I got stung today....

melypr1985

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... by a lion fish!!
So, let me just say that for those of you who don't know.... I work at a fish store in Dallas and we currently have 4 very small fuzzy dwarf lions. They are all just a little bigger than golf balls. I went to move some rocks into a more attractive scape and got nailed right on my middle finger. That of course, led to hilarity as people asked to see it.

Now, this was around 3pm today. As of right now, I only have a bit of discomfort in my right arm up to the bicep. If you've never been stung by a venomous fish, then I'll just tell ya now, Don't. It sucks. I'm not allergic to anything so I faired much better than some people might. When I touched it (totally my fault and I didn't see him at all) it felt like I had been shot in the finger with a needle. It felt like a hard hit, even though I probably only barely touched it. Then there was pain and heat. I immediately ran to the bathroom (squealing all the way) and ran hot water over my hand. I left it there until somebody brought peroxide to pour over the "wound". The heat is supposed to break down the toxins quicker and the peroxide is obvious I think.

The hot water hurt like the dickens at first, but then it started feeling better. If I took my hand out of the water it hurt more. We filled a specimen container with hot water and I walked around with my hand in it for about 45 minutes. I had minimal swelling from this and the pain eventually migrated out of my finger and hand and up my arm.

Right now, it's mostly just an odd, uncomfortable sensation from my elbow to my shoulder (about). It's moving upward slowly. I figure the toxin will need to be processed out of my body so I'm drinking lots of water.

That's it! That's my experience. There was a tiny prick where I got stung and it bled a tiny bit, but now I can't see it. I don't have any more swelling, and I dont see any bruise forming at all. I would take a picture, but it would just be of my regular hand. Not cool or gross or anything.

Lastly I want to be sure that you all know I wasn't attacked by this fish. I was careless and didn't look where my hands were going while doing some aquascaping. Totally my fault as I know better. I knew there were 4 tiny lions in this tank and should have taken more care.
 
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melypr1985

melypr1985

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Would going to a doctor help you?

I'm not sure in my case. I don't think I'll need one. Certainly if somebody experiences worse symptoms than I did, or if they are allergic to bee or wasp or ant stings, they may want to seek help. Depending on how bad the allergy is, they might want to not put their hands in a tank with a venomous fish without an epipen near by.
 

steve&mari

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Wow hopefully the sensation clears up fast for you. Glad it wasn't worse keep taking good care of it. Hope you had a blast on vacation also. Take care and be careful.
 

4FordFamily

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Ouch!! Feel better soon!

My buddy got the foxface treating years ago and it hurt me watching!

Catfish hurt enough!
 
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melypr1985

melypr1985

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Wow hopefully the sensation clears up fast for you. Glad it wasn't worse keep taking good care of it. Hope you had a blast on vacation also. Take care and be careful.

Thank you! Its fading every minute, so I think it will be fine. I had a great time on vacation!
 
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melypr1985

melypr1985

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Ouch!! Feel better soon!

My buddy got the foxface treating years ago and it hurt me watching!

Catfish hurt enough!

It's getting better all the time. I do have a friend that got stung by a longspine urchin. She didn't do anything to help it and now has nerve damage and pain in her hand. She's unable to use her middle finger now as well. No medical treatment for it, no hot water, nothing. She was stung between her first and second knuckle about 3 months ago.
 

Brew12

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It's getting better all the time. I do have a friend that got stung by a longspine urchin. She didn't do anything to help it and now has nerve damage and pain in her hand. She's unable to use her middle finger now as well. No medical treatment for it, no hot water, nothing. She was stung between her first and second knuckle about 3 months ago.
I just hope you continue to recover. I need you to be able to type instructions when I screw something up! :eek:
 

aaron23

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Now you know the feeling of a sting lol very educational experience. I went lion fish spear fishing in May and those buggers tasted goooooood :). Sorry that you got stung next time hands out of the water!
 

Brew12

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Now you know the feeling of a sting lol very educational experience. I went lion fish spear fishing in May and those buggers tasted goooooood :). Sorry that you got stung next time hands out of the water!
Not to hijack the thread, but did you see that the people who make the robotic vacuums are working on a robotic lion fish electrocution machine?
 

scchase

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Reactions vary a lot, my mom was stung and she had to go to the hospital, I have been stung several times and it is not even as bad as a wasp sting for me. So far I have been stung by Pterois volitans, Dendrochirus zebra, Siganus vulpinus, Diadema urchins, torch coral, and fire coral. Luckily none of them are bad for me and overall the urchins were the worst, though that was likely because surf slammed me into a whole group of them in Honduras. Feel better soon.
 

jeremy.gosnell

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I got certified in marine animal injuries when I studied at a dive academy years ago. It came in handy, because on a trip to Bonaire in 2008 one of our divers was stung by an urchin and had a severe allergic reaction. I was the dive safety officer on the trip and the hospital was closed, so I had to get him through a full 24 hours with no medical care. Luckily I had brought plenty of gear and faired pretty well, as he was fine. I would recommend taking a day off work (at the least) and taking a full dose of Benadryl and maintaining a day long hot compress (therma-care packs work best). Lion fish poison can cause permanent nerve and cellular damage, and the Benadryl will stop the auto-immune function that causes that.
 

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Miss Melypr, I'm pleased that Your Ok. I've had the misfortune of foolishly running into a long spine urchin and a stingray tail spine. The stingray hurt me real bad. Both times I was being careless. So be careful Folks !
 
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melypr1985

melypr1985

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I got certified in marine animal injuries when I studied at a dive academy years ago. It came in handy, because on a trip to Bonaire in 2008 one of our divers was stung by an urchin and had a severe allergic reaction. I was the dive safety officer on the trip and the hospital was closed, so I had to get him through a full 24 hours with no medical care. Luckily I had brought plenty of gear and faired pretty well, as he was fine. I would recommend taking a day off work (at the least) and taking a full dose of Benadryl and maintaining a day long hot compress (therma-care packs work best). Lion fish poison can cause permanent nerve and cellular damage, and the Benadryl will stop the auto-immune function that causes that.

Thanks for the tips! Do you think the benadryl would be useful tomorrow? Or would be too late? I don't have any more at the moment. I'm off tomorrow so that's a plus! I can do hot compresses now and tomorrow.
 

4FordFamily

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It's getting better all the time. I do have a friend that got stung by a longspine urchin. She didn't do anything to help it and now has nerve damage and pain in her hand. She's unable to use her middle finger now as well. No medical treatment for it, no hot water, nothing. She was stung between her first and second knuckle about 3 months ago.
I've been stung by my urchins dozens of times I guess I'm lucky! That does hurt bad!
 

cromag27

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I've heard they are very good eating.

Now you know the feeling of a sting lol very educational experience. I went lion fish spear fishing in May and those buggers tasted goooooood :). Sorry that you got stung next time hands out of the water!
 

CJBuckeyes

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My foxface got me recently when I transferring it with a net. It burned pretty good for about 5-10 mins. Sounds like yours is quite a bit worse. Hope it gets better!
 

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