Putting my foot in my mouth - Zoanthid Sting

I'm still iffy on the Zoas...I might get some for the nano just not the big tank because I'll be working on it a lot. I really do like them just I don't like their poisonous fact...:-/

Where can I get gloves anyway?

 

I suppose the response "just don't touch" won't fly....The bulky ones are going to be best.

 

Well the morning after: I dosed up on Benadryl and my prescription cream. It's like night and day. My hands are MUCH better!! I don't know if it's the Benadryl or the cream, or truly a combination of both, but I don't care. All I know is that it's starting to go away and fast! Yay!!

 

Glad you feeling better!

I use a pair of Playtex Dish washing gloves. I bought those long ones and found that they were absolutely useless for anything other than working with live rock, don't try to pick up a small piece of coral with them cause is almost impossible.

I would put ruberbands on the ends of the gloves though otherwise you will get a bath the first time you pull your hands out of the tank like me, LOL..

 

These are my thoughts - you cant expect a doctor in Denver to know about marine venoms. Its like asking a Mayan witch doctor to treat me for the clap.

 

Good to know you're feeling better!

You'd think that even though they might not know what palytoxin is, or have heard of it, they'd at least have the common knowledge of what Coral is. Maybe not know what the specific types are and their effects on you when you're stung, but dang.

If I ever get stung, poisoned, etc. I'd bring some printouts that explain the kind of coral, toxins contained, etc. May help them start their research on how to treat you.

 

I want people to be careful. I don't want any injuries or deaths over a hobby.

Ever started a siphon with your mouth and then had diarrhea for 2 days? That's not palytoxin. There are all sorts of nasties in our tanks and it's a good idea to be smart. That means wearing gloves whenever possible. When that's not practical, washing your hands well and never touch your mucus membranes until you do (mouth, nose, eyes). Being smart also means doing small things like installing drip loops, using GFCI outlets, etc. You can get a smoke detector for 7 bucks at home depot. Do you have one by your tank?

Palytoxin is in zoanthids. True. In most of the species we put in our tanks, it is luckily a fairly small amount. Did you know that palytoxin is in some algaes and some sponges? What about Tuberculosis? Mycobacterium marinum is in many of our tanks and yes, you can catch it.

Most palytoxin poisonings are luckily nothing more than an allergic reaction. With each allergen reaction, the histamines increase. That's why an anti-histamine like Benadryl is useful. However, I have had palytoxin poisoning and I know 3 other people who have too. Lets just say, "That's not fun". The person who bought my old 75 went into seizure and almost died. Luckily his dad was his doctor and is also in the hobby. I'm allergic to Euphylliids. A torch coral affects me more than a zoanthid would.

I don't like inspiring fear. However, I do want people to be smart.

 

I can safely say I have learned a lot in this thread. be safe everyone

 

I am just as guilty as the next person on not taking the proper precautions in the aquarium.

Histamines do build up in your system the more you are exposed to something and can cause a reaction that is worse the next time

It really is not fair to blame doctors for not knowing about coral poisons....how often does the average doctor get a patient with it?

It sounds more like you had an allergic reaction to the zoos then a palytoxin poisoning. If you actually had palytoxin poisoning it would be more systemic then a rash.

However no matter what occurred this is a great lesson for all of us. The longer people are in the hobby the more lazy we get with protecting ourselves. This is true with everything....the more we work around something the more we loose the fear.

I mouth siphon often, and did not make the connection of having diarrhea all the time until somebody told me of the dangers of mouth siphoning. I then made the connection

I am allergic to something in my tank. I never had a problem until recently. Now whenever I am in there I itch all over my body for the remainder of the day. I have the thick glove that were shown ealier, however I had not been using them because I felt clummsy in them. Well I will now!

 

Yea that was my intention with this thread, to raise awareness. Whether it was due to the Zoanthinds or something else, either way the whole ordeal has opened my eyes. Gloves it is from now on. Because who knows, maybe I could have just developed an allergy to something else in the tank. But everyone is at risk when you are working with your rocks and stinging corals.

As for the doctors not knowing about coral poisoning, I agree that here in Denver that can't be expected. But is it really too much to expect a nurse to know what a coral is to begin with? I mean, don't you have to go through a lot of education to become a nurse? Certainly there aren't any reefing classes when you're going for medical school. But I learned about corals in middle school for gods sake. Isn't it kind of common knowledge? *Shrug* I'm just sayin...