Bristleworms and the skin

[Coralgurl]

I didn't see any bristles in my fingers at the time, but they are starting to swell, have bumps and are itchy, got really noticable on Wednesday.

Ugh, doctors....

[ckmullin]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

I didn't see any bristles in my fingers at the time, but they are starting to swell, have bumps and are itchy, got really noticable on Wednesday.

Ugh, doctors....

I'd say go in and see one. Might be wise to print out a sheet about the worm and have that as you go in. Even something like the wiki page might help if the dr isn't a salthead.

[Coralgurl]

Can't get in until next week to see doc. Will hit a clinic if it continues to get worse. My one finger is swollen right to my palm and the other is just bumpy.

[ckmullin]

Sorry to hear. Dunno if you want your private digits to be a guinea pig however might be of value to post a shot or two so others can see effects of a possible bristleworm jabbing.

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by ckmullin

Sorry to hear. Dunno if you want your private digits to be a guinea pig however might be of value to post a shot or two so others can see effects of a possible bristleworm jabbing.

Don't think anything would show up in a pic, unless my hand swells more. The bumps are under the skin, on one finger they are white, the other red. The white ones are itchy, red ones swollen. My assistant says they almost looks like burn blisters, but deeper in the skin, not on the surface... I know I didn't burn myself.

For those of you who have had to remove the bristles, were there any side affects? I don't know if what is going on is due to working in my tank or something else as I did not have any bristles in my fingers at the time. That's why I asked if getting stuck by a bristleworm could go unnoticed.

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

For those of you who have had to remove the bristles, were there any side affects?

No, there was no side effects at all for me. I used duct tape to put them out. I had to use really good tweezers for a couple that were in further.

The last time I got mine I didn't even notice until about an hour later when I kept brushing one finger against another. Then it started to move the bristles around and it got irratated. Duct tape and a good anti-bacterial wash and I was good to go.

[reefwars]

careful what lurks in your rocks!

[Northvan]

I get stung constantly, or pricked, or whatever. I use tape to pull out the spines. I've never had a reaction of any kind, but its possible you are allergic. For me it feels like I touched a small spiny cactus.

[asylumdown]

let us know how it works out. If it was a super delayed reaction, it might not have had anything to do with the tank. However, considering the ubiquity of bristleworms in marine aquaria and you think you might be sensitive to them, I would consider wearing gloves when you work in there from now on. A minor allergic reaction can become a serious allergic reaction if you're exposed to it enough.

Any time I hear stories like this I think of my best friend, who used to work at Petland. He started working there with no allergies of any kind, but due to repeated exposure, developed a life threatening anaphylactic reaction to blood worms. He used to take care of my tanks for me when I went out of town, but stopped when he had a reaction at my place (while he was alone and I wasn't there) simply because the shelf in the freezer where I kept the marine food had previously been where I kept the blood worms when I still had a FW tank. I hadn't had any blood worms in months, but he still had a serious reaction from handling the mysis packages that were on that shelf and then touching his face.

If you are getting allergies to something in your tank, nip it in the bud and wear gloves before it can become something serious.

[daniella3d]

I had them countless times in my fingers. I use liquid skin or New Skin, the liquid bandage sold at the pharmacy. It will melt them and it also desinfect and stop the hitch.

It is not dangerous from my experience and I never had to see a doctor for this.

Last week I was stung by my black sponge. I had a feeling of intense burning and did not do anything about it. The morning after I had a small hole in my finger with a few layers of skin burned up. I really wonder what type of chimical can do this. It would be interesting to know.

I don't think bristle worms have any chimical associate with their bristle as I never felt burn or something similar. Best way to go is to put liquid skin when they are sticking out of the skin and when the liquid skin is dry, pull if off and it pulls all the bristles that are left out of the skin.