Jan July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I know about the polytoxin exposures. I'm not interested in that. Has anyone experienced any unexplained joint stiffness, pain in hands or arms or infections on hands and arms since starting this hobby? You may not associate your condition with the hobby. Any Arthritis, inflammation of joints, diagnosis of radial or carpal tunnel or epicondylitis with no relief, etc.? My doctors are looking at possible M. Marinum infection for unexplained tendinitis that I've have for the last 2 years. i'm having a second surgery next Thursday for a trigger thumb. I had one last August for my right thumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 That sucks...Hope they can isolate the root cause soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Hope everything goes well. Best Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Sorry for the ailments, Jan. The only joint issue I've had has been a frozen shoulder (inflammation and scarring in my left shoulder). I attribute that to overworking the joint long term as I finished a big part of my basement in the last year. Middle-aged, weekend warrior disease. A couple of months ago, though, I had "surgery" on the shoulder to free it up. Basically, they put you under a general and move your arm through the full range of motion, tearing up all the scar tissue that impedes the joint's motion. Rrrrriiiiiiiipp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 There are many things that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis when we stick our hands into our tanks. If you think about it, saltwater is essentially like a petrie dish - it's designed to cultivate bacteria and organisms which would be killed in normal chlorinated tap water. As far as unexplained joint pain or inflammation, I have had some inflammation in the past but that's been related to cracked skin from exposure to saltwater. Could be caused by bacterial infection or some other water-borne pathogen, but I've taken to using antimicrobial washes periodically when my hands have been in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Oh... and good luck on the surgery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I have noticed that I can not get up as fast as I used to 30 years ago when I finished siphoning out my sump during a water change. I've also bumped my head over and over on my light hood so that would explain why my hair is disappearing from the top. I'm getting out of this hobby, it's making me seem old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 That's the same analogy I used with my doctors. I also use antimocrobial soap after puttung my hands in my tank. If your joint pain was related to cracked skin and exposure to your tank, then you may have had vibrio or M.Marinum. It may have been something your body was able to fight off. What I have isn't going away or getting better, that's the concern. It's getting progressively worse. All Arthristis testing and x-ray keep coming back negative. It's all tendon sheath and nerve realted in both arms and hands. There are many things that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis when we stick our hands into our tanks. If you think about it, saltwater is essentially like a petrie dish - it's designed to cultivate bacteria and organisms which would be killed in normal chlorinated tap water. As far as unexplained joint pain or inflammation, I have had some inflammation in the past but that's been related to cracked skin from exposure to saltwater. Could be caused by bacterial infection or some other water-borne pathogen, but I've taken to using antimicrobial washes periodically when my hands have been in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 For me, personally, I think I take a bigger risk in putting my hockey gloves on when I play... I just took them out of my bag on Sunday to play and discovered that they were still wet (soaking wet...) from 2 weeks prior. So I sprayed some febreeze in them to mask the smell, played my game, and then sprayed 1/2 a can of lysol into them and baked them in the sun for 2 days. Good luck with the surgery - hope that they can figure out what it is. I'd also suggest that they look for staph and signs of parasites. Since so much of the liquid in our bodies is not so different from saltwater I'd think that we'd be perfect hosts for any number of things that could make their way into our systems and hide in our joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 Ahh, your ailment has an easy remedy, Chip. Just stop nursing on your favorite bottle of booze while working on your tank and you'll stop bumping your head. Not getting up as fast, well, there are injections for those issues in men. Sorry to hear, Chip. More sorry for the wife, though. I have noticed that I can not get up as fast as I used to 30 years ago when I finished siphoning out my sump during a water change. I've also bumped my head over and over on my light hood so that would explain why my hair is disappearing from the top. I'm getting out of this hobby, it's making me seem old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 Ugh, my husbands hockey stuff stays outside in the backyard on a rack after his games. That stuff is nasty!!!! Staph has already been checked. Yes, parasites are a consideration especially since stupid me didn;t use gloves when I made fish food. That last batch left a nasty itch in my figure nails. Already discussed that too. The problem is that medicine is so disjointed that the hand surgeon just works on releasing the tendonities. He may send something for biopsy. The dermatologist has to do the biopsy on the patch that's on my elbow and then an infectious disease doc has to do other testing. If they are not all on board that's it. We hit a brick wall. It's also very difficult to diagnose these infections. We'll see where it all goes. For me, personally, I think I take a bigger risk in putting my hockey gloves on when I play... I just took them out of my bag on Sunday to play and discovered that they were still wet (soaking wet...) from 2 weeks prior. So I sprayed some febreeze in them to mask the smell, played my game, and then sprayed 1/2 a can of lysol into them and baked them in the sun for 2 days. Good luck with the surgery - hope that they can figure out what it is. I'd also suggest that they look for staph and signs of parasites. Since so much of the liquid in our bodies is not so different from saltwater I'd think that we'd be perfect hosts for any number of things that could make their way into our systems and hide in our joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Ahh, your ailment has an easy remedy, Chip. Just stop nursing on your favorite bottle of booze while working on your tank and you'll stop bumping your head. Not getting up as fast, well, there are injections for those issues in men. Sorry to hear, Chip. More sorry for the wife, though. lol you sure are witty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 Not as witty as you...<bow> lol you sure are witty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 Thanks, Tom. Oh... and good luck on the surgery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I wish you luck with the surgery, Jan. I don't think any problems I have had are from working in my tank, other than the horrid euphyllia stings that leave little scars behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I think seriously if you stop getting so many diseased fish, you might have less issues with your own health. could be purely coincidence, but if you have a healthy reef with no visible issues, then there's one less place that you have to worry about exposure. vibrio is one of those fish diseases that can easily spread to humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seppler July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Don't discount the possibility of something like lyme disease. I know several people that have had "unexplained" joint pain, etc that got progressively worse. Turned out to be lyme. VERY hard sometimes to get an accurate diagnosis, as the "test" are often not accurate. Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 27, 2012 Author Share July 27, 2012 Already checked for lyme and the like. All negative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I have similar issues but I think mine are a combination of Gulf War Syndrome, over exposure to DEET, and just plain getting old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 ... and just plain getting old. I hear that's going around now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I hear that's going around now. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Getting older is better than the alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 Getting older is better than the alternative. Good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 A good friend of mine who even did a lot of diving started having a sever reaction to the saltwater in her tank. She ended up having to wear gloves all the time. I think she may have even had to quit eating seafood. It was bizzare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddR July 27, 2012 Share July 27, 2012 I think my pain comes from youthful exuberance, not my tank!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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