Yet Another Warning
 

I was making a couple of frags the other day of some red zoas. I've read all the stories in here about the possible dangers of handling these corals but thought it could never happen to me. I'm not allergic to much in the way of bug bites, bee stings etc, so I went in bare handed. By the time I was done cutting and gluing I had a slight tingling in my left hand. As the night progressed it was almost as if my hand had gone to sleep--pins and needles all over. That's as bad as it got, no swelling or tingling up my arm or anywhere else but it was enough to scare me straight. Never again will I frag anything without gloves. Just be warned. Most of us know what we are and aren't allergic to but when it comes to exotic stuff like corals you just never know.

I really like it when people point to something without any testing or proof.

You might as well have compressed a nerve or something like that and that's where the tingling and numbness came from. It could have been that you are having other more serious issues with your blood vessel and that might come back, if that's the case. I don't think a left arm going numb has anything to do with zoanthids.

If you do a search in google for numbness left arm you will find a lot of possible reasons, but no zoanthid. I would go see my doctor if I were you...as this can hide something nasty, like an upcoming hearth attack.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_..._left_arm_mean

Then do a test and prove him wrong. Rub zoas all over your skin and then lick a few. See if nothing happens

MMAX is just relating his experience. Take him at his word or not. He has the proof he needs.

LOL.he posted a link to wikipedia
Wikipedia is NOT TRUE, it is merely PEOPLES OPINIONS.

anyways thanks for the warning, i wont ever cut frags without gloves.

Well that's really dumb..Licking something and touching it is not the same thing...hello!???

but I do frag zoanthids and palythoas all the time and never had anything like that..does that prove him wrong? I do have zoa slime and paly slime all over my arm when I am done..I even had some in my eyes a few times and on my face. They splash often.

However this could be a warning for something else..something more serious. I posted a link randomly. Anyone can do a search on google find loads of good references for the possible causes of this. Nothing to do with zoanthids or paly, but it could be a possible stroke coming or hearth problems, or it could be just a nerve.

All I am saying is that there is no proof that it is due to the zoanthids, and it could be something very serious so better have this checked out. It would be stupid not to have this checked by a doctor.

I would be careful on who you're telling their having a heart attack, being in the Medical field and telling someone their having a Heart Attack or Stroke or possibly having one over a Forum is not really a good way of going about it. Now he has explaining his expirence and it could in deed have been an reaction to something new. It could have been 100's of things now yes I will agree "Numbness" could indicate a stroke / heart attack and 1000 other medical diagnosis, They're is alot of other things that go with these, Shortness of Breath, Headache, One sided weakness, Cranial nerve abnormalities... The list goes on and on.


I would also be sceptical on someone who is telling me I am having an acute medical emergency that doesn't know how to spell Heart (Hearth?)

This sort of stuff may be better directed in a PM, I don't know if it's just myself but leave the medical direction to people with the appropriate training.

Thanks for the warning. Anyone cutting zoos should think about erring on the side of caution, as this is an all too common story. Gloves are cheap, and they keep the smell off your fingers :)
Yes, you could have also been having a brain seizure causing numbness in your hand, in which case gloves still would not hurt. Wear gloves while fragging people, worst case you'll look like a coral surgeon!! hehe

Thank you MMAX.

Try to ignore the people like I quoted.

This one lost all credability by attacking you for sharing your experience, then posted a link to an info search site. When I clicked that link that they provided to debunk you it came up with a big search box which I typed in "dangers of zoanthids".

When searched like that, the first non ad link had this in it...

"Palytoxin is a tumor promoter, and is being studied in relation to signaling pathways in skin cancer genesis.[16] Contrary to common belief, palytoxin can be absorbed through intact skin.[17] The danger of acute poisoning from venomous zoanthids is quite real. An aquarist was poisoned through skin injuries on fingers by a Parazoanthus species, but recovered after 3 days. His zoanthid was found to contain 2-3 milligram of palytoxin per gram.[18] For comparison, the intravenous LD50 dose of palytoxin for a grown man is less than 8 microgram. Thus each gram of the offending zoanthid contained enough venom to kill at least 125 grown men." (sounds safe to me)

So perhaps I am just confused, maybe that poster was arguing to support what you were saying.


Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/zoanthid#ixzz1bntuPJfq

Lol seems legit -- Only 125?