steveoutlaw March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Well, it has been over two weeks and I'm still having breathing issues. I went to a Pulmonary specialist today and he thought I had a very bad case of asthma. After talking with him about what happened and listening to my lungs he gave me some crappy news. Apparently the toxin has inflamed my bronchial passageways much in the same way that asthma does. It isn't going to get better until the toxin gets out of my system. How long does that take???? Nobody knows. So for the next month I'm on breathing steriods 3 times a day and we'll check and see how it is then. Have I told you that this really sucks!!! Zoanthids
lanman March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Well, it has been over two weeks and I'm still having breathing issues. I went to a Pulmonary specialist today and he thought I had a very bad case of asthma. After talking with him about what happened and listening to my lungs he gave me some crappy news. Apparently the toxin has inflamed my bronchial passageways much in the same way that asthma does. It isn't going to get better until the toxin gets out of my system. How long does that take???? Nobody knows. So for the next month I'm on breathing steriods 3 times a day and we'll check and see how it is then. Have I told you that this really sucks!!! Zoanthids I once squirted model airplane fuel into my eye... but I was fine in a couple of weeks! YOU WIN!! bob
Almon March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I have had experiences with my Palythoas. Several times I have been affected by touching them with my fingers. The symptoms are redness, slight inflamation, soreness, and stiffness in the areas that have been exposed, similar to what you are describing with you lungs. In one case, it lasted one week. Another time, it lasted two months. I think it all depends on the quantity of Paly toxin that you have been exposed to.
luceneck March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Sorry to hear about your H-E-double hocky sticks zoa issue. I got shot in the eye one time and it turned my eye gumball red and I had some slight swelling around the eye. Dr gave me some Pink Eye medication, but it went away in 2 weeks. Good luck and hopefully it will go away shortly. Since that incident I take precautions when fragging.
rancor1 March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I have a box of unpowdered medical exam gloves I keep on hand for poop scooping and invert handling. I recommend them.
YBeNormal March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I have a box of unpowdered medical exam gloves I keep on hand for poop scooping and invert handling. I recommend them. I don't think they would've helped Steve much in this case unless he pulled one down over his head.
trble81 March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I don't think they would've helped Steve much in this case unless he pulled one down over his head. Now if anyone has an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) mask that Steve could have, that'll probably help.
BeltwayBandit March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Steve, I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. However, on the bright side of things I can see some benefit from this. As you have discovered there is a lack of information regarding the effects of palyotoxin. This would be a very good case study and research opportunity for the marine hobby field. My recommenation would be to keep good notes and perhaps enlist your doctor to help and once this has run its course write an article for publication. This type of info needs to be passed to the broader community, and perhaps you can turn it to your advantage and make some $$ of your misfortune. Or at least score a free ticket to MACNA, or the like to present your case study. Just a thought, trying to help you make some lemonade out of this lemon you were dealt. BB
JMsAquarium March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Steve, Could I recommend you don't chew your zoos from now on? On a serious note, Glad to hear you are going to be fine. I agree with BB, there are many things we don't know or approach with proper caution in this hobby. As sticky post with warnings and advise would be of interest IMO. A few years ago, a WAMAS member ened up in the ER after having handled a nudibranch. If I recall correctly, he inadvertently squized it and the toxins released by the nudi got into his blood system. He had a serious case of poisonning and it took a lot of research by the docs to give him an adequate treatment.
Sugar Magnolia March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I got shot in the eye one time and it turned my eye gumball red and I had some slight swelling around the eye. Me too. Stings like a son of a gun! Sorry you're still not feeling well Steve. I can sympathize with how you are feeling - my 18 year old son has struggled with asthma since he was 18 months old. It's not much fun when you have to struggle for each breath. Hopefully the bronchial swelling will be going down within the next couple of weeks.
steveoutlaw March 28, 2007 Author March 28, 2007 Steve, I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. However, on the bright side of things I can see some benefit from this. As you have discovered there is a lack of information regarding the effects of palyotoxin. This would be a very good case study and research opportunity for the marine hobby field. My recommenation would be to keep good notes and perhaps enlist your doctor to help and once this has run its course write an article for publication. This type of info needs to be passed to the broader community, and perhaps you can turn it to your advantage and make some $$ of your misfortune. Or at least score a free ticket to MACNA, or the like to present your case study. Just a thought, trying to help you make some lemonade out of this lemon you were dealt. BB I don't know.......it's been 18 years since I actually wrote a paper. I'm definately keeping track of what has happened to me but I'm finding a lack of interest from the doctors. They think it's interesting but are not interested in going any further than that. I'm actually going to put something together and post on RC to try to get the word out a bit. I certainly don't want anyone else to go through what I've had to go through. Steve
madmax7774 March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I realize you aren't feeling well, but when you are feeling motivated, could you snap a picture of the offending zoas so I can have a look at them? I am curious as to what they look like. John
rooroo March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 (edited) Did you happen to read this article, the section titled "A Word of Caution about zoanthids"? Or is this the article you took to your doc? A strange side note to this is the anecdotal observation I reported in my column Reef Notes in FAMA magazine that this toxin or another one associated with zoanthids may be able to be aerosolized. An aquarist trying to rid his live rocks of a species of Protopalythoa decided to remove the rocks and spray boiling water on them to kill them. A friend of his contacted me after the aquarist was in the hospital and in serious condition, the doctors unable to determine what had caused a serious reaction and respiratory distress. I pointed out the possibility of a palytoxin reaction, but was skeptical about the aerosol or "toxic fumes" that the aquarist believed made him become ill suddenly. The aquarist later recovered, but slowly. In any case, one should be extremely careful when handling zoanthids, Protopalythoa and Palythoa spp., in particular. Rinse your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after contacting them. Edited March 28, 2007 by rooroo
BeltwayBandit March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 I don't know.......it's been 18 years since I actually wrote a paper. I'm definately keeping track of what has happened to me but I'm finding a lack of interest from the doctors. They think it's interesting but are not interested in going any further than that. I'm actually going to put something together and post on RC to try to get the word out a bit. I certainly don't want anyone else to go through what I've had to go through. Steve Posting to RC would be a good idea. I would go ahead and post it now, and see if there are any doctors who would be interested. That way they can at least help you from the data collection standpoint, and the perhaps they could do a 'scientific writeup' from there.
lanman March 28, 2007 March 28, 2007 Did you happen to read this article, the section titled "A Word of Caution about zoanthids"? Or is this the article you took to your doc? I'd say the evidence is no longer 'anecdotal', if Steve can get it written up with doctor's notes. bob
steveoutlaw March 28, 2007 Author March 28, 2007 (edited) Did you happen to read this article, the section titled "A Word of Caution about zoanthids"? Or is this the article you took to your doc? That's funny.......that is the article I took to the doctor. They were all interested in it because they had never heard of anything like this before. However, as soon as they did a search and couldn't find anything else on the internet about it they kind of lost interest. I'll take a pic.......I have one group of the left on my clam rock that I'm going to kalk paste tonight. Ok, here are the pics.......my camera sucks so this is the best I can do. Edited March 28, 2007 by steveoutlaw
steveoutlaw March 29, 2007 Author March 29, 2007 I told the whole story here on RC: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1083843
BeltwayBandit March 29, 2007 March 29, 2007 ($%(@$* #@&$(@)$*@& those are the same $(@*&$( nuisance zoas that I can't get rid of either. $)(W#)*$)($#
steveoutlaw March 29, 2007 Author March 29, 2007 ($%(@$* #@&$(@)$*@& those are the same $(@*&$( nuisance zoas that I can't get rid of either. $)(W#)*$)($# May I make a recommendation.......DON'T BOIL THEM!!
steveoutlaw March 29, 2007 Author March 29, 2007 Pagan prayers and it's all in your head. Gotta love RC. I know......it's kind of unbelievable.
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