HELP!!! palytoxin????

castor

castor

New member
I think I may be grabing at straws but I got up today and put in my contacts and soon it was like I was being hit my alergies, but I don't have alergies. Eyes beat read, watering very badly and burning. It's gotten worse through the day and now is just in one eye but that one eye feels like I have gasoline in it.

The only thing I can think of is I was moving around things in my tank last night a few hours before I went to bed. There was a rock of brown ugly palys growing with other zoos that I ripped of and was going to frag out the zoos I wanted later. I'm thinking maybe they are ones that are toxic and I had a little on my hands and when I took my contacts out last night it stuck on my contacts and was in a saline solution last night. My eyes were a little itcy when I woke up but didn't get bad until after I put my contacts in..

The only thing is it's suppose to be very toxic so why isn't it doing anything else if it is palytoxin and would it effect my eye that way. I'm getting ready to go to the hospital and this is the only thing I can come up with as to what is causing it as it's pretty bad. I've been flushing my eyes all day but that doesn't seem to help.

What do you think, could it be palytoxin and should I mention it at the hospital?

I'm going to be leaving in 10-15 mins so some quick advise would be great.
 
I'm no doctor, but I seriously doubt that you have exposed the toxins to your mucus membrane. It could just very well be some of the saltwater from your hands, which will cause some stinging and slight burn accompanied by very redish pink eyes. It happened to me a month ago and went away within 48 hours. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go seek medical attention, I just think if it were from Palytoxin, you would have more severe symptoms.

The links below have some helpful info that you should be aware of. I found them here on RC.

http://www.asanltr.com/newsletter/02-2/articles/Neurotoxins.htm

http://www.cbwinfo.com/Biological/Toxins/Palytoxin.html

Please let us know that you're ok and/or what the doctors find.

God Bless,

Mucho
 
Corals release many highly allergenic compounds.. I'll bet it was more than just saltwater, but not necessarily poisoning. Just keep some Benadryl and a phone nearby, just in case. (That's what I do when that stuff happens.)
 
Oh...and use gloves in your tank from now on. After sticking my hands in the tank (granted, gloveless...I know..) I scrub them hard before I bring them anywhere near my mucous membranes. Lots of stuff in the tank can irritate skin.

Still...Palytoxin is an extremely powerful neurotoxin, so I think it's pretty fast-acting, and would affect your heart, lungs, etc., rather than just your eyes.
 
Got back from the hospital a bit over an hour ago and was told I had a severe case of conjunctivitis, or pink eye.

I didn't really think it was palytoxin as I knew the symptoms would probably be more severe. It's some killer pink eye though if that's what it really is. I'm just wondering how I contracted pink eye as I have had very little contact with other people lately. I'm somewhat disabled from a car accident for a while and spend most of the day at home. The only place I've been in 3 days was to the fish store yesterday where I got a new coral. If I got pink eye from anybody it would have to have been then. It is possible that I did, but just doesn't seem probable.

I mentioned that I have a salt water reef tank with many corals and that some could be toxic to the doctor and that I had been moving things around in the tank the night before I got this. He said it was highly unlikely that it was from anything from my tank but I think when you say salt water reef tank to most people they think of a tank with those mold cast coral decorations.

All I know is my eye still hurts more than anything and it's not going to let me sleep tonight.

Which do you say is more likely, I got pink eye by chance yesterday at the fish store or I got some toxin in my eye last night from my tank?
 
I probably just have really bad pink eye and it's just a coincidence that I rearanged my tank last night.
 
hehe i was going to say pink eye, or maybe calcium on the lenses, that happens too, and causes a lot of the same symptoms as pink eye. glad to hear it was not palytoxtins though
 
Great news, well, not so great if it's pink eye, but it's better than paly poison. I didn't think it was the Palytoxins from what you described. I think Pink eye is highly contagious so be sure you don't give it to a loved one by accident. Hope you get well soon my friend.

Warm regards, Mucho
 
I am pretty sure I've felt the effects of palytoxins. I was cutting zoas one day for a frag swap, then my arm went numb. I then noticed I was really dizzy, but not really a spinning dizzy, kinda like some sort of interesting buzz. Then it stopped about 45 minutes later. My wife's right. This tank will be the death of me:). Has contact from zoas/palytoxin ever seriously hurt a person? I've seen where animals have died form contact, but not anything on human contact. Just curious.
 
castor said:
I probably just have really bad pink eye and it's just a coincidence that I rearanged my tank last night.
Click to expand...

I joined late, but that is exactly what I was going to say, pink eye. For some reason, it's fairly common among reefers. I no longer rub my face/eye/anything with out taking my gloves off first now :D I'm tired of pink eye ;)

Another fairly common thing that can happen is a tranfer of vibrio by rubbing your eye. That is a nasty one :(
 
If you have pink eye, get new contacts or you'll just give it to yourself again once your eye is better. Had it happen to me. SUCKED! :D
 
i have seen many people get eye infections from reef tanks, especially when handling live rock and rubbing their eyes. if i put my hand in my system, after it's out i wash my hads with soap,dry them and use hand sanitizer. lots of bacteria in a reef system.
 
Okay, my eye is still really painfull and seems to be very sensitive to light and doesn't seem to be getting any better, plus I seem to have developed a high temperature but I can't find the stupid thermometer because I can't see (luckily I can type without having to see much) This combined with my neck and spinal injury has made me more miserable than I think I have ever been.

Arg, the days you wish you had a gun. :( (joking)
 
Do you wear makeup at all?
I used to wear the same makeup for years. All of a sudden I became allergic to my eye shadow and had the same symptoms as you except a fever.
My eyes were red and burned for days.
The doc said my makeup and I did'nt belive him lol so I tried it again months later and yep same thing it was the makeup.

Hope you get better

kass
 
Ug, back finally. When it rains it pours. Lot of things happened and I'm not sure whether to blame it on getting something from my tank, problems with meds or a combo of several things.

I remember asking the doctor if my eye was bad, and got the response "Ooooooh, well yeah I'd really have to say so" as my eye was all swollen with a constant stream of tears coming out of it. The next night I had what I was told where complications with the level of a new med in my system that made me lose 11 pounds in three days, you can figure out how, and lying on the bathroom floor for four hours in the middle of the night feeling like my stomach exploaded inside of me. Finally eating solid food again though and my eye is pretty much better so it looks like no permenant damage.

Whether any of this had anything to do with something from my tank or not is for you to decide.
 
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