Aquarist007
New member
they should be fine esp if you soaked them
Respect the lurking dangers of this great hobby
- Thread starter Aquarist007
- Start date
they should be fine esp if you soaked them
Capt_Cully
Active member
ECXELLENT reference!!!
Take heed all!!!
Aquarist007
New member
thanks for bumping the thread Capt_cully
and of course all your input
Aquarist007
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13614439#post13614439 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Theomi
I got stung by my longspine urchin some weeks ago, luckily i didn get sick but i got a nice little scar from it lol..
The one time i always wear gloves is when im handling my zoas and everybody should do so...
Glad to hear you are better capn, i couldn live without your blog
thanks very much Theomi--appreciate your comment about the blogs
Remember it is not necessarily what bites you or even if you get bite or stung---more the puncture of the skin--that can set blood poisoning in motion.
Aquarist007
New member
Capn Carter---the youngest addition to our family agrees--wear gloves:
hey mate thanks for the post and the images, maybe this should be stickied for any of us new budding reefers out there, lets us all know about the dangers that we may not think about or think can happen. An infection like that is not good at all.
Cheers again, I have to add gloves to my equipment list
Cheers again, I have to add gloves to my equipment list
Aquarist007
New member
thanks for posting and in case no one has welcomed you
[welcome]
[welcome]
Deep_blue15
New member
Wow...glad it ended with full recovery...thanks for sharing this event. It's a great lesson to remember.
Capt_Cully
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13614629#post13614629 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
Capn Carter---the youngest addition to our family agrees--wear gloves:
Ha ha, I love it. Another guy to hang with in the Captain's Clubhouse!
saintperez
New member
Theomi, you're saying Zoas are toxic??? I was at the beach picking these guys up with my bare hands. No problems. ANybody have any info on this?
WrinkleFreeZone
New member
Hi all, to give you a little background, I'm a plastic surgeon who has had experience with treating all kinds of infections, especially infections of the hand.
Capn, the mechanism of your injury set you up for the infection. A puncture from an urchin's spine is a wound that has a deep tract in comparison to the surface area of the wound at the skin's surface. Even if you wash the surface of the skin, you are not going to be able to remove the bacteria that has penetrated deeper due to the nature of this tract. Second, the puncture probably entered the subcutaneous fat on your hand which is relatively poorly vascularized (has fewer blood vessels in it) in comparison to the overlying skin itself or the deeper muscles. This makes it harder for your body to deliver white cells to the injury to deal with the infection. This allows the bacteria to begin to reproduce relatively unchecked and sets you up for the infection. Third, if this particular species of urchin is venomous, the venom will likely cause the tissue along the wound tract to become necrotic (dead). Dead tissue is a safe haven for bacteria and they will grow quickly in it. Fourth, the local environment of a puncture wound is not exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere and is what we call "anaerobic" so certain species of bacteria are able to grow unimpeded. Fifth, if you have recently undergone or are undergoing treatment for cancer, it possible that the medications that you are taking have caused some immunosuppression. If this is the case, it is unlikely that you would have been able to deal effectively with this type of infection. You would need to talk to your doctor about this. If you are immunosuppressed, you could have further trouble with other types of infection. This doesn't have to do with the lymph nodes that were removed during your prostate operation. Operations where lymph nodes were removed from the arm pit may increase your risk of infection in the hand though.
In terms of the offending organism, I wouldn't bet on Staph or Strep as the source of your infection. There are a few others that are more likely given that your injury occurred in what is basically sea water. These bacteria cause significant limb threatening and even life threatening infections in people every year. In your case, I would probably bet on Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae. If you want some quick information on this or on other marine infections check out: http://scuba-doc.com/marinf.htm
This summer here on the Texas coast, a few people lost limbs or died due to Vibrio vulnificus. These infections occurred in people who were immunosuppressed.
-B
Capn, the mechanism of your injury set you up for the infection. A puncture from an urchin's spine is a wound that has a deep tract in comparison to the surface area of the wound at the skin's surface. Even if you wash the surface of the skin, you are not going to be able to remove the bacteria that has penetrated deeper due to the nature of this tract. Second, the puncture probably entered the subcutaneous fat on your hand which is relatively poorly vascularized (has fewer blood vessels in it) in comparison to the overlying skin itself or the deeper muscles. This makes it harder for your body to deliver white cells to the injury to deal with the infection. This allows the bacteria to begin to reproduce relatively unchecked and sets you up for the infection. Third, if this particular species of urchin is venomous, the venom will likely cause the tissue along the wound tract to become necrotic (dead). Dead tissue is a safe haven for bacteria and they will grow quickly in it. Fourth, the local environment of a puncture wound is not exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere and is what we call "anaerobic" so certain species of bacteria are able to grow unimpeded. Fifth, if you have recently undergone or are undergoing treatment for cancer, it possible that the medications that you are taking have caused some immunosuppression. If this is the case, it is unlikely that you would have been able to deal effectively with this type of infection. You would need to talk to your doctor about this. If you are immunosuppressed, you could have further trouble with other types of infection. This doesn't have to do with the lymph nodes that were removed during your prostate operation. Operations where lymph nodes were removed from the arm pit may increase your risk of infection in the hand though.
In terms of the offending organism, I wouldn't bet on Staph or Strep as the source of your infection. There are a few others that are more likely given that your injury occurred in what is basically sea water. These bacteria cause significant limb threatening and even life threatening infections in people every year. In your case, I would probably bet on Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae. If you want some quick information on this or on other marine infections check out: http://scuba-doc.com/marinf.htm
This summer here on the Texas coast, a few people lost limbs or died due to Vibrio vulnificus. These infections occurred in people who were immunosuppressed.
-B
Aquarist007
New member
Thanks for the detailed medical answer---I was not undergoing any cancer treatments at the time so I am sure your explanation is plausable to alot of my fellow reefers.
I hope the mods will sticky this thread so others will learn from it
Thanks again
Scott
Aquarist007
New member
Posted by Maroun
I applaud him for having the safety of his child in mind
I applaud him for having the safety of his child in mind
