Skin rash from reef tank??

[divedeeper]

I reached in my tank yesterday and my forearm has a rash, sprayed with med spray.

What can it be from?

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

was your arm scraping against the top of the tank b/c i get that alot when i clean my tank

 

[marrone]

You could be allergic to something in the tank, and number of people have had a similar problem, including myself, even after all these years of putting our hands and arms in the tank and nothing happening. You could have also touch a coral, worm or something else and it may have given you a rash. You probably just want to keep you arm out of the tank until the rash goes away and wear a glove in the future.

 

[divedeeper]

I know I didn't scrape my arm on anything, I think something microscopic is in the water.

 

[spike915]

Ive gotten that be4 its from the edge of the tank

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Sometimes the saltwater can irritate if you have prolonged exposure to it. When I first started in the business I would get some skin irritation from dunking my arms all day. Eventually it goes away as you work with it more.

 

[richardhmc]

After you put your hand in, wash your arm. But also I get the same thing that other people have said, about scraping your arm against the edge which gives an itchy feeling

 

[Master Shake]

hot water, as hot as you can stand it and vinegar. The hot water neutralizes any toxins and the vinegar will break down anything that is or can be stuck in your arm that you may not see

 

[anthony27]

I know ppl get that from the salt and from the water.

 

[darkdrako]

Maybe swimmer's itch? I get that on occassion when I have my hands in the tank. Its annoying but will go away by itself.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

Swimmer's itch comes from cercaria- worm larvae that pass part of their life cycles in Nassarius/Ilyanassa snails...the other part is spent in water birds like ducks and geese. I have had swimmer's itch many times...always from fishing in a brackish tidal creek, on an outgoing tide, after rains have lowered salinity even more than usual. Its not a rash...its individual red raised spots, like an insect bite, except that the itching is much more intense and steady. The spots fade away and stop itching after about 4 days. Discoloration may remain for weeks. Reef salinity is too high for swimmer's itch. While I have never gotten swimmer's itch from my tank, despite all my Ilyanassa snails, I have gotten rashes. Mild ones come from scraping the salty edges..they go away fast. However, I did once get a very itchy, persistent rash that looked like poison ivy or some other kind of contact dermatitis. I went to my dermatologist, who took a scraping and prescribed bactroban cream, an antibiotic. It disappeared within hours of starting the cream, so it had to have actually been some form of bacterial infection.

 

[ming]

Sometimes the saltwater can irritate if you have prolonged exposure to it. When I first started in the business I would get some skin irritation from dunking my arms all day. Eventually it goes away as you work with it more.

I used to work in a LFS in college. It got worse the more I worked with it.
And generally when you're allergic to something, the more you're exposed to it, the worse the reaction will be if you're constantly exposed to it.

This happens to me when my arm is scraping along the rim of the tank mostly, or just in the water too long.

 

[seldin]

We had a great speaker at LIRA this past year and she spoke about things you can "catch" from your fish tank.

Interestingly, she said, that there are some conditions of allergic reactions, that actually grow with more of your things like hands going into the tank. If I remember correctly, some worms ( maybe bristle worm bites), not sure... actually get worse the more you are stung. Opposite of what you would think...

Again, not sure if I got the specifics, right, but basically concept is more times in tank, then over the years, some things get more reaction from the body...

 

[Jzhou]

Well the air is somewhat dry now, so the salt probably further dried out your skin. For me, I usually get a rash when i lean on evaoprated salt fr too long. And I have the same allergy to salt water. Its actually some mineral that is in the water that makes me itch. I get the same reaction if I eat seafood.

 

[reefprobe]

Sometimes when you are on your computer all day and not working on your tank enough your body goes into shock when it finally hits the tank water because its allergic to its foreign environment and fears the possibility of tank maintenance.........happens all the time.

 

[jcolon2]

It could be the saltwater. I get rashes when my hands are in the tank too long. My skin can't handle the high salinity.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

More than likely the saltwater or dry salt just irritated some already dry skin.