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#1
09-20-2010, 06:07 PM
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Well it happened again.....and yet again*updated*
Well about 5-6years ago I got a rock of some ugly zoos didn't know much about them but they were sure slimey. I handled them with my bare hands. Well a day after getting them I tried fragging them up it went ok but a ton of slime and stink. That night I became very very sick throwing up I was freezing and had uncontrollable shaking but yet I was sweating so I thought a I had a fever. 3AM the wife takes me the emergency room they took me in quick I had no fever but I was drenched in sweat but felt I was freezing. They put me on IV did a bunch of tests and couldn't find anything...and it went away as fast as it came on. We thought it was a touch of the flu but I few days later while surfing found out zoos can be toxic. So put 2+2 together and figured that what it was. So from that day forward if you been to my house I trust nothing in my tank and I glove up.
Fast forward to last night ripped down my tank to get out a damsel I used my armpit long corallife gloves to take out most of the rock then switched to surgical gloves for more precission I doubled gloved cause I was handling rocks. I got the fish out and decided to clean the tank some. My back wall had about 200 of the ugly zoos growing up the glass so i scraped them off with a razor blade and tossed them. Since I had taken out 10gal of water for a water change the water was on bypass and just circulating through the sump and not going into the display. Those zoos where not happy and was letting off lots of slime that was circulating in the display...but I was double gloved. Clean everything up washed up real good with anti bacterial soap then had a shower. Just before I went to bed around midnight I noticed my throat was sore and swollen thought great I'm getting a cold. About 2AM the dog started to breath heavy and wimper and pace. The wife got up and got the dog to drink and to eat and took her outside. She seemed fine and she had like a laboured breathing wife got up again made her drink some water took her out side again thought she was consipated we took her for a walk at 3am but she wasn't. She was fine in every way except the breathing I thought oh oh she might have licked some zoo water off then floor from drips, after a hour and half she was fine. Then about 3:45 it hit me the freezing uncontrolled sweating/shaking but once again no fever the wife knew what was coming and fed me a ton of water, gravol and tylenol. I was almost struggling to breath and couldn't stop shaking after about 2.5 hours I was on fire and couldn't get cooled down the wife said if it goes past 6 I'm taking you in but it seemed to stop my throat opened back up and we got some sleep. I slept most of the am and now the dog and I are fine except every muscle and bone in my body hurts. So if you are like me and have sensitive skin watch out for zoo/paly slime it can be toxic. Which I assume it absorbed via my forearms. So be careful out there when fragging....and keep the pets away Here is some reading on Palytoxins http://cbwinfo.com/Biological/Toxins/Palytoxin.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palytoxin
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Murray I reserve the right to hijack any thread I want to!! My carbon footprint is bigger than your carbon footprint !!!! Last edited by Murminator; 10-16-2010 at 01:58 AM. 
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#5
09-20-2010, 07:40 PM
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If you were moving rock, you might have also stirred up some bacteria which got onto you and the floor. You would be surprised how sick this can make you. I have come down sick after working in the tank before (before I had zoas even) and after a bit of looking around it appears to be quite common and it is usually foreign bacteria like e. coli, etc (I even learned that diseases such as TB can be passed to you from fish... weird!).
I'm glad you are alive and well and as is your dog. Reefs are death traps and it makes me wonder sometimes... saltwater, tons of electricity, poisonous critters, stining corals, mystery rashes (not wrasses)... Count me in!
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#6
09-20-2010, 07:51 PM
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Quote:
This is what I think was happening you got the shocks and fever from your arms being in the goop and the zoes reals-ed a toxin into the air also which you and the dog inhaled causing your throat to constrict. so I would wear a mask and the long gloves if I were you. As the cumulative effect can be deadly I am also allergic to bee stings and when a wasp bits me old bites swell up also, I carry a eppy pen all the time if it is not on me it is in my truck... Bill
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#7
09-20-2010, 08:55 PM
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Never underestimate Palytoxin danger !
Dear Murminator,
You were very lucky! Palytoxins constrict heart muscles and can cause heart failure! The secondary attack is on red blood cells themselves and you and poochie both showed signs of similar nature tho you won't see a dog sweat... The poison easily enters thru any skin tissue and orafice and acts surprisingly quickly. People often miss things like wiping foreheads with back of hand and getting a few droplets on facial skin!!!! That's all it takes!  Your wife responded very correctly by getting all that water into you! The sweating is your body trying to rid itself of toxin and the feverish symptoms tell you the same thing. It's good you did go to hospital as the potential for heart failure was very real. Granted, I'm a relative newbie to saltwater; I am well versed in natural healing methodologies. One might consider Haberno tincture to level (lower/increase) blood pressure if you find your heart racing. You cannot overdose on this tincture and the worst that can happen is you toss it up. Should you actually go into obvious heart attack, you might down a full ounce of straight cayenne tincture... it can be administered orally by your partner even if you are unconscious.  However, if your throat constricts; it may be time for antihistamines and a very fast ride to hospital! Few doctors will immediately recognize symptoms as Palytoxin without you blatantly telling them that you think it's what's happening. We all tend to think we are super tough when younger and we can often survive events easily. Palytoxin is not something to be underestimated and there are many aquarists who love Zoa's and Palys but refuse to keep them because they are thaaaat dangerous. Glad you are fine and poochie too, Bunny p.s. love my Zoa's but am Hazmat ready to handle them and a face shield is a great idea.... been there and survived!!!! Quote:
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#8
09-21-2010, 12:23 AM
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Scary! Glad to hear you and your dog are doing ok now. You may be interested to know if you ever have a different type of reaction due to your sensitivity, that heat applied to the area renders most toxins from our tanks/corals null. I have sensitivities as well, and am allergic to bee stings too. On the weekend I accidentally rubbed my wrist along my ricordia's without really feeling anything until I pulled my arm out of the tank. Have glove's but hate to use them. As soon as my arm was out in the air it was insanely red and itchy, and right away started to blister up, much like chicken pox. I tried antihistimine, afterbite and special creams I have been told to take but nothing worked and it got worse really quickly. Anyways looked it up on the net right away to see what to try, and I came across a post stating to try any type of heat, hot water bottle etc... Anyways didn't have any of those so I quickly grabbed the blow drier, set it on high and had it as close to the wrist as I could stand the heat. Well within 2 minutes of blow drying the pain and itch subsided, so I quit blowdrying, and within 10 minutes the blisters were almost 100% gone. They say have something with as much heat as you can handle. Hopefully you don't ever have to use this trick, but thought it might be useful info to share
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#9
09-21-2010, 12:54 AM
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Good to hear your ok. I handle my zoas with my bare hands! I should learn from your experience and buy a pair of gloves.
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