bristleworm (probably fireworm) sting

[Aine]

I got stung by something while playing in the back of my biocube... I'm having a reaction that is more like a burn than hives. I think it may be that I touched a fireworm.
I tried alcohol, polysporin and benadryl, but it still hurts... 
Any advice?
Aine

[Funkmotor]

Any advice?

As long as you don't have an allergic reaction, it will pass with time.  It could really be any number of things...but it's best to keep your hands where you can see what you're touching (to avoid killing things as much as to avoid hurting yourself) and you might want to invest in some tongs and/or gloves.

I have two sets of tongs...one with small jaws and one with big jaws, and I use them all the time.

[93GTCANADA]

my hermits killed a huge bristleworm the other day. i was like sweet.

[holachicka]

I am still of the thinking of: KILL ALL BRISTLEWORMS!!! And yes, I know, they are supposed to be beneficial, but like really!? Can something so nasty freaky and ugly really be thaaaaaaat good for your tank??? argh - they just gross me out! OK, that's my 2 cents, keep the change!

[soleil1980]

hope you're ok. 

[Aine]

I'm fine, miss Soleil, but it still burns... Do you remember the burns I had from jellyfish stings when I went to that field course in reef ecology in Barbados? It's as bad, but just on a small protion of my wrist, and not all over my back... 

I'm lucky, I have very few of them in my main tank, as I rarely see them even at night, but now I guess I have some in the sump... Anyways, I have just filled that part of my sump with LR and cheato, to create a refugium for pods. Hopefully, the pieces of rock that I threw in (a bit brutally, I must admit, as it was after the bugger stung me) have killed the damned creature.

[Cheebs]

Glad to hear you're ok They are nasty little buggers, but I don't bother getting rid of them.

I remember reading a thread on Reef Central about a guy that got stung by a fire coral, and twenty years later whenever he gets a sun burn or something of the sort, his scars puff up and hurt like crazy. Nothing like you have of course, but it just goes to show ya, it can be dangerous in there

[Aine]

Wow, this is ridiculous...
It's been, like, 2 weeks, and I still have the itchy boils on my wrist...
Benadryl doesn't work, nor does alcohol or just polysporin...

Any ideas???

[holachicka]

Wow, this is ridiculous...
It's been, like, 2 weeks, and I still have the itchy boils on my wrist...
Benadryl doesn't work, nor does alcohol or just polysporin...

Any ideas???

Doctors?!...Hospital?!...hopefully, not Morgue?! ...

[beertech]

Try Hydrocortisone cream.

[93GTCANADA]

I heard of a couple of cases of people getting infections from sw tanks. You should go see a doctor sometimes you need antibiotics.

[HappyGuppy]

Geeze, this is so inspirational for wanting to go salt...
I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

[PowderBlueTang]

I got stung several times and each time the reaction got worst. Last time my hand swell up and it was very painful where they stung me. It took over a year for the pain to go away and the spots where they stung me would throb with pain for no reason during the whole year. I wear surgical gloves when I do anything in my reefs.
Some people have no reaction to the stings. Hope it gets better for you, just be more cautious when your hands are in the tank.
                                                                Powderbluetang

[Hookup]

holy crap... i hate this thread... i'm going to have nightmares.

[Aine]

Thanks guys... I hadn't thought about cortisone, funny enough...
I have strong cream that we used for my hubby's poison ivy infection, last summer. I'll try that. It kind of looks like poison ivy rash, actually...
But I agree that if it's not gone in another week, I'll go see my doctor...

Cheers!

[SouthR]

Aine

Go see the doctor and get some cortisone cream. If it has gone away by now, you body is having some reaction with it. When dealing with the stings from marine creatures / marine life it will get worst if you get stung again, I now know this myself since I have experienced it, fire worms, the worst for me is fire coral, almost killed me. Also that is why I have an epiny pin with me at all times down South and wear a suit, and when I had my SW tank, always had it beside me and always wore gloves, trust me it does not take much.


Cheers

Richard

[Vincenzo.]

Ur prolly doing the worst thing possible: self medicating. It takes 2min to call ur family dr, and tell them the 411. And go from there.

I remember my eye was itchy and bothering me one day...so i used all sorts of drops and creams for about a week, just to make it worse..in the end i had the worst case of pink eye immaginable.... And had it like 3times as long as normal since i thought id figure it out myself.

[johnrt]

I don't know, I'm just trying to imagine the conversation with my doctor:

Dr. K: "Hi. What brought you in today?"

Me: "Oh, I got my hand stung by my Fireworm."

Dr. K: ". . ."

Dr. K: "Gee. . ."

Dr. K: "That's too bad. Must really sting!"

Dr. K: "Now: What-is-a-Fireworm? Why-would-you-OWN-something-called-a-FIREWORM? What-exactly-do-you-expect-*ME*-to-do-about-it?"

Me: ". . ."

Dr. K: "I've got a suggestion. Don't pet your Fireworm!"



We're an oft' misunderstood lot.

[S-and-T]

Dont be waiting another week.

The body has a remarkable way of healing and it should have been gone within 2-3 days.  If you have a secondary infection under the skin, you can count on it being up to 1.5 times the size of what you see on the surface.  Being as how it is on your wrist, the skin there is very thin and should have healed even faster.

If you have any reddened tissue surrounding the initial area, you do have a secondary infection which will likely give you the wonderful experience of needing both oral and topical RX. 
Health care is free in this country, call your doctor or go to the hospital!  I have personally seen people lose body parts due to "minor" infections.  Its not cool....

[Aine]

Ok, moms! I'll drop by the doctor's soon, as the cortisone, even the strong stuff, doesn't work.

johnrt:
I had a similar discussion with doctors after:
1) being stung by jellyfish while diving... doctor: "why do you approach such animals???" me: "there's water current, in there, you know..."
2) being bitten by a harbour seal, giving me "seal fingers" (an infection) while doing research... doctor: "why do you handle seals???" me: "out of scientific interest"
So I'm misunderstood as a biologist, a diver and a salt water hobbyist... 

But I do own an epipen, for my wasp allergy, so if anything goes really wrong, I can buy a bit of time... But I won't ever put my hand in my sump ever again glove-less...