A health issue, roaches must go

Nhewyt

Nhewyt

Second Instar
Well, my fellow roach loving friends, I've not been posting much lately because I've been trying to find a way to make the truth not be true... and it hasn't worked.

So, there is nothing for it but to be out with it.

It seems that only a few months into my re-emergence into the roach hobby, I have become ultra-sensitized to roaches. Yeah, I had a slight allergy before, but nothing horrid. My husband actually had been the one with big allergy problems which we figured was probably due to the amount of them I had back then ( thousands upon thousands). Now, go figure - this time out I decide I will stay really SMALL so that I don't affect my husband's allergies. I keep them cleaned out every few days. I have a HEPA air cleaner with them. Hubby - not hardly any problem. Me, well, no problem at first, then...

... several weeks ago, maybe almost a month(?) I got some dwarf cave nymphs. I was cleaning them out one night and one of them ran up my arm and was about to fall. I grabbed it a little too hard I think, and maybe it let loose some defensive spray or something. Within a few minutes I was in agony - nose running, eyes itching, coughing non-stop. And that was the beginning of the end. Now ALL of the roaches affect me the same. I have already given away most of them, but still have a few dwarfs (so I have babies to feed my 4 little spiderlings), 10 dwarf caves - and I have a colony of about 20 g. oblongonata because I think they are so awesome I don't want them going to someone who is going to just feed them off - there are a few that are massive!

The doc says that "sometimes this sort of thing just happens" and that when it's this bad there is nothing to be done about it but get rid of the roaches. He said that immune shots could take several years to do any good IF they worked, and he is concerned that I am going to end up with asthma.

I am so disgusted you folks have no idea. I love these bugs. And even if I didn't love 'em, I've dropped $$$ into getting set up again.

Oh well, water under the bridge I guess... a lesson learned maybe? Why ask why...

So, since it's too cold to ship (I don't have any heat packs) is there anyone local near North Versailles PA who wants the rest of my bugs?

My loss is your gain - I'm not asking $$$ for them. I can meet at any of several well know local spots like the Monroeville Mall, etc. as my house can be a pain to find.

PM me if interested - or email to nhewyt@comcast.net

Nhewyt

 
Nhewyt said:
He said that immune shots could take several years to do any good IF they worked, and he is concerned that I am going to end up with asthma.
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Your doc apparently has no firsthand knowledge of the actual study or he'd understand cockroaches do not cause asthma. However, if you have asthma, have a cockroach allergy and live in the Unites States (similar studies in other countries showed no correlation) you can have more severe attacks.

Sorry to hear about your allergy :( I know other people with allergies who are affected primarily by certain types, especially Blaberus.

I live near Cleveland but haven't gone to the reptile shows out your way in years.

 
Funny how vets, doctors, and such professions dont get enough info on insects ever.....

I have some doctor friends who admit there is no solid info on roach allergies and they have to make thier "best guess" to treat the patient.... most docs are not diagnosticians per se but treat patients in general medical terms....

HEPA filters will not work on roach allergies. What you are allergic to is not a particle that can be filtered, but a chemical compound in vapor form (vapor =VOC aka Volitile Organic Compounds). To filter the room of these VOC's, you need a filter that is designed to remove something like cigarette smells from the air. This would involve a two part system- one is use of a good activated carbon filter and the other is a resin that is in beads or fibers that is chemically absorbant.

Here is a link to a great example of a product for such things:

http://www.air-purifiers-america.com/produ...mp;linkid=image

 
Yeah - you both hit the nail on the head about doctors - they love to give you pills and sprays and all sorts of stuff, but not so good about the why. My doctor told me that I was allergic to the microscopic particles of dung and exoskeleton in the air even though I explained to him that I clean them every few days. I figured it HAD to be something that they gave off since it was the dwarf cave that set me off to begin with, and it wasn't pooping or shedding at the time LOL. That's a great link Matt - but I am just going to bite the bullet and let them go.

 
It certainly takes the fun out of it if you can't get near your pets :( I wouldn't keep a dog or cat either if I were allergic to it.

(I would not feed G. oblongonota to anything.)

 
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Sorry to hear about your allergy. I guess Benadryl has already been tried. I hope you are able to find someone to take them.

 
Man that pretty much bites. Allergies are funny things that are misunderstood by many.

The only thing that will set me off in a snotty tizzy is Gloria Vanderbelt perfume of all things.

Orin McMonigle said:
(I would not feed G. oblongonota to anything.)
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Chickens love 'em.

I've fed off a couple dozen of them as treats to my hens already. Since they were a batch of "mutts" I got, and plenty to play with- what the heck.

 
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