The Puffer Forum

Just came back from the Dr with antibiotics. Seems some funky crud got into the cuts on my hands when cleaning out my dirty filter/skimmer. My hand looks like an oozing, swollen lobster.

I hope it feels better soon, sounds like it hurts. Pictures?

Yeah, if it hadn't kept me up last night, I might have rode it out.

Nasty!!

We would have thought you knew better Hope everything turns out for the best and it doesn't become more serious.

I still don't think gloves are in my future. You'd think I'd build up an immunity to this crap already, that's why I hate antibiotics.

Look what we're up against!
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/s ... /index.php

Is that what you have?!?!?!

Pufferpunk wrote:I still don't think gloves are in my future. You'd think I'd build up an immunity to this crap already, that's why I hate antibiotics.

I'm missing why you won't wear gloves?? I don't wear them in my fresh water tanks, but in my reef, every time my hand goes into the tank I put on a glove. There's too many things crawling around in the rocks that I'd rather not get stung by, not to mention what has happened to you.

I hope it gets well soon!

M. marinium is nasty stuff and really hard to clear. I do hope that it is not that.

I figured out that this is from palys in my tank. The skimmer body was gross with crap from my tank & I'll bet anything there was some zoa juice in there.

It was looking a little better yesterday:

OMFSM, I just read that article that PP linked to.

HOLY CRAP!! I absolutely hope that's not what you're experiencing, PP!

Pufferpunk wrote:I still don't think gloves are in my future.

I'm VERY curious about how many of us do and don't wear gloves. I don't currently, tho I seem to have a sinus infection right now, and I'm wondering how fast I can find some of those arm-length gloves.

If it's technologically possible and interesting to others, can you Admins set up an online poll to see how many folks wear gloves? And how many folks have experienced infections that they attribute to fishtank bugs?

At the very least, should that linked article become a sticky?!

PP - It looks like poison ivy. If it feels anything like it, I feel for you.

Nope, doesn't itch.

Wow! I just read that article and showed the images to my fiance. He replied jokingly, "I dont want the fish anymore". heh... Um, but that is very interesting. We have had fish die mysteriously in the past, although we marked it up to cotton wool fungus or velvet (even though some of the fish showed no symptoms whatsoever). Both of us frequently have our hands in the tank (moving decor, rearranging rocks, shifting the sand or plants, adjusting the heater (y'know stuff that we all do!) I dont believe he is as hygienic as me, but Ive become a hand-washing freak, every time Im out of the tank I scrub my hand and arms in hot water with soap. Even though I didnt know about this, the fact is that theres lots of bacteria and fecal matter in fish water, so Im not doing anything else or touching anything until I wash my hands. Ive been trying to get Tony to do this too. (Maybe those pictures will help XD).

I hope that stuff goes away!!! Ill remember never to put my hands in the tank if I have open cuts! Get better!!

I have a feeling it's nothing more then the zoanthid toxin poisoning I've had several times before.

it is possible for zoanthid Palytoxin to enter the bloodstream through a cut or other open wound. Indigenous peoples from throughout the Indo-Pacific have known this for centuries and have regularly used Palytoxin derived from zoanthids in both hunting and warfare. In Hawaii, for example, the mucus from locally occurring zoanthids (known regionally as limu-make-o-hana) was used on spear tips for centuries. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that there have been several serious incidences of aquarists with open wounds (even a relatively small cut) becoming quite ill as a result of handling zoanthids without gloves

http://www.perverse-osmosis.com/Pervers ... toxin.html