zoanthid toxin, did it get me?

[gallivanmk]

So, for a while now, I have noticed that I will get these weird bumps on my hands every once in a while. Usually, it is just like one or two and you can't see them, but I can feel them. Anyway, since I have been working on my 240 so much lately, my hands are constantly in the water. I try not to touch any of my corals directly, but if something falls, my reaction is to grab it. I don't wear gloves and I know I have touched things that I probably shouldn't. I guess my main question is that when I have gotten one of these bumps before, it doesn't itch or burn or anything, it is just there for a few weeks and then it is gone. So now, I have quite a few of them on the inside of my index finger and my middle finger. They have been there for about two weeks and every once in a while I will notice an itch. It doesn't really bother me, but it is kinda weird. It looks almost like poison ivy, except they don't spread and the bumps are very spread out. The reason I think this might have something to do with zoas, is that I have acquired about 15 colonies in the last month or so and I have been placing them quite a lot. Does this sound like it came from zoas or should I be worried about something else? Anyone else notice this problem?

 

[twon8]

i doubt its palyotoxin; you didnt' say anything about fragging zoas, and i think that is the only way to get the toxin release, but im not sure. if all you were doing is touching corals it sounds like some sort of bacterial pathogen likely in your tank water that you are sensitive to. try wearing gloves; i don't but know i should.

 

[surfnvb7]

like twon said, seriously doubt it. palytoxin doesn't cause rashes, numbness etc. it acts directly upon a certain type of receptor found in nerves of the myocardium. these nerve receptors are blocked, and it causes the heart to lose its electrical rythm and stop, instant death within minutes. the only way for this to happen is palytoxin would have to be absorbed into the blood through very thin mucos membranes (i.e. eye, nose, stomach, open cut etc.). the epidermis/dermis of our skin is just too thick to allow this chemical to absorb straight through and act on a neuronal receptor.

you most likely had an adverse reaction to something else that caused the rash. could be any of millions of different and unidentified compounds that are contained in the mucos membranes of zoas/palys.

when in doubt, always go to a hospital, you would have very little time to live if infected with palytoxin. the only precausions i take when fragging are not to keep my eyes too close, and just to make sure i wear gloves if i have any open cuts on my hands. then wash hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after handling. so basically, just use common sense.

 

[gallivanmk]

Gotcha. Thanks a lot.