Allergic Reaction After Dipping Corals

[Patrick Cox]

I have many different allergies (pollen, mold, cats...etc.) and I have been keeping a reef tank for over two years and in that time, I have never had any problems or allergic reactions from my maintenance and handling of my tank and corals. Yesterday however, after fragging a frogspawn and then treating several corals with Coral RX and MediCoral, my lungs started to fill up with fluid like I was having an allergic reaction. At first I didn't make the connection because I had already left the house and was at a movie but the potential cause did cross my mind as this was happening. Then this morning, I treated another coral and had the same symptoms only to a lesser extent because I only treated one coral. I am not sure but I believe this was due to inhalation of vapors from either the coral dip itself or from something that was released into the air from the coral while being dipped. I don't believe it was from direct contact of the coral because I have touched corals many times in the past and never had a problem, but this was the first time I have dipped corals.

So, I was curious if anyone else has experienced or heard of allergic symptoms from dipping corals? Going forward I am going to always use gloves and wear a mask when handling corals!

Thanks!
Pat