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Hand irritation?


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Might be a bit of an unusual issue, but I think something (or someone) is disagreeing with me at work. Meaning I've been periodically getting what feels almost like tiny ant bites on my hands, and I can't for the life of me pinpoint the cause. I'm almost certain it's something saltwater-related, since they only seem to appear after work, but I haven't been able to find a specific thing it correlates to. My best theory is that it's a coral or similar thing, but apart from just handling frags I don't do much that puts me in stinging range without gloves on (I hate bristleworms lol). Other than the infamous palys, are there other particularly stingy corals that are common?

 

Has anyone else run into something like this? It's definitely not saltwater allergies or something, since the bites/stings/blisters are small and very sporadic. They itch a good bit but don't get inflamed; I'd post a picture but they're honestly hard to see without really good light. Sometimes it's just one, sometimes it's a cluster of them. 

 

My fingers would appreciate any advice!

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As weird as it sounds I get those same symptoms from brushing against my birds nest coral. But mine itch intensely for a day or two then disappear. Nothing else that I handle irritates me but if I bump that birdsnest I will be in trouble for a few days!

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It could be stings or some other irritation. Mycobacterium marinum exposure is a risk common to marine aquarists that you need to be aware of. It can lead to some pretty severe infections, especially if it enters through an open wound. But it can set up and develop in hair follicles, nail beds and other places of opportunity. Be sure to wash your hands and arms thoroughly after putting them in the tank to reduce the risk of exposure.

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I’ve been doing this a long time, but nowhere near as close to a lot of folks. I have super sensitive skin, but have been lucky with reefs I guess! The only time I’ve ever had issues was a carpet nem that left round bubble marks on my hands after moving it. That’s it, I didn’t notice itching or burning, just physical marks for a few days! It could be anything, we’re all different!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

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I had frogspawn in a previous tank, and it gave me painful and itchy stings any time I brushed up against it.  They looked and felt like bug bites.  
I get welts from Euphyllia stings. A few days later, the welts blister up, then open. I've got light scars on the back of my hands from the stings, too. Funny thing, though, I've never been hit by a bristle worm....
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Thought I posted already :/ . But aside from the obvious reaction due to organisms in the tank, it is also possibly dry skin as you work with water.  I worked in a cosmetic lab for about 6-7 years where my hands were in water for a large portion of the day.  My hands felt similar (but I don’t know if I would refer to it as ant bites) near the end of the day to when I was home. I started lathering it with thicker petroleum based lotions and that seemed to keep it at bay.

Since you’ll be placing your hands in aquariums that contain corals, I’d just recommend wearing gloves.

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The winter season could be a contributing factor as DFR said above.  Saltwater causes contact dermatitis for me at times (oddly enough, only synthetic saltwater, not NSW so it must be something in the formulas that does it as it has happened with 2 Little Fishies salt and also Instant Ocean which are pretty much the only two I've ever used with any sort of consistency).  It is far worse in the winter than in the summer months for me and I typically can expect my skin to crack and bleed if I'm messing around in tanks with any regularity.  Dermatitis can manifest itself in many different ways on different people so the red spots to me would suggest a slight allergic reaction or contact dermatitis (which I think is the same thing?).

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2 hours ago, davelin315 said:

The winter season could be a contributing factor as DFR said above.  Saltwater causes contact dermatitis for me at times (oddly enough, only synthetic saltwater, not NSW so it must be something in the formulas that does it as it has happened with 2 Little Fishies salt and also Instant Ocean which are pretty much the only two I've ever used with any sort of consistency).  It is far worse in the winter than in the summer months for me and I typically can expect my skin to crack and bleed if I'm messing around in tanks with any regularity.  Dermatitis can manifest itself in many different ways on different people so the red spots to me would suggest a slight allergic reaction or contact dermatitis (which I think is the same thing?).

 

Very good info. Sounds exactly like what I've been dealing with for almost a year now. If I can manage to leave my arms out of the tank for a month it pretty much clears up but if I'm in the tank one time it starts the whole viscous cycle again. Right now is probably the worst I've ever had it. 

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I have the same problem with artificial salt water Dave. As I have gotten a bit older I have had issues with dry skin and after working in my tank for long periods of time it's usually less than 24 hours before I'll start to get cracking skin on some of my finger tips but I can spend hours in the real ocean without a single problem.

 

Makes me wonder what is different with the artificial brands and whether there's some room for improvement there that could have some benefit to our live stock...

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We call that “reef rash” in the service biz.

one of the hazards of this job is that you’ll be stung thousands of times, develop unusual rashes, get tubeworm skeletons lodged under your skin, fish bites, uv exposure, and be exposed to harmful things like palytoxin.

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