Thread: Allergic?

Is anyone on here allergic to crappie? If I'm ever able to catch a few, between handling minners and taking fish off the hook my hands end up breaking out in some kind of rash the next day. It starts with a dry burning feeling and ends up with the skin peeling a few day later. No matter how much I wash or lotion up, it still happens. I was just wondering if anyone else gets like this? It only started happening about 3 years ago, so I figure it has to be some kind of allergy.

try buying some of those latex gloves at walmart or CVS , see it that helps. use a rag to hold fish while unhooking so they can't poke thru the gloves

Crappie97, I too have this problem, except it is with all fish. When I catch fish, I have to remove the fish with a thick glove and when I clean them I ware the purple gloves like the paramedics ware. You can buy these gloves at Wally World. Just be careful when cleaning the fish so as not to stick a fin in it and cause it to leak. i buy a box of 200, because I catch sooooo many fish.LOL.I have ask people before about this and no one seems to know what it is. Timk

I am sorta glad to talk to you about this because you are the only other person that I know who has this problem .Timk

Rarely as it was, my hands have broke out from cleaning alot of catfish at one time. They'll turn red with a rash and itch like crazy for a couple hours. Hasnt happened much, but it has happened. They'd eventually quit itching (as long as I controlled the scratching) and the rash would go away. As I said, only happened a few times so I didnt pay it too much attention.

believe me Gabowman, if you had what we are talking about you would know it. After your hands quit ictching, they will get real sore, and then in a day or two, all of the skin that has been touched by the fish, will start to peel off. It is not very fun. When I use to tournament fish for bass, my hands stayed in bad shape because I would not take the time to put my glove on. I learned the hard way. Timk

Well, I don't want to say that I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one, but I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Timk, you described it exactly. I do glove up when cleaning, but not when baiting or landing fish. That usually keeps it isolated to my thumb and index finger. I did a google search and it sounds like 'contact dermatitis' Hand Rashes

I guess gloves are the way to go, cause I'm sure not going to avoid contact if the fish are willing to bite.

Crappie97, The glove that I use to take the fish off of the hook is large enough to allow me to slip it on without using the other hand. It has a coating of grit on it witch helps hold the fish tight while removing the hook. I bought these gloves at the hardware store for around $5. Timk

I'm not allergic to the fish, but my finger tips split open after a couple of days from being in the water so much, so I use the blue gloves that I get from Harbor Freight all the time while I'm fishing. When they split open I think that the nerves go all the way up to my shoulders. I've tried I think everything that you can buy and the best for me is good old Vaseline.

Gerald K4NHN
Cayce, SC

unfortunately once the reaction has begun, nothing can help the skin. It is going to die and peel. Sometimes it peels more than once. Timk