Ouch! I Found A Bristle Worm!

[sianeds]

Ok so I know I should wear gloves but.... there is a big chiton in my tank and it knocked my beautiful euhillia off it's perch onto my sun coral. Correct me if I'm wrong but the sun coral is a stinger right??

So I jumps up and dips my hand in to retrieve said euphillia before it gets too upset and.......I feel pain.

I ignore the pain thinking I jabbed my finger on a sharp bit of rock...find a secure home for euphillia then proceed to remove my hand from the tank, only to find a big orange bristle worm attached to my finger.

I knocked it off on a piece off rock in disgust, then went to wash my hands.

Not too bad I thought...until a couple of minutes later when my whole hand started to throb.

An hour later I can type but my finger is really swollen and looks like it has been scalded.

Do I have a particularly nasty type of bristle worm or did I just react badly??

If it had been in the daytime I probably would have taken a trip to hospital to be sure but not at midnight unless I was dying...which i obviously am not.

If it still hurts when I get up I may take a trip down to A&E just to be sure.

Has this happened to anyone else??

 

[Ter]

Its supposed 2 be like a bee sting.. and that sounds about right from what ur telling us correct?
unless it starts 2 look infected I wouldnt worry about it... ill check again later on if it gets worse i can call my dad he is a doctor, maybe he would have some good input.
Ter

 

[dixaisy930]

Do you have any benedryl? If you're having a little bit of a reaction, that might help.

Also, pouring milk on it may help...not 100% sure on that one....you'd want to double check.

Make sure the area doesn't get really hot, or red lines going up your hand/arm. Those are signs of serious infections.

 

[SkiFletch]

Do I have a particularly nasty type of bristle worm or did I just react badly??

Its hard to tell really without seeing the worm first hand. It could have been a fireworm or you could have had a bad reaction to it. Maybe try a google search for bristleworm and fireworm, note the visual differences and decide which one it was. They are pretty similar organisms though.

Keep washing it, take an antihistamine, make sure you have any remaining bristles OUT of your hand (sometimes they stick in you), and perhaps take an anti-inflamatory like ibuprophen

 

[pipatic]

i ve had it too,reacted badly best thing is place effected part in hot water ,this will relived the pain,
then with tweezers pul all the tiny hair like brisles out(takes ages)

 

[Mr Miagi]

OUCH! I havnt reacted badly, and I got them across my palm and finger. Not everyone reacts the same way.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the sun coral is a stinger right??

The sun coral should have been closed if it was under daylight lighting, but normally the Euphyllia would sting.

 

[Mr.September15]

EWWWW!!! . Stealhelr is a doctor he should turn up sooner or later What type of gloves do you wear? The ones you can use to clean the dishes or the latex ones? Im pretty sure the latex ones wont do much justice so im guessing your supposed to use the yellow rubber ones?

 

[sianeds]

OMG it still hurts!!!

I have taken Piriton antihistimine and smothered my finger in calamine cream.

I also bathed my finger in a solution of hot water and Savlon last night

It is itching and burning and looks really red and swollen

I'll go down to the chemists later and see what they suggest

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, if I'm grabbin the undersides of any corals, I always wear latex gloves. Got stung once and that was enough for me. Havent had a problem with latex and I've had the little buggers all over my gloved fingers. Didnt have as bad a reaction as that though, he really got ya

 

[rhysiboy]

go to the doctors please just to be safe may be a bit of a choore but better than ending up with a horrible infection and thn having something real bad ahppen to you

 

[sianeds]

I might as well not have bothered at the chemists. they just looked at me like I was mad for telling them I'd been stung by a worm in a fish tank

Anyhow....it's not so red now and is just hot rather than burning.

I had a look for the little bugger today and managed to catch a glimpse of it. All the bristle worms I've seen before have been pinkish. This one is definately orange.
Bloody typical that's the one I managed to poke!!

I usually use latex surgical gloves but being in a rush I never bothered with them...doh...

 

[SkiFletch]

Orange is typically more of a fireworm color than a plain old bristleworm. Sucks to have to learn the lessonthe hard way huh? . If you do add mushrooms or zooanthids, keep an eye on them. SOME species of fireworm have a specific taste for certain types of each. Its rare, but has ben reported, so just keep an eye out for that

 

[sianeds]

Will do thanks Ski......

Am not too upset, actually I'm quite pleased to have the evil little bugger in there. Should stop my husband interfering with my tank

 

[maidenfan]