I made the mistake last week of messing with zoo's and not wearing eye protection. It squirted right in my eye. My eye turned super red and got extremely swollen. It ate away two layers of skin on the white part of my eye. The Doc was like " you got what in your eye?!" Anyway I'm just reminding you guys to be careful. Hope it helps, and don't laugh too hard, it hurt like hell.:thumbdown
zoanthid juice in my eye
- Thread starter craig813
- Start date
Reefer Wannabe
Premium Member
Ouch. We should all be careful. I had a nasty infection in my finger a few weeks ago after messing in my tank when I had a small scrape on my finger. It swelled up and was starting to turn my whole hand red when I finally went to the doctor and got meds. The tendon is still sore from it. You would think I'd wear gloves now, but I don't.
Hope your eye heals OK!
Hope your eye heals OK!
pewter_jean
New member
That is horrible, I really hope your eye recovers.
Yeah its all better now, I waited to make sure I was going to be ok before I posted anything. They gave me some eye ointment with steroid in it, and I had to wear a patch for 2 days. Thankfully there won't be any long term damage. It happened two weeks ago and it is just now getting back to normal. No more pain but it is still slightly red where the "juice" hit me. I can only imagine if it had gotten onto my retna or pupil. Thanks for the concern.
While I was reading on the internet that sunday trying to figure out what I was going to do I found a lot of info about Palytoxin, which is the toxin that comes from zoo's. Just a few nanograms can kill an adult. There is no known cure, and you can die within minutes of injesting it or getting it into you bloodstream. Some people with sensitive skin react just from putting their arm in a tank with zoo's. And any open cut, scratch, or wound on your arm is enough to allow the toxin into your body. Its crazy that there is something that dangerous in our homes!
While I was reading on the internet that sunday trying to figure out what I was going to do I found a lot of info about Palytoxin, which is the toxin that comes from zoo's. Just a few nanograms can kill an adult. There is no known cure, and you can die within minutes of injesting it or getting it into you bloodstream. Some people with sensitive skin react just from putting their arm in a tank with zoo's. And any open cut, scratch, or wound on your arm is enough to allow the toxin into your body. Its crazy that there is something that dangerous in our homes!
Funny thing. It turns out, that neither the people at poison control nor the people at the emergency room hospital know what you are talking about when you tell them you got paleotoxin zooanthid juice poisoning and that there is a slight chance you might suffocate and die at any moment!
danfrith
Active member
the same thing happened to me a couple days ago when i was fragging my zoos. and it did burn a little bit but i didnt think much of it until the next day when i woke up and my eye was all red and itchy. well i thought it was pink eye and have been treating it for that. but after just reading this it makes me wonder if the zoos did this to my eye.
I had a friend who got squirted both in the eye and in his mouth. He had to be rushed to the hospital because his left arm went numb. Then his right arm started going numb too so we told him to call 911 immediately.
Rinsing well as soon as possible like Doc did is imperative. Immediately taking Benadryl is a good idea as well. (In fact, they even gave him Benadryl via IV in the ambulance).
When working with zoanthus, palythoa, or protopalythoa, it is good to wear goggles and gloves. Wash your hands well before rubbing any mucous membranes (nose, mouth, eyes, throat) or eating. Additionally, make sure you wash your fragging tools as well.
Rinsing well as soon as possible like Doc did is imperative. Immediately taking Benadryl is a good idea as well. (In fact, they even gave him Benadryl via IV in the ambulance).
When working with zoanthus, palythoa, or protopalythoa, it is good to wear goggles and gloves. Wash your hands well before rubbing any mucous membranes (nose, mouth, eyes, throat) or eating. Additionally, make sure you wash your fragging tools as well.
I couldn't find a thread like this for about an hour after it happened, I was about to panic, I didn't think the people at the er or anywhere else around here would know what I was talking about so I just kept looking. Even when I got medical attention they told me to come back for a check up in 4 days. I was like, man I could die before then. Even after I told them they couldn't find much on it. They said, "we think you'll be fine". haha easy for them to say
rottielover
Active member
This and thread's like it are why I always put on gloves when putting hands into my tanks, and if fragging I put on some saftey glasses...
I've found that the best gloves are the purple "non-laytex" kind. They are a bit more expensive, but they have textured fingertips and helps you grip small objects (like coral frags) more easily. Plus I haven't found any with talc powder in them so I don't have to worry about that. I think (but not 100% sure) that the material these are made out of are supposed to be more resitant to chemicals than normal laytex is, so I figure that's one extra measure of protection from the zoa's
Like most things in nature (and expecially the ocean) it's the pretty stuff that's the deadliest
I've found that the best gloves are the purple "non-laytex" kind. They are a bit more expensive, but they have textured fingertips and helps you grip small objects (like coral frags) more easily. Plus I haven't found any with talc powder in them so I don't have to worry about that. I think (but not 100% sure) that the material these are made out of are supposed to be more resitant to chemicals than normal laytex is, so I figure that's one extra measure of protection from the zoa's
Like most things in nature (and expecially the ocean) it's the pretty stuff that's the deadliest
I'm sorry for your recent, "excitement". However, I'm glad you took the time to remind everyone of this issue. Softies survive by chemical warfare and sometimes these chemicals are dangerous to humans as well.
I was doing a Fragging Demonstration at Macna XVI in Boston a couple years back when my regular eyeglasses protected my eyes from a squirt. I got a lot more careful after that.
Remember, this is a hobby you cannot enjoy if you're dead. SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!
I was doing a Fragging Demonstration at Macna XVI in Boston a couple years back when my regular eyeglasses protected my eyes from a squirt. I got a lot more careful after that.
Remember, this is a hobby you cannot enjoy if you're dead. SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!
DrBDC
Active member
Another shameless RC plug:
A great reason to get a premium membership!
Reminds me of when I accidently drank my phyto bottle. At the time I was using miracle grow for culturing. I grabbed the bottle thinking it was coke and turned it up, glug glug glug glug. As it's racing down my throat my eyes focused on the bottle and it was dark green!!!! I ran to the bathroom, tried unsuccesfully to puke. Rinsed my mouth with lots of water and then listerine. Got on the net and looked up the ingredients of miracle grow. The ones that I didn't know what they were I put in google search engine. A wrong page came up that sent me to a msds sheet that told me I would have quick death with tingling, numbness, etc. I swear I was having all the symptoms until I noticed that it was for a different chemical! Power of the mind.
