Palytoxin almost kills local reefer
 

Tommy (Tcat3rd) Almost died Wednesday evening after being exposed to the deadly Palytoxin from zoanthids left over night in a bucket. The zoo's were have dead from leaving them over night in a bucket so he decided to clean the rocks off in his utility tub with hot water and scrubbing them. He was full aware of the danger of the toxin, he used eye protection and full length gloves to clean the rocks. What he didn't protect was his lungs, the hot water and steam from the water made the toxin airborne. After 20 minutes of cleaning the rocks he went up stairs, feeling sick to his stomach. after another half hour passed he was ready to head to the emergency room but before he left he printed out articles on the toxin to take with him. In the waiting room he became almost paralyzed and started to cough up blood, his lungs were filling up with blood as well. The Dr's treated him with everything the could think of and were getting results, they called in the priest for last rights that evening and didn't think he'd make it through the night. Thursday morning they continued massive treat of antibiotics and steroids with little improvement. Today he's on his way back from his death bed and will be in the hospital for days to run tests and monitor his progress. We wanted me to post up to let everyone know and to remind them the dangers of our tanks. Thoughts and prayers go out to Tommy and his family, which also got sick from the toxin just not as bad as Tommy did being in closer range to the steam.
Erik

So glad to read he is on the mend..and a really good reminder that I need to be much more careful with my tank habits.

I would never have thought about that. I'll have to do some reading on these more advanced subjects.

Oh my God!!!! That is horrible!!! I pray that he and his family are able to recover from such a awful accident! I'm so glad he had the sense to bring the printouts with him!! Please give him my best and let him know if he needs anything to please let me know.
Cindy

Wow, I am glad he is recovering. I hope you feel better soon Tommy.

The ocean and it's creatures all bite.... This should be a warning to all newbies and long term reefers.... Stuff in these tanks can kill you very fast. Thank goodness it seems he will be okay......

Wishing Tommy and his family a full and quick recovery.

Wow, should be an eye opener for all! Hope you get back on your feet soon Tommy.

This is so terrible to hear what happened to tommy. He is the nicest guy and can't believe something of this nature happened to him. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family tommy. Hang in there buddy! I wish you a speedy recovery and hope something like this never happens again! This is a for sure wake up call to everyone in the hobby and I'll try and be more careful when handling corals! I'm shocked to be reading this!! You're such a great guy man, take care.

Best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery from my family and I.

Get well soon! Very scary stuff. I've read and have been careful about the palytoxins, I'm going to step it up to always wear gloves and keep some printed info on hand in case. My thoughts are with you and your family tommy

WOW!!!! he and his fam are amazingly lucky..prayers go out to them and hoping for a speedy recovery. just reminds you that you cant be overly cautious when you are in this hobby.

That really blows my mind is to think such a tiny little thing could cause such damage!

For those that haven't researched palytoxin do a quick google search, crazy stuff

Hope everything goes smoothly with the recovery.

Need to be more cautious when handling zoas/palys.

Everyone should read this
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/no...tore-near-you/

Tommy, I hope you have a fast recovery! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you Tommy in your recovery! Chef! If you know Tommy he is one great guy and is always in great spirits and loves reefing! so lets pull together and give Tommy all the support we can!Chef

Get better Tommy and family!!!

Tommy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Get well soon!!

Get well bud, so glad to hear your on the up.

I read an article about a guy who was using boiling water in a syringe to kill off zoas like many people do to aiptasia. The steam was coming up through his tank water and same thing happened, he inhaled the toxin and was off the the ER....

Wishing you and your family a full and quick recovery.

Wow! I’m sorry to hear that, .I would have never thought of needing a respirator that could have happened to anybody. Get well soon Tommy and family, if you need anything give me a call...

Tommy hope you get better soon. Prayers go out to you for a fast recovery. If you need anything don't hesitate to let me know. Ben

THANKS ERICK! I couldn't have typed all this yesterday.
I saw that several people said they would be changing their protocol when handling corals. That is the reason I asked for your help in posting.

Thanks to the rest for the kind words. they were nice to hear from my friends but I probably do noy deserve them all!!!!

Still in ICUs and a lot of blood coagulating in my lungs but fevers and chills are gone. Definitely feeling better, but very week and don't even have enough breath to blow my nose. That kinda freaked me out this morning when the respitory therapist gave me treatment. They art noy sure how much permanent damage I have done to my lungs and body cells in general. This can affect every cell in your body.

Hopefully I will get out of icu tomorrow baring another setback, and then transfer to a regular bed for a a few more days according to my doc. My family are doing better but my wife has missed a few days work and is still sick. My wife daughter and son were in the room above me and all three were sick with bad chills and fevers the first night and the were in the dining ABOVE the slop sink in the basement where I was!!!

Oh ya do not forget that scientist studying paly toxin have found that the toxin has been found in other nearby corals that do not produce it on their own, so that other coral you got from someone else may also be toxic!

Again thanks for the kind words, I don't deserve most of them,lol.

Peace,
Tommy

Wow, glad to hear everything is okay & get well soon.