Help- Palytoxin Poisoning. Just happened to me

[Jasoncav123]

The one piece of live rock has these zoanthind corals polyps all over it. I was scrubbing this piece of algae off this morning and pulled a piece of the coral off and tried to separate it out of the tank. An hour later im eating pizza and it tastes sour. I thought the hot sauce I on it was bad and then my left eye starts to burn and has been fire red burning all day and watering.

Palytoxin exposure. Yes I'm dumb@$$ and lucky. My eyes are swollen now and a slight fever and everything tastes like sour metal but I'm okay. It's been 8 hours and I do feel better. Recommendations at this point? I think I may just take a plastic bag and reach in and pull the rock out and close the bag. Needless to say I'm now terrified to even touch the water

 

[jmichaelh7]

That’s y I don’t play with those .. none in my tank

 

[Goaway]

Read this post.

Post in thread 'Another story of palytoxin poisoning, recent experience' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...soning-recent-experience.910816/post-10198141

 

[h20cyclone]

You can only treat the symptoms of palytoxins. Give it time it should get better. If things do not improve you should seek out medical help. My dad had gotten palytoxin poisoning while fraging some zoas. Great care should be taken handling any coral honestly though. Invest in a good pair of rubber gloves.

 

[KrisReef]

CALL POISON CONTROL, and then see a doctor.

 

[gbru316]

Those aren’t zoanthids.

 

[laezur]

Those aren’t zoanthids.

I agree, those are green button Paly’s I think? They contain a high concentration of palytoxin if I’m right. I’d never keep those, I only have Zoa’s and even then im incredibly cautious

 

[Jasoncav123]

I agree, those are green button Paly’s I think? They contain a high concentration of palytoxin if I’m right. I’d never keep those, I only have Zoa’s and even then im incredibly cautious

I don't care what they are lol. I need em out of my life asap

 

[laezur]

I don't care what they are lol. I need em out of my life asap

Right, so first of all it’s important to know what’s in your tank and what you’re dealing with. This “don’t care” attitude is probably what landed you in this situation.

You have to take extreme precaution when removing them, full length gloves, goggles, potentially a respirator. Do not just throw them out, do not boil the rock. If you put them in your bin and forget about them, or leave them in the garden and forget about them you can guarantee you’ll be hit with it again.

 

[Miami Reef]

Right, so first of all it’s important to know what’s in your tank and what you’re dealing with. This “don’t care” attitude is probably what landed you in this situation.

OP is probably just scared. I don’t think this response was kind.

 

[Jasoncav123]

Right, so first of all it’s important to know what’s in your tank and what you’re dealing with. This “don’t care” attitude is probably what landed you in this situation.

You have to take extreme precaution when removing them, full length gloves, goggles, potentially a respirator. Do not just throw them out, do not boil the rock. If you put them in your bin and forget about them, or leave them in the garden and forget about them you can guarantee you’ll be hit with it again.

I obviously have no coral of any type in the rest of my tank. I never claimed to be a coral expert. Hence why I asked what to do with them. Atleast I was smart enough to figure out its one of the two Jesus christ it's not every day one gets poisoned from their saltwater tank

 

[laezur]

OP is probably just scared. I don’t think this response was kind.

While I think your criticism is fair, I stand by my point.

As others have mentioned you may want to call poison control and quote palytoxin. Especially if symptoms worsen, I wouldn’t wait around though.

I’m sure there are some paly experts who can guide you through removing them safely

 

[laezur]

I obviously have no coral of any type in the rest of my tank. I never claimed to be a coral expert. Hence why I asked what to do with them. Atleast I was smart enough to figure out its one of the two Jesus christ it's not every day one gets poisoned from their saltwater tank

Well I apologise for my rashness, it’s just important to know basics of what’s going in the tank.

How are you feeling now? Any respiratory distress? That’s what we need to look out for

 

[exnisstech]

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger Just kidding. Always wash hands afterwards. You can't be scared of your tank, that's just silly IMO

 

[Katrina71]

I'm sure a lfs would gladly take them. May even come get them. As for your reaction, if in doubt...get checked out.

 

[Jasoncav123]

Well I apologise for my rashness, it’s just important to know basics of what’s going in the tank.

How are you feeling now? Any respiratory distress? That’s what we need to look out for

No im fine. Eyes burning with small discharge but not nearly as bad before.
Wildest thing I've ever had happen to me. Taste is still kind of weird and metalish like they say. I did call Poston control and they were puzzled as this doesn't happen in PA very much lol. They advise different it gets worse to come in or obviously any issues breathing call 911.

 

[EqualityAlwaysWins]

And this is why NO zoa OR paly will ever enter my tank. It's just not worth the risk.

 

[Tired]

Grabbing the rock with a (thick) plastic bag over your hand and putting it into the bag will work just fine. Then go wash your hands really well. Palytoxin's not THAT aggressive- you just weren't careful enough. I don't know of a more polite way to put "don't touch toxic corals and then your food and/or eyes".

 

[Gatorpa]

Coral Toxicity - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Corals are invertebrates that fall within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They are mostly marine inhabitants and typically live in compact colonies of numerous polyps. They are one of the important reef builders in tropical oceans. Many corals, like Zoanthid corals, also known as soft...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Good overview of treatment.

Benadryl at the least, if symptoms worsen ER eval.

Any SOB wheezing or chest tightness GO TO THE ER.
Steroids likely help.
If you’re asthmatic use your B2 Inhaler, and consider an er trip for eval.

 

[doubleshot00]

I obviously have no coral of any type in the rest of my tank. I never claimed to be a coral expert. Hence why I asked what to do with them. Atleast I was smart enough to figure out its one of the two Jesus christ it's not every day one gets poisoned from their saltwater tank

Did you take the rock out and scrub it or scrub it inside the tank?