Has anyone ever had saltwater aquarium poisoning, what were your symptoms?

[itelshot]

Hi, I've been in marine aquariums for a long time, but bought my first corals after improving water quality in late summer. At about the same time, after a vacation with friends in nature, I started having numbness in half of my body, tingling in random places, and blood pressure spikes in the morning. It got worse and better in spurts. It could have been simultaneous or more disparate.
I went to a nerve specialist and was diagnosed with a diagnosis that said vascular function problems and poor blood flow in my neck.
After a course of prescribed medication everything helped me 60-70%.
Sometimes I wonder if the aquarium could be poisoning me. Of course from corals I have 2 paly (photo attached). A bit of a dino problem. The aquarium is in the same room with me where I am most of my time.
I would like to know if you have had tingling in your limbs, numbness (the closer to the end of the limb - the stronger), headaches, pressure spikes or anything like that when working, contacting or living near the aquarium? The only thing I can think of is palitoxin, but I don't think my palys are that toxic.

 

[itelshot]

As far as I know: admins read all posts. If it is possible to do so - you can move my thread to a more appropriate section

 

[Troylee]

I’ve never been poisoned or affected by my tank that I know of.. I will say the only time I had any reaction was when I had my little cube and a dino outbreak! I got a rash on my arm every time I put it in from the Dino’s…

 

[itelshot]

If the "attacks" were severe, there could also be something like weakness or dizziness.

 

[itelshot]

I’ve never been poisoned or affected by my tank that I know of.. I will say the only time I had any reaction was when I had my little cube and a dino outbreak! I got a rash on my arm every time I put it in from the Dino’s…

Here I am now blowing on the aquarium all day long, blowing through a sock (probably just from the dino) and by evening right now I'm getting worse like I haven't in a long time

 

[KrisReef]

We all suffer the itch when we go into the fish store and see new corals

That said, if your physical system is sensitive to corals, as in allergic you may be the only one who knows and can resolve this issue. Lots of medical issues are not fully understood, and allergies (that individuals have) are a huge blind spot because non-allergic folks presume you are either crazy or "faking it."

Not all doctors and people will think this, but the point is you may have to figure this one out on your own, unless by some chance there is another reefer out here that recognizes the symptoms you are experiencing.

Sadly, the best test for this would be to move the tank to a friends place and see if your symptoms go away. Short of that, adding carbon and/or PolyFilter to possibly collect the irritants, shutting off the skimmer and other measures to reduce aerosols, and see if that provides any improvement from your situation.

My neighbor is highly allergic to "everything" and I helped her detoxify her house after her husband used the automatic cleaning feature for the first time on their kitchen oven and she moved out for a month while we ran ozone, then painted the entire interior of the house, scrubbed the floors and hardscapes, etc . I am sympathetic for your issue, and hope you can identify the root causes.

Maybe get rid of those Paly's as a trial measure? Good Luck.

 

[DanyL]

At most I had a rush and tingling after trying to reach in between rocks and touched some sponges.

I’ve touched known to be toxic palys many times over the years, removed them from rocks outside the water and what not, but never had any reaction to it.

To my knowledge the reaction to Polytoxin specifically is more an allergic reaction than one that immediately affects everyone.
Have you tried to talk to a toxicologist and explain your concerns to him? They should know which and what toxins may be around a saltwater environment and possibly test your exposure to them.

As a side note - I’m not sure everyone will be comfortable sharing their health condition over the internet, even though what they’ve been experiencing could be related to the tank.

 

[Doctorgori]

sometimes the thin skin between my fingers or on the underside of my wrist, arm gets a rash ….

…also those green palys are evil

 

[itelshot]

sometimes the thin skin between my fingers or on the underside of my wrist, arm gets a rash ….

…also those green palys are evil

why evil?)

 

[DanyL]

why evil?)

It’s the exact type that is known to contain Palytoxin.

 

[itelshot]

It’s the exact type that is known to contain Palytoxin.

Daamn... there are 2 on photos, which one?

 

[helmsreef]

Too me, it sounds like you may have Chiari malformation I, you can't see it unless you are looking for it with a MRI. Did they perform a MRA to check CSF flow in your neck? Thats the only way to get a proper diagnosis of you neck issues. Doubtful that it has anything to do with your tank, but I would request more imaging specifically looking for chiari or low spinal fluid flow

 

[JayM]

If you haven't already, it would probably be a really good idea to let your Dr. know that you have potentially been exposed to palytoxin.

 

[JAS927]

I have actually been very sick from palys and I tell my story to anyone I talk new aquariums with who might not be aware. Back 20 years ago when it happened, there wasn’t the same internet there is now where people could research and learn. I had no idea and wasn’t ever made aware.

 

[itelshot]

Too me, it sounds like you may have Chiari malformation I, you can't see it unless you are looking for it with a MRI. Did they perform a MRA to check CSF flow in your neck? Thats the only way to get a proper diagnosis of you neck issues. Doubtful that it has anything to do with your tank, but I would request more imaging specifically looking for chiari or low spinal fluid flow

I had a cervical MRI and a neck vascular ultrasound. The diagnosis sounds like this (if the translator deepl translates correctly): vertebrobasilar vascular insufficiency, somatoform autonomic dysfunction and small things like the type of not significant chondrosis of the cervical spine

 

[itelshot]

I have actually been very sick from palys and I tell my story to anyone I talk new aquariums with who might not be aware. Back 20 years ago when it happened, there wasn’t the same internet there is now where people could research and learn. I had no idea and wasn’t ever made aware.

I would like to listen to the full and detailed story!

 

[DanyL]

Daamn... there are 2 on photos, which one?

There are 2 green palys that I know of.

This one is what I’ve heard the most complains about poisoning incidents:

This one I know a local that been to ER after touching his eyes when handling them (note the brown rim)

 

[itelshot]

There are 2 green palys that I know of.

This one is what I’ve heard the most complains about poisoning incidents:

This one I know a local that been to ER after touching his eyes when handling them (note the brown rim)

They look similar, but the coloring is slightly different, or does that not really matter?

 

[redfishbluefish]

I've had experience with palytoxin and what I experienced where welts where I touched the zoas/palys and a general malaise. I just wanted to sleep as I was very tired. Spent a day in bed and the following day I was feeling better.

That said, we had a local club member who had issues every time he put his hands in his tank. He blamed his palys. This went on for a good year or so with a couple visits to the hospital. His last visit to the hospital, they finally identified the issue. He collected local snails and the snails were "infected" with the parasite responsible for swimmer's itch (cercarial dermatitis).

 

[DanyL]

They look similar, but the coloring is slightly different, or does that not really matter?

Coloring or rather hue/tint can slightly change from aquarium to aquarium, but you somewhat recognize the shape and pattern.