Poison warning: serious stuff, venom, toxins. Hospital stuff. [pix of items]

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Sk8r

Sk8r

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1. when fragging, wear goggles. Palys (buttons) have palytoxin. Take it very seriously: wear gloves, wear goggles, discard the gloves without touching the outer surfaces, and bury them deep in garbage. Wash the goggles in warm water with soap, also wearing gloves, and discard those too. Do not have children or pets watching. Treat it as very serious poison.

Likewise coral is living tissue with bony bits: do not get it in the eyes. Eye surface is a very nice salty growth medium. Got it?

2. various fish have toxic spines. I've personally seen a guy in real danger of losing a thumb to one of these, and if he didn't, he might have lost muscle in it. Blackening, necrosis, etc. Some people are more sensitive than others, but just do NOT get tagged by rabbits, lions, or any of the toxic sorts common in the hobby. Rabbits plaster themselves to the underside of rocks when freaked. If moving rock with a rabbit in the tank, either have the rabbit constantly in view (not easy) or wear over-elbow gloves with leather gloves under them. Better safe than sorry.

3. repeated exposure of human skin to water in which corals are carrying on chemical warfare can sensitize an individual to reef water---so badly that they will ever after break out in a rash as a consequence of touching such water. This has happened to two lfs owners that I know. Wear gloves.

4. never ever, ever, ever heat live rock. The vapor could have serious medical consequences. Not to mention the explosion.
 
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Pretty well. Not everybody reacts to some of these, but some are in the downright vision or life-threatening category, and if you're one of the 'lucky' ones, or just happen to have a hangnail and sore spot, it can be 100% nasty. I am particularly not fond of answering posts from people who are suddenly having serious burning of eyes or rapid heartbeat---IANAD: once you've done it, all I can say is rush to an opthamologist or get to a large ER. Particularly it is REAL difficult to go to a small-town ER and say 'I think it's palytoxin' or 'it was a rabbitfish' and expect the intern on duty to know what on earth you're telling him.
 
I had a reaction to my fingers once Curing uncured live rock in a two container method. Once a week i would take the rock from of container (90 lbs approx) One Rock at a time and rinse it at the top of the water then scrub it with a soft brush. then put in the second container with fresh salt water.. after doing this for a few weeks i noticed the tips of my fingers were getting very sensitive and kinda red .. Kinda like a chemical burn . It was not until like the 4th or 5 th time i figured out for sure it was the Rock doing it... Started using gloves and washing my hands with anti microbial /fungal soap and scrubbing them and it cleared up... I know most live rock will not have this much growth but in the end i should have worn one of the several pair of gloves we have around... I still to this day get a similar but much less intense reaction if i mess with rock work for more then a few minutes.....
I say JUST DO NOT BE STUPID LIKE i was.. IT CANT HAPPEN TO ME..... PSST.
 
I actually printed out some pages about palytoxin and my foxface. Hopefully they will not ever be needed but my wife knows where they are so they can go with me to the ER in the event I cannot take them myself.
 
I have an over sensitivity to saltwater tanks with coral in them from years of working at a local fish store...
when I even look at the softy system ,I'll get rashes and sores on my hand....lol
My hands are still recovering from touching a bubble tip anemone over 9 months ago....I'm a real slow learner and sometimes I just put my hands in there without gloves ,knowing I'm going to have a reaction.
it took me over 7 years to learn to wear gloves.....lol , With beat up hands the whole time.
Hammers will put me on the ground in pain.
 
Yep, handled too many bristleworms; now if I get tagged by a simple worm, fingers swell up hard to the touch and quite nasty. I know better---sometimes i get in a hurry when some stupid fish has tossed a coral into the pits---and I tell myself, y'know, it will not die in the next three minutes.

A box of nitrile exam gloves in the cabinet, dedicated to that purpose, is a good thing to have.
 
I work in an ER and I can't wait till someone comes in for palytoxin poisoning. I'll be all poking my head in the room and saying "hey! New reefer! Wanna trade frags when you're well?"
 
I have been hit by a lionfish while spearfishing. Best way to explain it, take a red hot needle and stick yourself. And that's the just the beginning. What feels like an instant flu with what feels like a fever of 110 and puking. Still love to eat them though.
 
I have had an allergic reaction to brushing my arm against one of my maxi-mini carpet anemones during a water change. I did know I needed to be careful around them, but I didn't realize I would require an ER trip for wheezing,swelling, and pain. I had to move the rocks with the nems to a spot in the back of the tank so I will not be likely to make that mistake again. I can't bear to get rid of them because they are so beautiful.
 
Also almost every flea and tick medication for your furry pets is deadly to marine invertabrates.
Wash good!
 
Man this is some scary stuff.

Sk8r you said to wear gloves when fragging. But what about normal tank maintenance?

I have some zoas and a couple palys. Does this mean I need to wear gloves anytime I put my hands in the water? Even if I will not be in contact with those particular corals?
 
I was stung once severely by a large lion fish.

It was not fun, and the hospital bill and plastic surgery bill I'm still paying on.

I don't suggest it.
 
ericarenee said:
I had a reaction to my fingers once Curing uncured live rock in a two container method. Once a week i would take the rock from of container (90 lbs approx) One Rock at a time and rinse it at the top of the water then scrub it with a soft brush. then put in the second container with fresh salt water.. after doing this for a few weeks i noticed the tips of my fingers were getting very sensitive and kinda red .. Kinda like a chemical burn . It was not until like the 4th or 5 th time i figured out for sure it was the Rock doing it... Started using gloves and washing my hands with anti microbial /fungal soap and scrubbing them and it cleared up... I know most live rock will not have this much growth but in the end i should have worn one of the several pair of gloves we have around... I still to this day get a similar but much less intense reaction if i mess with rock work for more then a few minutes.....
I say JUST DO NOT BE STUPID LIKE i was.. IT CANT HAPPEN TO ME..... PSST.
Click to expand...

This...it's funny how it seems to build up over time. When new I use to stick my hand in the tank all the time with zero issues, grabbing nems with my bare hands.....nothing. Then over time, I started to notice that my hands would feel sore the next day after working in the tank, then gradually it became worse......went from just being sore, to red and itchy....then to a rash.
 
I always was under the impression that lion fish stings were no worse than your average bee or wasp sting.
 
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