Joker worries

[area39Participant]

Hi all

Been using and handling Bloodworm and Joker for the last 5 weeks but last weeks match pack has gave me some right problems.
I should have known better tbh but I started getting itchy eyes and hands. I then thought use latex gloves when I’m cleaning it and that seems to have cured the itchiness thing is since I have been keeping the B&J in bubblers I get really bad and I mean BAD asthma!

Now I have suffered from asthma a few years ago periodically but nothing like of late. I’m wondering wether the bubbler is expelling toxic (?!) gases into my face and lungs?

Tonight I have bought a facemask (diy type) to see wetter that makes a difference. If not then I’m gonna have to either a: stop using B&J or b: keep it all in newspaper and use it up quick sticks each week.

I’m finding this very worrying as I am catching fish on it and on the bank I have no problems ( I do wear latex gloves in winter anyway) with it but in my fishing room/outside toilet I’m suffering.

Has anyone else had these symptoms?

I’m pretty sure it’s the joker tbh not the worm. Where is this Russian joker getting scraped from….Chernobyl??

Ta

Jon

[TF_The chimp]

Ummmmmmm strange your not eating it are you lol lol…

No on a serious note never heard that before sorry~sick ~sick

[area39Participant]

Hiya

No cos I’m in and out all the time but the only time I get an attack is after messing with the joker! My missus also has itchy eyes too!

Summat toxic in the joker I think. I do regular water changes too 3 times a week. Chucked some old joker onto the garden other week and the dog found it and rolled in it (why do they do that btw?:)).

Dog came back in we thought neighbour had clubbed her! Realised it was the old joker took her upstairs chucked her in the bath and afterwards I was in a right state. My arm where I had picked her up came out in a rash and had my first asthma attack!

Things are happening around the joker which cannot be put down to coincidence.

I’d love to know where this Russian stuff is coming from.

Looked online at this issue and a few tropical fish fanatics have had similar probs with frozen Bloodworm.

Jon
Jon

[TF_jaap stam]

If it`s Russian joker, id keep it in damp leam as it`s not the most active joker ,and will keep for at least a couple of weeks in the fridge or garage floor this time of year.

[TF_lloydy1970]

If you only put enough water with joker to just cover it you don’t need a bubbler, just change water every day

[TF_fred van den feeder]

I have heard about this before. A former team member of me got the same problem. When he or someone els close to him use bloodworm and or jokers hes eays swell up so bad that if he stays he cant see anything. He got to a point were he couldnt be in the same room as me if i got the sent of jokers on my cloth.

He just gave it up and stopped using it in the end.

If you handle them in a open area with good ventilation maby then it will be better.

I dont know why this happens but it does. So you are not alone.

[MadScientist]

[Neglected allergens].
[Article in German]

Glück U.

Pneumologische Abteilung, Medizinische Universitätsklinik, Bern.
Abstract
…. In the sensitization against animal allergens, it must not be forgotten that the most powerful immunogens are to be found, for example, in the urine of small rodents (mice and rats). In the manufacture or application of fish food with red gnat larvae, people who are disposed to this will often react with an attack of bronchial asthma.

This was from a research paper looking at wierd allergens which cause allergic reactions. Looks like you have become sensitised to it, seems a known problem..

[TF_kev825]

Nice one Mad Scientist

[TF_mike pattinson]

As has been previously said it could be a reaction too but not only joker it could also be the latex gloves.

I have seen people have allergic reactions through rash/asthma to latex and the powders these are coated in to easy use.

I cannot use maze flour on maggots for the same reason, itching eyes which when rubbed makes them worse, swelling and pain. Tried several alternatives now use bread crumb and corriander.

Try different gloves, cover bare skin; ensure open wounds are covered. Wash thorougly when finished. Get someone to watch you and see if you are doing something without noticing yourself.

Switch the bubbler off say 30min before touching the trays, dry external surfaces of trays with absorbent paper (hankies/toilet roll) exhaust all options before giving up use.

[MadScientist]

Mike is also right that latex can be a real problem for people with allergies. We had to ban their use in our lab a few years ago and I don’t recall many science laboratories that will still use them in the UK. One building in Oxford actually has a warning sign which says that latex used to be used in it several years ago! A better option is a pair of marigolds that you can wash your hands in after. Or, if you want disposables, there are a range of low allergen gloves now.

The joker will shed all sorts of proteins and carbohydrates (which tend to be the main allergens) into the water which will get dispersed in a vapour if you bubble the water- this is probably the key problem. As suggested, I’d glove up and use a mask and try and store without bubbling if you can. If it continues, you have to ask yourself whether its worth the health risk of a bad asthma attack. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but once you are sensitised, you tend to be for life.

[TF_Nigel.]

If you allergic to it, then just use it on your match and chuck it in afterwards!
I am allergic to cats, its very itchy, keep using the joker, but dont take it home to try and save a fiver, not worth the uncomfortable situation.

[TF_Waveney One]

You don’t chuck all the cats that you catch into Barston though do you Nigel?

[TF_Nigel.]

Haha, we dont have any cats here, lol~clap

[TF_wightangler]

actually my cat- was ill for a few days from drinking the bubbler/joker water!

[TF_One Out of the Frame]

My cat was ‘ill’ after if shit in my leamed up joker and killed it!

What made that even worse for me, was walking past the bucket on several occasions while thinking to myself, “Lumps! That’s funny as I’m sure I’d riddled that!”

[Author]

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