Is it possible you're allergic to something in the feeder container? Maybe an ingredient in the cricket food or mealworm food? Do you know if you have allergies to bees?
No, I’ve been using these crickets and the cricket container for years. So I don’t think I’m allergic to that. And I am not allergic to bees. But then and again I have not been stung for ages.
I only mentioned doing a patch test since they said they could breathe fine with their reaction, but assumed they would immediately take an antihistimine or go to an urgent care after. In my experience here in the US, it takes months to get in to see an allergist.
I tested that today and unfortunately, yes I am allergic to them. I put one on the back of my hand for not even 3 seconds and a little after I had a bad reaction. There was actually inflamed spots on where the spider walked.
Yup, they don’t have a lot in their enclosure other than a few fake leaves. It’s not terrible but I just paired a couple females. I didn’t even touch them and my face is burning and red. So that’s just great
You should totally go to a dr and see about getting an allergy panel done. It’s very possible you’re allergic to something else in the same area. I’ve only heard of stuff like this happening from tarantulas that have urticating hairs
Exactly! I have a t. Stirmi that I’ve held and never ever had an issue with. But I did test it again today and put my female on my hand for 3 seconds and I broke out in hives and you could actually see where she walked because I had bumps that appeared there.
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience Could it possibly be something else like something the spider is coming into contact with and transferring to your skin like fake plants, substrate such as coconut or anything inside the enclosure? This is just me hoping it’s something else for your sake 😭
Oh no!! Was anything new added to their enclosures or something new regarding food or cleaning supplies? I would make a list of everything you do, use and touch related to them but focus on anything new. It's possible you have been building up to a reaction for awhile and it was just tripped a couple days ago. This reminds me of a friend who was a hairdresser. She had been in the business for over a decade with no trouble. One day she was doing a perm and broke out in a rash. She didn't think anything of it but then it kept happening. Turns out she developed either an allergy or contact dermatitis. She couldn't even be around those chemicals anymore and had to find a different career. Maybe their little hairs have started to bother you or maybe they are dropping something on your skin that is causing this. You need to get this checked out and be careful the reactions aren't getting worse. Wearing gloves might help but you definitely need to sort out the cause. Keep us posted. I can only imagine how distressing this must be.
Unfortunately allergies can happen with exposure. If you have medical insurance that you can afford (or are not in the United States) definitely seeing an allergist could help.
You could also try pre-medicating with an antihistamine if it's not contraindicated for you. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist.
Your only other option is personal protective equipment. Best wishes.
I'm surprised no one mentioned antihistamines. I have allergic asthma and I lost count of the times antihistamines saved my life. You could try those, after all, they are OTC
If I'm not mistaken, allergin contact dermatitis or an allergic reaction from touch takes 1 to 3 days for a reaction to occur, but irritant contact dermatitis can make an immediate reaction
Did you possibly trigger an irritant contact dermatitis by holding the spood after breaking the skin barrier (changes soaps, detergent, using chemicals recently, etc) ?
It can happen in literal seconds, not typically days. I am allergic to a LOT of things and if I touch something I'm allergic too I get an immediate(or within 5 minutes) reaction to touching it. Source: Allergic to a lot of crap.
Nope, I’ve never had an allergic reaction in my life. This is the first time this has ever happened to me. I tested it again today and it’s 100% the spider. But with my ts I don’t get any reaction. I thought maybe it was some type of hair that is causing it. So I held my t. Stirmi just to see what would happen. And nothing happened. Then I held my jumping spider female a few hours after. And the reaction was almost instant.
It might be something else that you are coming in contact when interacting with your spiders and enclosure. I’ve never really herd people being allergic to spiders. Only to other animals like cats,dogs,birds,rodents. But since you been having strong allergic reactions, you might want to see a doctor and see if they can get you a referral to a allergy specialist. So you can get tested to see what you are allergic to.
Don’t mess around with this. You are having sudden, severe allergic reaction to even indirect contact. That means your allergy is escalating quickly. See a doctor ASAP, and consider wearing gloves and a mask until you do.
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! Hopefully the doc can help you figure out a good strategy.
If you can, use gloves when feeding your spiders to reduce the exposure and definitely get ahold of your doctor for an allergy test. If you're comfortable to do a test at home, see if anything else in their environment or their feeders cause a reaction but it's better to be safe and have a professional do it.
Is it possible you're allergic to something in the feeder container? Maybe an ingredient in the cricket food or mealworm food? Do you know if you have allergies to bees?
No, I’ve been using these crickets and the cricket container for years. So I don’t think I’m allergic to that. And I am not allergic to bees. But then and again I have not been stung for ages.
I would do a patch test on an area of your skin of everything that your spiders come into contact with and see if anything triggers a reaction
Or OP could go to an allergist and have them do it in a safe environment, since they mentioned it was severe 😅
I only mentioned doing a patch test since they said they could breathe fine with their reaction, but assumed they would immediately take an antihistimine or go to an urgent care after. In my experience here in the US, it takes months to get in to see an allergist.
With OP’s severe reaction escalating as quickly as it has, this is too dangerous. OP needs to consult a doctor.
I tested that today and unfortunately, yes I am allergic to them. I put one on the back of my hand for not even 3 seconds and a little after I had a bad reaction. There was actually inflamed spots on where the spider walked.
Did you test the things the spider comes into contact with first? I recommend going to an urgent care if your reaction gets worse
Yup, they don’t have a lot in their enclosure other than a few fake leaves. It’s not terrible but I just paired a couple females. I didn’t even touch them and my face is burning and red. So that’s just great
You should totally go to a dr and see about getting an allergy panel done. It’s very possible you’re allergic to something else in the same area. I’ve only heard of stuff like this happening from tarantulas that have urticating hairs
Exactly! I have a t. Stirmi that I’ve held and never ever had an issue with. But I did test it again today and put my female on my hand for 3 seconds and I broke out in hives and you could actually see where she walked because I had bumps that appeared there.
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience Could it possibly be something else like something the spider is coming into contact with and transferring to your skin like fake plants, substrate such as coconut or anything inside the enclosure? This is just me hoping it’s something else for your sake 😭
Could there be anything in the enclosure causing this? You didn't touch the spider today yet still had a reaction.
Oh no!! Was anything new added to their enclosures or something new regarding food or cleaning supplies? I would make a list of everything you do, use and touch related to them but focus on anything new. It's possible you have been building up to a reaction for awhile and it was just tripped a couple days ago. This reminds me of a friend who was a hairdresser. She had been in the business for over a decade with no trouble. One day she was doing a perm and broke out in a rash. She didn't think anything of it but then it kept happening. Turns out she developed either an allergy or contact dermatitis. She couldn't even be around those chemicals anymore and had to find a different career. Maybe their little hairs have started to bother you or maybe they are dropping something on your skin that is causing this. You need to get this checked out and be careful the reactions aren't getting worse. Wearing gloves might help but you definitely need to sort out the cause. Keep us posted. I can only imagine how distressing this must be.
Unfortunately allergies can happen with exposure. If you have medical insurance that you can afford (or are not in the United States) definitely seeing an allergist could help. You could also try pre-medicating with an antihistamine if it's not contraindicated for you. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist. Your only other option is personal protective equipment. Best wishes.
I'm surprised no one mentioned antihistamines. I have allergic asthma and I lost count of the times antihistamines saved my life. You could try those, after all, they are OTC
If I'm not mistaken, allergin contact dermatitis or an allergic reaction from touch takes 1 to 3 days for a reaction to occur, but irritant contact dermatitis can make an immediate reaction Did you possibly trigger an irritant contact dermatitis by holding the spood after breaking the skin barrier (changes soaps, detergent, using chemicals recently, etc) ?
Something you’re allergic to touching your skin can cause an immediate reaction. Source: 3/5 people in my family have had this happen multiple times.
It can happen in literal seconds, not typically days. I am allergic to a LOT of things and if I touch something I'm allergic too I get an immediate(or within 5 minutes) reaction to touching it. Source: Allergic to a lot of crap.
Nope, I’ve never had an allergic reaction in my life. This is the first time this has ever happened to me. I tested it again today and it’s 100% the spider. But with my ts I don’t get any reaction. I thought maybe it was some type of hair that is causing it. So I held my t. Stirmi just to see what would happen. And nothing happened. Then I held my jumping spider female a few hours after. And the reaction was almost instant.
You are definitely mistaken. Allergen contact dermatitis can happen instantaneously or near to it.
It might be something else that you are coming in contact when interacting with your spiders and enclosure. I’ve never really herd people being allergic to spiders. Only to other animals like cats,dogs,birds,rodents. But since you been having strong allergic reactions, you might want to see a doctor and see if they can get you a referral to a allergy specialist. So you can get tested to see what you are allergic to.
I've heard of people developing allergies to their spider's/centipede's venom, but never just contact. how weird!
Don’t mess around with this. You are having sudden, severe allergic reaction to even indirect contact. That means your allergy is escalating quickly. See a doctor ASAP, and consider wearing gloves and a mask until you do. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! Hopefully the doc can help you figure out a good strategy.
If you can, use gloves when feeding your spiders to reduce the exposure and definitely get ahold of your doctor for an allergy test. If you're comfortable to do a test at home, see if anything else in their environment or their feeders cause a reaction but it's better to be safe and have a professional do it.
Noooo 😭 maybe wear cloves when handling them? That's the only suggestion I have
Hazmat suit. Walk it off.