I learned about Zoanthid toxin the hard way......

[Joe LoPresti]

Wow man, what an unbelievable story. I also love zoos and appreciate the warning you've given. I sincerely hope you get better soon and I will be much more careful when handling them...

 

[Hop]

Hang in there! Hope you get to feeling better soon. I hope a few people learn a little something from this, thanks for posting it.

After reading the thread about the guy whos dog died a few years ago, I treat zoos the same as medical waste...

 

[mg426]

Holy Cow!! thanks for sharing, Best of luck to you for a speedy recovery!!

 

[steveoutlaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9594953#post9594953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by A.T.T.R
fwiw it wasnt pally toxin.
1 paly toxin is rare.
and 2
paly toxin dosnt cause this


i think we need to find out what OTHER toxin is causeing these thigns that people keep blaming on paly toxin so maybe if we get these other things we can fight them better.
and also paly toxin does have a cure. its an injection directly into the heart of somthing that starts with a d. but it has only been lab tested.

i think about 50 percent of the cases of "paly toxin" are all in peoples heads. and the otehr 50 percent usualy falsly blaming the palytoxin

plus i doubt steam could transport paly toxin.. id be intrested ot find out what you really had happen to you as it is a pretty darn scary story

#1 - How can you say with certainty that it was not palytoxin?
#2 - If you are going to make this assertion you need to back it up.
#3 - It's really easy for you to suggest that it's all in my head....it didn't happen to you.

The fact remains that I inhaled the steam from boiling the zoanthids and it closed up my lungs. The doctors all agreed that an aerosol toxin breathed in would cause irritation and inflammation of my bronchial tubes. Can I say for certain that it was the palytoxin.......no. But until someone gives my a different explanation they can back up, I'm going to listen to the doctors.

 

[Aliie]

I'm shocked that this could happen. I would have never guessed it was toxic enough to do that to a person. I'm glad you shared this story with all of us.

I hope you recover fully from this incident.

 

[ct_vol]

Thats awful... Thanks for sharing... Hope you feel better soon...

 

[techigirl78]

Sorry to hear about your trip to the ER and aftermath. Thanks for sharing.

When I was looking around, I found this document: http://www.hsarpabaa.com/Solicitations/HSARPA_RA-03-01_Appendices.pdf

In the summary, it indicates the effects of palytoxins are muscle contractions, heart irregularities, and rigid paralysis. On the bright side, if it was palytoxin that did this to you, it is good that your heart has stayed strong!

Here's another article I found on the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/bmbl5/Section 8G_Toxin Agent Summary Statements Final.pdf It also included dinos in this article. Both being identified as potential public threats - i.e. possible biological weapons - on a number of government sites.

Do you know if your doctors ever tried contacting the CDC or a government hospital?

 

[bchbum189]

a local lady was put onto bed rest for about a week from moving her palythoas. Once she touched them, her arm began to tingle followed by severe breathing and large amounts of saliva. She went to the point of almost passing out. One week later, she still wasnt recovered fully. These things are nasty little buggers, and i take them very seriously now(rubber gloves)

 

[2fishy]

*gulp*! I just cleaned the aquarium glass yesterday, and bumped my rock yesterday, a couple of times and then I moved it over to a different area. Time for me to invest in some gloves! Does anyone know if the disposable gloves will protect your hands well enough?

Anyway, thanks for sharing and I hope you do get better soon!

 

[bchbum189]

i like the coralife gloves, go all the way to ur shoulder, and dont have any powders like some latex gloves have

 

[tgunn]

:eek2: :eek2: WOW, that's some scary stuff!
Hope the after effects clear up for you!

I'm going to be taking a lot of my rocks out of the tank for a thorough scrubbing in a few weeks; I'm going to make sure to wear my heavy neoprene gloves, safety goggles, and perhaps even my half face respirator.

Thanks for sharing!

Tyler

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

now that sounds like a FUN hobby when you have to wear a hazmat suit to do it.


I think, another issue is people have different sensitivity to foreign irritants. like allergy prone people, and people that get all kinds of nasty rashes etc from any working in the tanks. So it is too easy to point fingers at a more obvious possibility. Most people have played in the water their whole hobby career without incident because they aren't sensitive to whatever is in the water.

I still remain skeptical that this was a palytoxin poisoning also, but that is only my opinion.

 

[Sheol]

Well, that is a warning to us all. Hope your recovery continues and is complete.

Sincerely,
Matthew

 

[A.T.T.R]

"The fact remains that I inhaled the steam from boiling the zoanthids and it closed up my lungs. The doctors all agreed that an aerosol toxin breathed in "
yup and i want to know what that was. cause that is scary as hell!
theres definitly more hten one toxin in them.
and according to the least reputable source. palytoxin is a rarity(and thank god since it is the worse)

3 years ago a read abput paly toxin and was scared of all zoas . so i did some reasearch. if ever i have time to find the links ill post them.

but most of the time the people who say things like " i cant feel my hand." its mostly in there head or some other toxin in the tank
for the most part palyy toxin has two effects. nothing. or death within minutes. by stopping your heart

i just really dont want people throwing out zoa;s due to being scared of them

if i remember correctly the toxin is only found when a certin dinoflag is present

 

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9597333#post9597333 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by A.T.T.R
but most of the time the people who say things like " i cant feel my hand." its mostly in there head or some other toxin in the tank
for the most part palyy toxin has two effects. nothing. or death within minutes. by stopping your heart

:lol:

In thier head............ maybe in your head.

You are incorrect, it has many effects other than nothing and death. Instead of taking the time for pointless posts. Take the time to dig up your old links and re-read them.




steveoutlaw, sorry you are going through this, I got squirt in the eye a month and a half ago. had a nasty reaction and couldnt see for a week. Hopefully things get better soon, I know the pain can be very real. Let us know how it pans out in the comming weeks.

 

[RoGeTa]

Thanks for sharing! I've never found Zoas worth the risk. I'm very accident prone, and anything that could happen WILL happen to me (I have a scar on my leg from a fream dirt bike accident to prove it!)! I have also dealt with a mild version of asthma most of my life, and I know that isn't fun. I hope you make a full recovery!

 

[Aliie]

I wanted some but now I am hesitant to even handle the little buggers! I have asthma and don't think it would be worth the risk either.

 

[IndyMatt]

Whenever I frag Zoos I wear gloves and glasses.

Don't forget to protect your eyes!

 

[tkeracer619]

Don't be scared of the zoanthid, just know that it is possible for them to be dangerious.

The best thing to do is wear goggles/gloves and do your fragging under water. They cant shoot you from under water.

I have asthma, its of no greater concern to asthmatics than any other human. If anything we already have the steroids that the doctors gave Steve.

 

[steveoutlaw]

Thanks everyone.

Don't get me wrong.......I'm not telling everyone to go and get rid of their zoos. I just want to make people aware of how dangerous they can be and to be careful when handling them. And I don't care what you read on the internet, DO NOT use boiling water to kill them.

Also, the only reason this is affecting my bronchial tubes is because I breathed the toxin in. As long as you don't breath it in you won't have any troubles like this.

I guess just use common sense and KNOW what you have in your tank.