Palytoxin Poison concern, opinion please!

[Camellia]

Sorry for the book. I'm just not sure what or where I should go/do...
Feel free to skip to the pic's.
Thanks

Two nights ago I was cleaning off aggressive Paly's to rid them from my tank. This is the second incident with these extremely dangerous Paly's.
Below is a short version of the first horrible disaster for reference and knowledge of this Paly being extremely toxic...
Three months ago I was scraping these same paly (weeds) off a large (45 lbs) rock and sucking them immediately up and out of the tank with tubing.
Upon returning home late that evening I saw some Paly slime/chunks on the sand bed (I keep my sand-bed clean).
In attempt to suck out the gunk with a turkey baster some flew through-out the tank.
LPS tentacles were extended, Acans, Suncoral and Fathead Dendro's... and it stuck to them. Many of my LPS practically melted into slime in front of my eyes...
My Yellow Tang came out to say hello, evidently it got in his eyes, they bulged out becoming triple in size and it went blind.

My current scare with these Paly's is me and don't really know what's best to do about it.
Two nights ago I prepared myself to remove 30+ of these same Paly's. I am down-sizing and they had returned on a nice large rock that's going into my new tank.
With goggles, mask & gloves I took the rock out of the tank, put it on a cutting board and started scraping them off with a pairing knife. I was almost done when the knife slipped and cut a tiny puncture in my finger.

It's really sore, red and swollen. I wish I would've took a picture this morning but didn't. It had a circle full of puss in the middle.
I took a needle and popped it, squeezed puss out, put proxide on it and soaked it in Epsom salt.
I had a Dr apt today, actually pre-op for surgery on my foot again.
My Dr had zero knowledge or advise but postponed my surgery until Friday. I made an apt with my internist for in the morning but highly doubt he will be knowledgable...
It is extremely painful and when I squeezed the puss out I became nausea and it hasn't gone away all day.
Advise, opinions please.
Thanks

 

[Camellia]

Pic's
Index finger on the left, wish I could take a pic of both index fingers, humm

 

[cromag27]

Ouch! well, popping it wasn't really a good idea as bacteria can get into the open wound. not sure what the remedy for palytoxin is, but good luck!

 

[Rattooth]

Your physician should have given you an injection of antibiotic , and started you on a round of oral antibiotics . You have an infection. Probably from bacteria in tank, not necessarily from paliotoxin.

 

[Camellia]

Thanks!

Wish I would've took a pic but it looked like something was Already in it.. There was and it came out but... looks like more would come out now.
already so thought I'd try to get ur out.

The Dr today was a foot Surgen, I don't think he wanted involved.

 

[Tahoe61]

You need to be proactive when it comes to this.
The MD you want to see is infectious disease, not internal med or your primary.
If you start to see increased redness, increased pain, or drain and or a temp you need to go to the ER and stand your ground.
I was an ER nurse for 15 yrs, I have been a hobbyist for 30 years and one of my friends almost lost his arm from a vibro infection he acquired while working in a tank. I kept sending him back to the ER until they listened, they ended up keeping him for a week on IV antibiotics.
I am not trying to scare you just inform you to be proactive. DO NOT work with palys with bare hands or work in water where you have been disturbing palys.

 

[Rattooth]

Duricef 500 mg twice a day for ten days. Plus injection of antibiotic as soon as possible. Emergency room , is better than waiting. 12 hours untreated looks much worse.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

One reason I don't have palys!

Hope you start to feel better, like someone said, stand your ground going to the ER if the need arises. The toxin is bad enough, been there myself as far as a limb having an infection. It's nothing to pass off as "not a big deal, I'll be alright".

 

[cmcoker]

Agreed with Tahoe ^^ have you checked your temperature?

Also, if you notice a creeping red streak visible on your skin means go to ER immediately.

Throw away the rock, it's really not worth it..

I'm a vet tech, so cat bites are the scare in my field. Because their teeth are pointy they make a small puncture, deposit bacteria, skin closes over leaving bacteria to proliferate in the wound. This makes the bite more dangerous, than a larger animal causing a gash. People lose limbs from cat bites.
So, in that light, the tiny puncture from the knife is worrisome to me.

Definitely follow up with someone to see about antibiotics

 

[Camellia]

Thank you for all the informative posts! Just took my temp, it's normal.
No other unusual symptoms but the infection is getting worse fast.

I'm soaking it again, don't know if it helps?

My primary (internist) apt is in 12 hours, if he don't provide I'll go to ER.

Rattooth, you really think I need to go to ER tonight?

 

[Rattooth]

Go to ER tonight. You need injection of antibiotic. Do not wait till tomorrow . It will be worse. It is bacteria from tank water/ puncture wound. Not from palyotoxin.

 

[cmcoker]

Thank you for all the informative posts! Just took my temp, it's normal.
No other unusual symptoms but the infection is getting worse fast.

I'm soaking it again, don't know if it helps?

My primary (internist) apt is in 12 hours, if he don't provide I'll go to ER.

Rattooth, you really think I need to go to ER tonight?

I'll just say, couple years ago I was having worsening stomach pain over a couple days. Told my wife late Friday night that I was going to ER in the morning if not better. She told me if it's bad enough that you would go to ER in the morning, why are you waiting?
So, I went that night and ended up having an appendectomy.
If you think it's bad enough to go to the ER, then go. If your not sure, then go.
IMO, No one online can adequately examine you to say for sure one way or the other.

 

[Rattooth]

Yes. Go to night .

 

[Rattooth]

Insist on injection of antibiotics plus oral prescription. That is minimum. Some cases require IV drip over several days. Waiting makes hospitalization more likely. So quick start is better.

 

[Camellia]

Thank you, wait time shouldn't be long the place is empty



Coker, so true! I drove myself to ER once from extreme stomache pain. Didn't get home until the next night with my gallbladder out

 

[cmcoker]

Let us know how it goes..

 

[Joeganja]

Sorry for the book. I'm just not sure what or where I should go/do...
Feel free to skip to the pic's.
Thanks

Two nights ago I was cleaning off aggressive Paly's to rid them from my tank. This is the second incident with these extremely dangerous Paly's.
Below is a short version of the first horrible disaster for reference and knowledge of this Paly being extremely toxic...
Three months ago I was scraping these same paly (weeds) off a large (45 lbs) rock and sucking them immediately up and out of the tank with tubing.
Upon returning home late that evening I saw some Paly slime/chunks on the sand bed (I keep my sand-bed clean).
In attempt to suck out the gunk with a turkey baster some flew through-out the tank.
LPS tentacles were extended, Acans, Suncoral and Fathead Dendro's... and it stuck to them. Many of my LPS practically melted into slime in front of my eyes...
My Yellow Tang came out to say hello, evidently it got in his eyes, they bulged out becoming triple in size and it went blind.

My current scare with these Paly's is me and don't really know what's best to do about it.
Two nights ago I prepared myself to remove 30+ of these same Paly's. I am down-sizing and they had returned on a nice large rock that's going into my new tank.
With goggles, mask & gloves I took the rock out of the tank, put it on a cutting board and started scraping them off with a pairing knife. I was almost done when the knife slipped and cut a tiny puncture in my finger.

It's really sore, red and swollen. I wish I would've took a picture this morning but didn't. It had a circle full of puss in the middle.
I took a needle and popped it, squeezed puss out, put proxide on it and soaked it in Epsom salt.
I had a Dr apt today, actually pre-op for surgery on my foot again.
My Dr had zero knowledge or advise but postponed my surgery until Friday. I made an apt with my internist for in the morning but highly doubt he will be knowledgable...
It is extremely painful and when I squeezed the puss out I became nausea and it hasn't gone away all day.
Advise, opinions please.
Thanks

Don't expect Drs to know anything about this. You need to speak to a toxicologist. I try to post threads on how to avoid this problem and how to be cautious but looks like no one reads them.

 

[Surfandturf]

Isn't palytoxin a neuro toxin? I thought the symptoms of a neurotoxin poisoning were accelerated heartbeat,difficulty breathing, running nose, and nausea. It seems as though you gave yourself nausea by squeezing the puncture. I'm not a doctor, but I would say that you are fine. Next time throw some alcohol or peroxide on the cut . I know there is a guy on youtube that has wiped the secretion of palys on his face by accident, twice! He still lives!

 

[cmcoker]

While the author of this post was concerned about palytoxin, that is not the only thing we should be concerned about in this scenario.
There are several types of bacteria that can be living in our tanks that can cause great harm to humans, given the right circumstances.
I'd recommend anyone who would advise the OP to wait it out, or suggest they are fine, to have a read here: http://masna.org/masna-education/zoonotic-diseases/

 

[Surfandturf]

I understand what you are saying, what people need to realize in this hobby is that some of the deadliest bacteria on earth are found in the ocean. Respect that fact, and use due diligence, one should be fine. I would caution against reading too many horror stories though. No point in upsetting one's self for no reason. Space has a lot of scary facts on how we could die if you want to entertain what ifs.