump. You might add wiping out filters and the not submerged part of your tanks to, but gnats just a slight addition to basic tank maintnence compared to once or twice a month doing the same thing.

Frankly, I doubt the fish tank is contributing anything. The reptile tank might be moist and hot enough top be more problematic, but honestly I doubt it's that either. Honestly you described sick building symptoms to me

 

[librarygirl]

Wow I''m sorry about your situation! I would agree with Lynda; try everything else first. If the allergies are still a big problem and the tanks are causing it, then take appropriate action. I have severe allergies also and I've had the allergy tests done. Turns out I''m allergic to pretty much everything except mites and cats. I currently receive 4 weekly injections to build up my resistance to the allergens and have been getting them for over a year now (most of my allergies are outdoor ones -- trees, grass, weeds, pollen -- but mold and dust are on the list also) and overall they have helped. I still have episodes (like now) when the weather is changing but overall they are better. Would injections be an option for you?

Good luck. I hope you can keep your fish.

 

[Critterlvrok]

I agree with the others, I also worked for allergists for years and never heard of any of them mentioning fish tanks causing issues. I can honestly say mold is not an issue with my tank or any tank I have ever had. IMO it's most likely the living quarters themselves and not the fish. I would not give up my critters until I had tried everything else first. Good luck!

 

[Coleallensmom]

I can honestly say mold is not an issue with my tank or any tank I have ever had. IMO it's most likely the living quarters themselves and not the fish.

Also in agreement. My oldest son many enviromental allergies..dander, dust, mold just to name a few and fish/reptiles were actually recommend pets for us because he's had some severe reactions to furred animals in the past (mostly dogs). Properly maintained tanks shouldn't be causing mold/allergy issues.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Thank you everyone for your comments. My boyfriend is on the same page as many of you, and is going to talk to my mother about it.

My doctor is a very trusted and the office is one we have been going through for a while now, my main ENT is actually from a nearby town that my mother is from in Croatia. Anyway, a second opinion would help, but I honestly don't trust to find a better doctor/office than these guys. They have gone above and beyond to help me out. What triggered me to ask was that there was a poster claiming that one should not have houseplants in their room if you have allergies. My gecko's cage is all live plants, so it went from there...

Another good point, that I may grow out of it. One thing I did leave out is that I am currently in a situation to diagnose the cists in my thyroid. My biopsy is actually tomorrow. I know when they started to form, that is when I gained my allergy to dairy, which I have been very well informed since I was about fifteen (feeling drunk from milkshakes, breaking out with hives from cheese, etc.).

So, the plan is, to see about the thyroid, and do all of the things around my apartment. The management won't even answer my phone calls now. I am losing faith in them quick. I will be looking into getting a dehumidifier, but I'm afraid how it will affect my gecko. I will post a thread on pangea (a personal favorite gecko forum) about that, since its a mesh cage.

Just wanted to say thank you again for everyone who replied. I knew this was a great site to get opinions and support. I love this forum.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Either way, I may go ahead and move my FH into my 55g and figure what I will do with those fish. He is growing much faster than I anticipated and it would be nice to have him in a more show-off area. He would be out of my room and in the dining room.

And my boyfriend had a betta recently pass on him and I know he has had his eye on Wizard for awhile. He is a great looking pearl fighter. And I accidentally melted a part of his tank when an incense fell over... stupid acrylic tanks. I need to just chuck that tank, never doing anything but glass from now on.

 

[Critterlvrok]

I completely understand being comfortable with your current physician. However unless he is an allergist he is not the best person to be treating your allergy issues. I have worked in the medical profession for almost 20 years and have seen my fair share of GP/FP physicians try to treat issues they simply are not specialized in. Getting allergy advise from a family practice physician is like seeing one for a tooth abscess. They can diagnose and off treatment options to help your problem but only a dentist can fix the tooth. I hope you find a physician that specializes in allergies. Good luck

 

[Sparky74]

Out of curiosity, do you have AC in the apartment? If you do, is it a central system(ceiling or floor vents)?

A neglected AC system can harbor some really nasty stuff, especially in high humidity areas such as yours. Even a window unit can if it is not installed properly(not pitched/level). The water sits in pan with all the dust/hair/etc...It makes a nice breeding ground.

If the drain pans are not cleaned and/or treated with biocide, you can get a nice bacterial soup brewing. Legionnaires Disease can be transmitted via ductwork and is much more common than people think. Most times people get it, they are diagnosed with "pneumonia" and treated as such(which normally cures it).

I had a coworker who got "pneumonia". He was treated with antibiotics and was fine for about 5 months. Then he became ill again, with what looked like pneumonia. When the doctor realized he serviced AC units, they gave him a test for Legionnaires and it came back positive. The doctor admitted it is not something normally caught. It's usually treated as pneumonia and neither the patient nor doctor even know they had it.

We traced the issue to an AC unit in Brooklyn that was used/serviced sporadically. An ex-employee had neglected to use biocide tablets for a few years during his service routine(hence the ex part). The unit was serviced once in the spring and once in the fall by the new employee...about 5 months apart.

If you do have a central ac system in the apartment, you could ask to have hepa filters installed and some biocide tablets dropped in the drain pan. They are both not that expensive if bought online. It's affordable enough where you could even supply the filters/tablets if they were unwilling to purchase. The filters help greatly with people who have allergies. The electronic air cleaners that mount on the ductwork work best, but are a bit more costly and need to be installed/wired.

There are also stand alone air filtration systems that work well.

Good luck...I grew up with horrible asthma and know how much it sucks when you can't take a breath.

What is your SPo2 level at when you go to doctors? I get terrible headaches when mine gets low(when I get colds/flu/etc).

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I completely understand being comfortable with your current physician. However unless he is an allergist he is not the best person to be treating your allergy issues. I have worked in the medical profession for almost 20 years and have seen my fair share of GP/FP physicians try to treat issues they simply are not specialized in. Getting allergy advise from a family practice physician is like seeing one for a tooth abscess. They can diagnose and off treatment options to help your problem but only a dentist can fix the tooth. I hope you find a physician that specializes in allergies. Good luck

He is an ENT, but within his office, he has a smaller office that is specifically for allergy testing and treating. That has a different set of nurses and two special doctors. Just to clear that up. Those were the ones that tested and diagnosed, but I went back to my actual ENT to figure out the next steps.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Out of curiosity, do you have AC in the apartment? If you do, is it a central system(ceiling or floor vents)?

A neglected AC system can harbor some really nasty stuff, especially in high humidity areas such as yours. Even a window unit can if it is not installed properly(not pitched/level). The water sits in pan with all the dust/hair/etc...It makes a nice breeding ground.

If the drain pans are not cleaned and/or treated with biocide, you can get a nice bacterial soup brewing. Legionnaires Disease can be transmitted via ductwork and is much more common than people think. Most times people get it, they are diagnosed with "pneumonia" and treated as such(which normally cures it).

I had a coworker who got "pneumonia". He was treated with antibiotics and was fine for about 5 months. Then he became ill again, with what looked like pneumonia. When the doctor realized he serviced AC units, they gave him a test for Legionnaires and it came back positive. The doctor admitted it is not something normally caught. It's usually treated as pneumonia and neither the patient nor doctor even know they had it.

We traced the issue to an AC unit in Brooklyn that was used/serviced sporadically. An ex-employee had neglected to use biocide tablets for a few years during his service routine(hence the ex part). The unit was serviced once in the spring and once in the fall by the new employee...about 5 months apart.

If you do have a central ac system in the apartment, you could ask to have hepa filters installed and some biocide tablets dropped in the drain pan. They are both not that expensive if bought online. It's affordable enough where you could even supply the filters/tablets if they were unwilling to purchase. The filters help greatly with people who have allergies. The electronic air cleaners that mount on the ductwork work best, but are a bit more costly and need to be installed/wired.

There are also stand alone air filtration systems that work well.

Good luck...I grew up with horrible asthma and know how much it sucks when you can't take a breath.

What is your SPo2 level at when you go to doctors? I get terrible headaches when mine gets low(when I get colds/flu/etc).

Thanks for this. I will talk to them about doing this whenever I can get them on the phone. I'm afraid they are seeing me as a liability or something.

And I'm not sure of my spo2 levels. I don't think I've ever been tested for this.

 

[Alfredoman]

Im sry bout ur situation

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Thank you for the concern. Basically came to an agreement with my mother- downsizing and moving.

The 36g is going out in the living room and swicthing with the 10g that is out there (soon to be a riparium). I gave Wizard to my boyfriend and he went to a well-planted 10g that shows his colors so well (has LED lights). So, that will leave me with around ten gallons of water in my room (5g tank and roughly five gallons in the 10g).

Thank you for everyone helping me. I brought up things that everyone has said. Friday I have to go back to the doctor to get my medication.