Using gloves!!!

The information presented is appreciated. Anything that will help a fellow reefer is good to know.

That said, it's good to keep in mind that we all have different needs. I've yet to put on a pair of gloves in the 20 or so years I've had saltwater tanks, and I've not experienced any ill effects. Of course, there are some that get skin irritations after putting their hands in a tank for the first time. Different strokes for different folks.

IMO it depends on the person, and if you need gloves, your body will let you know.

 

Not to doubt your dermatologist but how do you get an ulcer from putting your hand in the tank,I mean its not like you're drinking the water (actually I don't want to know)? Does this mean we should wear latex suits when we swim in thr ocean?

 

An ulcer is a lesion. It doesn't have to be of the stomach, but most people associate the word "ulcer" with a stomach ulcer. You can have an ulceration on any part of the body, internal or external. No doubt the dermatologist was referring to ulcerations of the hands/arms.

From Dictionary.com:

ul⋅cer  /ˈʌlsər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [uhl-ser] Show IPA

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–noun 1.Pathology. a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane, accompanied by the disintegration of tissue, the formation of pus, etc.2.peptic ulcer. 3.any chronically corrupting or disrupting condition, element, etc.

 

i would think that if one had a cut or such on their hand. would be a good idea to throw on a pair of gloves. never know what could infect the wound.

 

My buddy has been blind in one eye for a few months now, he was removing some ugly brown palythoas and accidentally touched his eye. It's been totally red (no white) since then and he can hardly open it, looks like he got punched, horrible looking to say the least. There isn't anything they can do yet but wait and hope his vision comes back. It's very sad and frightening, I don't use gloves but at the very least now, I wash my hands immediately after having them in the tank.

My wife got stung by something once, her biocube lid was off so there was little chance it was electrical, no GFI was tripped. She said it went through her hand (as she was moving rubble and frags on the SB) and shot up to her shoulder painfully. She could feel it tingling in her elbow all day. She wants gloves but is worried they'd make the job harder.

 

i've got some pretty sensitive skin, so after a few run-ins with bristle worms, stinging corals and other miscellaneous irritations after moving around in my tank, i now wear latex gloves if i'm moving rocks or corals. this was also due to the urging of my wife when she started hearing all the horror stories about zoa/paly toxins.

also, if you're looking for long/shoulder length gloves. try a vet supply. my brother-in-law (a vet) stocked me up with a bunch of AI equipment to target feed my corals. the kit comes with large, shoulder length gloves. i've never used them but they're around.

 

The two cases above are great examples of when gloves are a must. Also, when working with corals, i.e. touching them--gloves should certainly be worn for your own protection. I don't always practice this, and fortunately I've never suffered any consequences, but I've been lucky rather than smart.

I've not done any fragging personally, but if I did, I'd wear gloves for sure. Paly's and zoanthids carry a nasty toxin, and if I'm not mistaken, most other corals do, too.

Maybe Inwall75 could chime in on this one.

 

i should start wearing gloves myself when messing with my tank, as that is the reason why i got my pink eye

 

I HIGHLY recommend gloves. I've recommended them for years. One time I didn't follow my own advice and I got sick, sick, sick. I brought in about 3500 pounds of corals. Many of which were palythoa, protopalythoa, and zoanthids. I ended up having tingling in my hands and arms but a lack of feeling otherwise and I also had bad things coming out of both sides of me for several days. I'm such an idiot. If I brought in a normal shipment of corals, I wore my gloves. Then when I didn't wear my gloves when I brought in a huge shipment. : Many species in the Zoanthidae Genus have a real nasty thing in it called Palytoxin. Basically a poison that can kill you if you have enough exposure to it. In fact, the kid who bought my old 75 was fragging zoantids and got squirt in the eye. He went into convulsions and had to be rushed to the hospital. He happened to be lucky that his dad was the doctor and knew what palytoxin is so they were ready for him the second he hit the emergency room. People think that only zoanthids have palytoxin....that's not true. Some algaes, sponges, slugs, nudibranchs, etc also contain palytoxin.

There's other things one can get. I've seen people get granulomas from bristleworms, urchins, vermetid snails, etc. Those are gross. I can't link you to pictures...you'll have to google it yourselves.

Mycobacterium marinum is a Tuberculosis that people can get from their tanks if they have an open cut and go messing around without gloves. Mycobacterium marinum: The Fish Disease You Could Catch by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Another thing that people don't understand is that many people have minor allergies to things in their tanks. They have a minor reaction and it goes away shortly. However, after time, the reactions get worse and worse and worse. That's because the histamines build up in your body in reaction to that allergen. You could blindfold me, put my arm in a random tank of your choosing and in a couple of minutes without me touching a single coral, I could tell you if that tank has a species of Euphyllia in it. My allergic reaction to them used to be minor....not anymore.

 

If you have a vet you've been using for a long time, you can get shoulder length gloves that are used for birthing cattle or horses from them.