Do aquariums hold health issues?

[skytan13]

Have you tried sleeping in other rooms of the house? And will the breathing issues persist or cease?

Next since you mention about carpets, how is your water change regime and do you spill lots of water? Maybe inspect the area you will usually spill and inspect throughly if there are molds at whatever area there should be at least some tell tale signs visually or smell.

 

[skjl47]

ideas as to anything else I may not have heard of?

Hello; I see you are in Minnesota. Have you had an unusual winter? Here in Tennessee the winter weather has been most unusual this year. Trees blooming in Feb. Strawberries ready to come in at least three weeks early (That is if tonight's hard frost doesn't get them). Much warmer for long spells of days. I washed my car and truck a couple of weeks ago outside in a T shirt in Feb. Lots of pollen out already.

 

[duanes]

The most common health issue with aquariums is Mycobacterium marinum, which causes skin infections, when the ubiquitous bacteria enters breaks in the skin. As to whether or not there is a possibility of airborne transmission is only something a doctor could diagnose. A simple swab and lab test should be able to ID the cause/species
That said, the bedroom is the only room in my house, I didn't keep an aquarium.
After I moved, I had to have the entire house remediated anyway.

 

[Yoimbrian]

Did you do the entire allergy sweep test? Where they prick you 200 times in a grid and see how much you swell up?

I'm in MN as well, and regularly get allergy shots (For me its trees mostly, if I didn't love maple syrup I'd chop them all down).

If you haven't, do that. Even if you do have mold youre not necessarily allergic to it. If you are allergic to mold, you'll need to check under the carpet. Sadly aquariums on carpet is a long term mess, especially if you splash doing WCs.

Humidity can cause other problems to a house, but for the most part humans do well in humidity if you ignore the added potential for mold.

I don't buy the aerosolized droplets theory, but it's easy to test. Get a tight fitting lid, put a bubbler for gas exchange, and put a filter of some sort over the outlet to catch any water drops.

 

[Drstrangelove]

It seems you have already been told the source of the allergies from your first post.

Your doctor seems to have run out of answers (which leads to speculation on normal everyday things, but did they ask about new perfume for your mom, new deodorant, soap, after shave, clothes, laundry detergent, new plants or trees in the neighborhood, new foods, new drinks, old filters in the HVAC, etc.) Maybe they should refer you (again?) to a specialist who can test you for allergic reactions to things in your room and house that you have not been told about.

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/allergy-prevention
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/11/11/determining-cause-of-winter-allergies-can-prove-difficult/

A specialist can test you for mold, carpet fibers, dechlorinator, and a hundred other causes. But mold in particular isn't that likely unless you spilled gallons of water on the carpet or have ulta-high relative humidity in your room.

I think testing the humidity as it was suggested is the easiest step to cast light on the aquarium, but having had several relatives with huge allergy issues, I can tell you they often had problems finding causes.

That doesn't mean one shouldn't try to figure it out of course. However, it'd be an absolute shame if something you cared about was the cause, so I wish you luck on that.

 

[FMA4ME]

I'm thinking mold also. Just remember mold is something you might have to dig for to see at home, you also could be exposed to it at work or school. Then again after all the rain we've had here in socal, my allergies have been going crazy, guess it could be weather related too.

 

[LogiBear]

Yoimbrian

Yeah I did the test... On my back for starters then my arm after... And I've been getting 4 allergy shots a week. So it's either something I am totally I needed in to affect me so bad, or not allergies... I am just looking to the tanks as a possible source due to partially coincidental timing and an allergy specialist's untried theory.

 

[LogiBear]

Thanks for the ideas y'all... I'm sure this thread sounds a bit foolish I'm just seeing if anyone knows about this

 

[Fat Homer]

^ im sure this thread would be a good reference for anyone with similar questions, so nothing foolish about it...

If on the other hand you were asking about keeping a Pima in a 10G, thats a different story lol...

 

[skjl47]

That said, the bedroom is the only room in my house, I didn't keep an aquarium.
After I moved, I had to have the entire house remediated anyway.

Hello; Even if the potential mold is not the cause of the allergic reaction, this from duanes should be a fair warning. By remediated I think he means a team of mold removal specialists had to work on an entire house. This can be costly. Sometimes drywall, carpet and such has to be removed.
I moved into a house with central air a few years ago. I set up two tanks, a 55 and a 29 gallon. I was use to an oil fired furnace before . I found that the central air heat would not remove the moisture in the winter. Had condensation bad. I got a dehumidifier to run during the winter heating months.
Central air does take moisture out of the air in the summer when in AC mode, but not in the winter.