Forums > Help! > Fire Breathing Help

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Tyrusmember
4 posts

Posted:
I have looked around your site, and I have read the fire breathing safety article that you posted, as well as quite a few questions by your members; however I still have some questions.

I really only picked this up to do a bit in a show I am doing, but it was a lot of fun once I started so I figured I should learn more about it, because I knew I wasn’t being safe.

I started out with corn starch, but that didn’t work for my act (I have to lip synch and I can’t have a mouth full of white stuff) and then I tried isopropyl alcohol briefly, but that had its own issues and I figured it wasn’t very safe to put in my mouth. I finally settled on Everclear, and it worked VERY well.

Now I know all of you will yell at me, but I didn’t know any better, But after reading all the safety stuff I have to wonder. The recommended fuels, paraffin, kerosene, and lamp oil, are all toxic, and if I swallow any I am screwed, and since I am lip synching for a whole song after I spit my fire, and doing acrobatics, I really won’t have time to rinse my mouth out. I also don’t like the idea of having oil just sitting in my mouth. With the Everclear, I would only be using a small amount, once, so I won’t have fuel on my face as I blow.

Aside from this particular act, I would really like to learn more, and make acts around fire breathing, but I don’t like the sound of all the toxins that go into my mouth. How frequently would I have to do this in order for the toxic risks to start being a reality? I like my teeth, gums, lungs, and other various organs, and would rather not be crapping them out on the toilet the next day, or having them rot away.

In short, while maintaining proper technique and, not swallowing anything, or burning my face off, how dangerous is fire breathing, chemically, to my body?

tracethefaceBRONZE Member
angry turtle
101 posts
Location: Another haunted factory., USA


Posted:
Heya Tyrus. Glad to hear you've read the fire breathing articles. Have you gone through some of the old forum posts as well? There are a lot of threads that talk about this kind of stuff. I'm not a fire breather, nor am I a big proponent of fire breathing (you will find many people on the forums aren't its biggest fans, though some are), but there are loads of older threads on here that have this stuff come up. Dig a little bit with the search bar and you'll find a lot of stuff about fuel, blowback, and other important points. Also, look for anything here posted by Pele.

Off the cuff, the best quote I can recall is hearing that fire-breathers always have 'fuel burps.' That is, you burp after a show, and you taste fuel--whatever you try, you're still going to ingest a bit. I also know your mouth and teeth will take a pretty heavy beating.

Anyway, if you are planning to continue with something as dangerous as fire breathing, you really should take some extra research time and float around the old forum threads a bit. Fair warning that some of the old forum threads get pretty heated about it (ba-dum-dum-tss!).

Fluidity.


Tyrusmember
4 posts

Posted:
I appreciate the response, and yes I did look back over the old forms, I just didn't get all the info i wanted. but I will keep looking.

tracethefaceBRONZE Member
angry turtle
101 posts
Location: Another haunted factory., USA


Posted:
Fair enough. I wish I could find them again, but I know that I've read pages and pages about fuel and long term health effects on old threads. Keep looking if you haven't seen them yet, because they're somewhere back there.

Fluidity.


ABOBer92SILVER Member
ABOB - Pois'n'us
178 posts
Location: Northern Ireland


Posted:
Originally Posted By: TyrusThe recommended fuels, paraffin, kerosene, and lamp oil, are all toxic, and if I swallow any I am screwed...I also don’t like the idea of having oil just sitting in my mouth...I don’t like the sound of all the toxins that go into my mouth. How frequently would I have to do this in order for the toxic risks to start being a reality?

i have only been doing fire breathing for about 4months but dug as deep into the old forums as i could in the months before starting.
paraffin/kerosene/lamp oil are toxic but not at a serious level; if you swallow a mouthful then it will just cause really bad diarrhea, you would have to swallow roughly a pint in one night for it to do serious damage
again the dregs left in your mouth after firebreathing arent going to damage you much by swallowing -though it will taste worse the longer you leave it in your mouth
many of the topics i read ended up involving the frequency of firebreathing; how many times in one night, one week and one month due to it being an important factor in how likely it was to damage your health. overall there was nothing conclusive on 'how long' but it is safe to assume the more you do it the more likely it is to damage you somehow

as for what is damaged;
lips/gums/nasal-cavaties are going to be hit even if you do everything right, nothing serious but overtime you can get bleeding gums.
if you ingest it then stomach will hurt, intestines and kidneys will be damaged (how much depends on how much you drink) often leading to diarrhea.
inhaling it is the only one that scares me about firebreathing, it hits your lungs, throat and nose which can lead to damaging other bodyparts due to lack of oxygen in blood. (check pele's story for better info)

as for actual advice? (or tl;dr)
have something to wipe your mouth that you can inconspicuously use during the routine, eg a sleeve of your top, wrist sweatband or shoulder of your top
bring water, mouth wash and a flavored drink for washing mouth out; i usually leave mouthwash until im finished firebreathing for the night, use water to wash out mouth and drink to taste better after each firebreathing bit. (if possible you could have a stage hand provide some water, it would be dependant on your act being able to incorporate it tho)
lip balm/moisturiser/something similar. use this around mouth before and after fire show to save your lips/chin from damages, heat can cause them to crack a bit without it

I dont want to be called 'the greatest' or 'one of the greats'; let other guys claim to be the best. I just want to be known as a clown, to me thats the height of my profession. It means you can do everything-sing, dance, and above all, make people laugh


Tyrusmember
4 posts

Posted:
hmmm, that is more reassuring.
If I felt like i wasn't going to rot my teeth out or get cancer immediately i would be more willing to try paraffin.
I figure I will buy a gallon and see how it goes. So far with Everclear i haven't inhaled any of it, swallow it, or breathed in the smoke. So maybe my technique is good enough that I can worry a bit less.
Is there a brand that is the safest?
EDITED_BY: Tyrus (1369852275)

Tyrusmember
4 posts

Posted:
I found some liquid Paraffin in town. It is from a local candle maker, and they say it is very pure and as non toxic as it come.

I remember on one post it said that I should avoid colorless, orderless paraffin, but this stuff is totally tasteless and has no color.

I like it, but I want to make sure I am being safe.

ABOBer92SILVER Member
ABOB - Pois'n'us
178 posts
Location: Northern Ireland


Posted:
not sure on brands of paraffin but the one i use is sold in 4litre tub/bottle, looks like pee and tastes like vegetable oil mixed with perfume...odour i cant describe as anything other than 'paraffin-y smell' lol

not sure on why they would have suggested avoiding colourless/odourless/whatever paraffin, my only guess would be either the colour/taste/smell is useful to know if youve swallowed it or stop you mistaking it for a bottle of water, though maybe theres a more important reason concerning its flammability or risk to health. might have a look through forums again see if i can find anything about it lol

I dont want to be called 'the greatest' or 'one of the greats'; let other guys claim to be the best. I just want to be known as a clown, to me thats the height of my profession. It means you can do everything-sing, dance, and above all, make people laugh



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