Anyone been stung by a frogspawn?

[Jan]

I think I was stung yesterday. It's on the side of my hand, and I was messing around in the tank with that side of my hand right near my frogspawn. It itched yesterday, a couple of hours later, and I thought I had a bug bite. I took an antihistamine and it went away.

this morning I scratched my hand in the same place and it started to itch and burn like nobody's business! And the swelling!! I put some steroidal ointment on it which helped in the center but then the swollen area just grew and the perimeter (outside of the ointment) would start itching again. I can see multiple bumps in the swollen area. I took another antihistamine which seems to be helping, but I'm surprised that it's worse today than it was yesterday.

Anyone with personal experience/advice to share?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

In the old days (early 70s-early 80s) many very nasty type carpet anemones would get imported. The shortest tentacle ones could be extremely vicious. Got a bad sting once by a carpet that I almost had to rip off the back of my hand. Have never been stung in a tank since those carpet days. Have heard of many incidents though. Also legs got nailed BAD by a school of nearly invisible tiny jellys in La Paz Mexico back in the 70s.

 

[luke33]

SOunds more like you got to close to a bristle worm as the small bumps and ichyness sounds familiar. Should pass in a couple days.

 

[Jan]

I've been reading some posts on RC about frogspawn stings...sounds similar to my experience with the itching/burning/swelling. Some people are more sensitive to the stings than others.

I guess if it gets worse in terms of the redness and swelling spreading further, I should see a doctor. :|

 

[NaH2O]

Jan - absolutely you can be allergic to corals! I always wear gloves when touching all corals (even SPS can be bothersome), and you should start, too. Euphyllia corals seem to cause a lot of problems in people. Curtswearing has actual scars on his forearms from corals. I've seen them, and they are quite impressive. Treat it like any other stinging animal. Take precautions when in your tank to avoid coral contact with your skin.

Here's a link that Curtswearing put up: Single Post - Reefkeeping Dangers

You should be able to link to the entire thread from the single post above, if you want to read more. An allergy to corals is nothing to mess around with. Be aware of anemones, too.

 

[WA coral]

wierd I guess it is an indiviual thing I am allergic to grasses but I have touched just about every coral I can think of with no reaction

 

[Jan]

I had a bad reaction to a gren LTA once, but none to my RBTA. Different nemocysts, I suppose.

I do use reef gloves (disposable or the thick ones) 99% of the time. However my new tank is 28" deep and there's been a few times that water gets into the top of the sleeve, then when I pull my arm out the water runs down my arm and will soak the whole side of my shirt. So I've stopped wearing them due to the nuisance factor. I'm going to buy some of the ones that cover the shoulder and tie behind the neck. I saw these on one of the RC threads.

http://www.jorvet.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/6/products_id/1592

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I'm like you Jan... I wear rubber gloves 90% (not 99%!) of the time. But I've gotten nailed a couple times by a torch and it does produce an odd sensation that takes a while to go away. No welts on me, but as previously mentioned, reactions vary from person to person.

And just another point... just because you haven't had a problem with certain corals in the past, doesn't mean you won't have an allergic reaction in the future. Allergic reactions are weird that way.

 

[treehugger]

1 of my 5 different types of frogspawn/hammers stings me every now and again. My carpet wouldn't let go of my hand once and they itched like mad after i ripped it off....but the best sting came from my aussie elegance...now if you want to go into the relm of fish I just got blasted by a Scribbled Rabbitfish and that did not feel so good

 

[burning2nd]

allergic reaction..

some sort of hives or rash... maybe blistering or a raised patch of skin...

dont scratch if it gets worse... maybe consider a doctor.

Ive gotten some marks from diffrent corals... its mainly the Lps's that do it to me... i use disinfectant on the spot.. a rap it up. so i dont mess with it.

 

[Jan]

thanks burning...I guess they didn't make you MOTM for nothing!

 

[pitmam01]

Wow, those look great!! I am a little worried just thinking about what the guy in the picture uses them for though, ha ha ha.

I had a bad reaction to a gren LTA once, but none to my RBTA. Different nemocysts, I suppose.

I do use reef gloves (disposable or the thick ones) 99% of the time. However my new tank is 28" deep and there's been a few times that water gets into the top of the sleeve, then when I pull my arm out the water runs down my arm and will soak the whole side of my shirt. So I've stopped wearing them due to the nuisance factor. I'm going to buy some of the ones that cover the shoulder and tie behind the neck. I saw these on one of the RC threads.

http://www.jorvet.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/6/products_id/1592

 

[Jan]

Wow, those look great!! I am a little worried just thinking about what the guy in the picture uses them for though, ha ha ha.

Well, if you read the fine print, it explains that it keeps your clothes from accidentally getting manure on them.

 

[trido]

So, a horses what? :lol:

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Oh my...

Helps reduce laundry expense and reduces accidental manure stains and smell.

I guess getting a little welt from a coral isn't really a bad thing in the whole big picture of things!

Just FYI, thefilterguys sell a shoulder-length disposable - but not as "industrial grade" as the equine version appear to be:

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/reef_sleeves.htm

 

[gary shandling]

All coral can sting. And all people are differant and some might not feel anything and in extreme cases could die from this. Better to be safe then sorry.

Ive touched many coral and felt no fear. After recieving a new SPS frag i used bare hands to mount on a frag , poylps closed. Well about 15 minutes later my fingers started to tingle. This tingle slowly climbed my arm untill my whole arm was effected. After 24 hours this went away but tought me a leason. I will never touch any coral or LR without some protection.

I think i felt something because the frag was stressed from being cut and shipped and then handled by me. It was a wake up call.

 

[Jan]

holy cow, that is some kind of wake up call! That would seriously freak me out. In fact I probably been in the waiting room at the ER by the time the tingling made it up to my elbow! Do you remember what kind of coral it was?

All coral can sting. And all people are differant and some might not feel anything and in extreme cases could die from this. Better to be safe then sorry.

Ive touched many coral and felt no fear. After recieving a new SPS frag i used bare hands to mount on a frag , poylps closed. Well about 15 minutes later my fingers started to tingle. This tingle slowly climbed my arm untill my whole arm was effected. After 24 hours this went away but tought me a leason. I will never touch any coral or LR without some protection.

I think i felt something because the frag was stressed from being cut and shipped and then handled by me. It was a wake up call.

 

[gary shandling]

Some type of blue tip Acopora. It did make me nervous but not enough for a trip to the emergency room.

 

[burning2nd]

im always worrie about touching new types of corals...

Ive learned that my body doesnt like lps's i dont why...
my friend is like super deadly allergic to bees like death in 30 min...

humans have not bin exposed to this type of things in larges number for a long time...
so i would guess that the rate of people who are more seriously allergic is pritty high..

safe then sorry.

 

[morgan]

personally i dont get stung by corals but anenomes stichys and carpets and majnifica all leave me a little red vinger is good i just treat them the same as jellyfish so if ur ever stung i recommend vinger of course theres always urine 2