Ever get an infection from your fish tank?

[Anonymous]

Three years ago, shortly after my 3 year old was born, she got a staph infection that almost killed her. I remember at the same time there was a thread here (main section) where many people were saying they had got staph infections from their aquairums, and I immediately worried that I might have transfered one to her.

Of course I have no way of knowing.

But now a couple of days after doing some maintenance, I've got an infected finger. Again, I have no way of knowing if the aquarium is responsible, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen?

 

[Anonymous]

No, but I am also a firm believer in using soap and water. I have suffered from rashes, because of longterm exposure to salt creep and dry salts. Got a really funky one from some aquatic plants once, too.

 

[Joe Kelley]

Aots,
Oh yes I have!!! Marine bacterial infections. Many times. When working in my tank I might get poked or cut on live rock and other things in the tank. Also sharp things like plexi that has not been sanded. Sometimes it takes quite a while to heal them up. I use hydrogen peroxide and alchohol to clean them and bandaids. I would use gloves but that would slow my work down. I could only imagine the DR. would give major antibiotics for this. I'd rather heal up on my own.

HTH

Joe

 

[Anemone]

Yep. Cut most of the knuckles on my right hand on vertemid snails while scraping silicone around the flush valve on my surge tank (seal was leacking and had to be re-done). Two weeks later I had swollen bumps on all of the cut fingers. And yes, I washed thoroughly after I was done, and even neo-sporined and band-aided a couple of the worse areas - didn't seem to work.

A month later I went to see the doctor. The swelling had remained localized to the cuts, and some had healed, so the doctor elected to let me see if I could heal on my own. She said the protocol for Bacterium marinus infections is 3 months of some incredibly strong antibiotic, followed by 3 months of another type of strong antibiotic.

After 6 months, all but one of the infected areas had healed. Two months later, that spot is mostly gone too.

I don't think you gave your daughter her infection, but I wouldn't be surprised if your infected finger resulted from tank maintenance.

FWIW,
Kevin

 

[aquarist=broke]

perhaps you guys should soak your food in garlic..... :lol:

 

[King Jason]

perhaps you guys should soak your food in garlic..... :lol:

Lol...

I always use some cheap yellow rubber gloves when handling stuff that could cut my hands up.

 

[Anonymous]

No, but I am also a firm believer in using soap and water. I have suffered from rashes, because of longterm exposure to salt creep and dry salts. Got a really funky one from some aquatic plants once, too.

Sounds like a staph infection.

 

[SaltyinNJ]

Gloves make a lot of sense. I won't put my hand in tank or sump water without them. Combination of me worrying about myself and worrying I might poison the tank with soap or lotion residue.

 

[Anonymous]

The rash sounds like staph? Why would it go away in a couple of days with freshwater wash then?

I did get scarlet fever back in '94, but I didn't get it from a tank, I got it from a kid.

 

[Leopardshark]

Interesting that I´ve had my hands into the tank a million times and no infectin ever, interesting though