Aquarist007
New member
My wife bought me a nice pair of yellow heavy duty cleaner gloves---just one of the very few ways of showing support for a reef addict. The gloves always looked so very sparkling clean sitting beside the tank---always the cleanest of cleanest because they were never worn!
Why would I wear them--I'm a macho man--survived being bitten by a sea grouper(5 stitches, a pyranah(only a couple of stitches) stepping on a puffer fish, leaches many times and being watched at a 10 foot bay by a baracuda under its mercy and that of the tides carrying me out into the ocean.
These hands have also survived 7 years of cuts and burns from working in a wrecking yard, 7 years glass cuts from delivering pop, and 25 years of bare handed idiosy with glass tubing in the lab--I've even had the joy of seeing the bone in my fingers a few times before it was stiched up. Never got the slightest infection from being stabbed a few times with a never cleaned frog dissection blade---or toxic poison from receiving one of them in the gut from a student who was a little quick to get up before putting the scalpel down--more upset he/she put a hole in my favorite shirt.
Then last week, one little itty bitty brush by with a harmless pin cushion urchin and one week of coming very close to system shut down and possible loss of one of those macho hands and or arm from cellutis:eek2:
Overview
Cellulitis is an infection of the deeper skin tissue, which is most often caused by the bacteria Streptococcus or Staphylococcus. These bacteria are able to invade the skin through small cracks (fissures) in the skin, causing the sudden appearance of skin redness, swelling, and the sensation of heat. Cellulitis is often accompanied by fever and chills.
If the infection goes untreated too long, cellulitis can result in pockets of pus (abscesses) or the spread of the bacteria into the bloodstream (bacteremia). However, most cases of cellulitis resolve with appropriate antibiotic therapy.
Personal Experience:
Sunday Oct 5--late afternoon notice dried blood on my hand--after wiping it off there is a small cut but not bleeding anymore
Monday Oct 6--wake up at 6.00 am for work--cut has become swollen to the size of a dime. At work find myself becoming achy and feverish and the hand is starting to swell around the wound. Go to the emergency ward at 300pm after work. Wound has now swollen and red to half of my hand. Immediately put on IV antibiotics and given two sets of oral ones to take for the next week.
Tuesday Oct 7--fevers chills and no sleep--exhausted--call in sick for work. Whole hand has swollen up plus wrist and there are red lines extending up the forearm to the elbow. Receive another iv antibotic at the emergency --by them forearm and hand are red and swollen --a few lines extended up as far as the arm pit. A shunt is put in for further intervenous doses of antibiotics
Wed Oct 7 ---fever broke in the night--still exhausted plus really no use of both hands so stay home from work again. Receive third dose of iv antibiotics from emergency. The system pain and ache in all joints is starting to subside.
Thursday Oct 8---return to work--last for the shift but still extremely fatigued. Spend another 5 hours in emergency and receive a 4th dose of intervenous antibiotics. Redness have ebbed below the eblow and finally feeling like I still have a fish tank and still have an interest in the hobby
Friday Oct 9--energy lasted today, swelling receded to about half of my hand and I can type again--
These pictures are the real deal guys--my hand/arm:
8.00 am Monday morning:
only five hours later:
12 hours later:
I have documented my fight with cellutis AKA Blood Poisoning on this blog:
http://www.reefcentral.com/wp/?p=378
IMO you should wear gloves for:
cleaning the skimmate cup from your protein skimmer
any cleaning in the tank which involves disturbing corals in any way
handling coral where there is the possiblility to break the skin
In summary there are many things in the tank to be aware of--toxins, bacteria ect. These noramally probably won't cause a problem.
They become a problem WHEN THE SKIN IS CUT.
Why would I wear them--I'm a macho man--survived being bitten by a sea grouper(5 stitches, a pyranah(only a couple of stitches) stepping on a puffer fish, leaches many times and being watched at a 10 foot bay by a baracuda under its mercy and that of the tides carrying me out into the ocean.
These hands have also survived 7 years of cuts and burns from working in a wrecking yard, 7 years glass cuts from delivering pop, and 25 years of bare handed idiosy with glass tubing in the lab--I've even had the joy of seeing the bone in my fingers a few times before it was stiched up. Never got the slightest infection from being stabbed a few times with a never cleaned frog dissection blade---or toxic poison from receiving one of them in the gut from a student who was a little quick to get up before putting the scalpel down--more upset he/she put a hole in my favorite shirt.
Then last week, one little itty bitty brush by with a harmless pin cushion urchin and one week of coming very close to system shut down and possible loss of one of those macho hands and or arm from cellutis:eek2:
Overview
Cellulitis is an infection of the deeper skin tissue, which is most often caused by the bacteria Streptococcus or Staphylococcus. These bacteria are able to invade the skin through small cracks (fissures) in the skin, causing the sudden appearance of skin redness, swelling, and the sensation of heat. Cellulitis is often accompanied by fever and chills.
If the infection goes untreated too long, cellulitis can result in pockets of pus (abscesses) or the spread of the bacteria into the bloodstream (bacteremia). However, most cases of cellulitis resolve with appropriate antibiotic therapy.
Personal Experience:
Sunday Oct 5--late afternoon notice dried blood on my hand--after wiping it off there is a small cut but not bleeding anymore
Monday Oct 6--wake up at 6.00 am for work--cut has become swollen to the size of a dime. At work find myself becoming achy and feverish and the hand is starting to swell around the wound. Go to the emergency ward at 300pm after work. Wound has now swollen and red to half of my hand. Immediately put on IV antibiotics and given two sets of oral ones to take for the next week.
Tuesday Oct 7--fevers chills and no sleep--exhausted--call in sick for work. Whole hand has swollen up plus wrist and there are red lines extending up the forearm to the elbow. Receive another iv antibotic at the emergency --by them forearm and hand are red and swollen --a few lines extended up as far as the arm pit. A shunt is put in for further intervenous doses of antibiotics
Wed Oct 7 ---fever broke in the night--still exhausted plus really no use of both hands so stay home from work again. Receive third dose of iv antibiotics from emergency. The system pain and ache in all joints is starting to subside.
Thursday Oct 8---return to work--last for the shift but still extremely fatigued. Spend another 5 hours in emergency and receive a 4th dose of intervenous antibiotics. Redness have ebbed below the eblow and finally feeling like I still have a fish tank and still have an interest in the hobby
Friday Oct 9--energy lasted today, swelling receded to about half of my hand and I can type again--
These pictures are the real deal guys--my hand/arm:
8.00 am Monday morning:
only five hours later:
12 hours later:
I have documented my fight with cellutis AKA Blood Poisoning on this blog:
http://www.reefcentral.com/wp/?p=378
IMO you should wear gloves for:
cleaning the skimmate cup from your protein skimmer
any cleaning in the tank which involves disturbing corals in any way
handling coral where there is the possiblility to break the skin
In summary there are many things in the tank to be aware of--toxins, bacteria ect. These noramally probably won't cause a problem.
They become a problem WHEN THE SKIN IS CUT.
