fragging saftey

[reefkprz]

how dangerous can it be?
quite.
I have created threads in the past about palytoxins from palythoas and zoanthids, I dont think it can be emphasized enough how dangerous they are, but not only do we have to worry about those (gloves and glasses are a must) but the thousands of bacteria that call our corals home. not just the regular nitrifying etc bacteria but others like vibro, pseudomonas and more. being clean and well protected is always a good idea. hand washing before and after handling ANY coral should be considered mandatory.
I also change my shirt after fragging (I remove my shirt then wash my hands) just so any juices that get squirted onto it can not re contaminate me after my hand washing. the dirty shirt goes straight into the washer so no one risks handling it after the fact. people have gotten palytoxin poisoning from used towels. always wash or disposed of anything used in fragging immediately after use, including towels, work surfaces, clothes, and tools. dispose of them properly to ensure pets or children do not contaminate or consume anything left over, a contaminated rubber band is as dangerous to a cat or dog as eating a chunk of palythoa. also as an extra precaution to protect my loved ones I warn my wife that the stuff in the washer is contaminated so she doesnt toutch anything in there. how bad would i feel if my wife got sick just doing the laundry when it was preventable?
this may seem a bit drastic to some, especially those that have fragged many times and have yet (note I said yet) to have a problem. but once you get laid up for 2 days with horrific diharreah, you start taking extra precautions. not to ,mention the worse that can happen.
I did some fragging this morning and decided to put this out there for people to read in hopes that any first time fraggers ask themselves, how can I be safer, and cleaner.

 

[slice]

Good advice, thanks for posting.

 

[kiefers]

I actually learned something here recently, as I'm sure EVERYONE but me knew this though.
I have a piece of dried up barnicles sitting in a plastic bucket in the garage. On it was some palys that grew on this while in my system.
Some time ago I was going through the bucket because I reaquascaped again and saw this mildew growing on some old paly tissue. Did ya'll know even the mildew is toxic? Huh ......
Will post a pic later.

 

[jerth6932]

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefkprZ http:///t/392398/fragging-saftey#post_3483915
how dangerous can it be?
quite.
I have created threads in the past about palytoxins from palythoas and zoanthids, I dont think it can be emphasized enough how dangerous they are, but not only do we have to worry about those (gloves and glasses are a must) but the thousands of bacteria that call our corals home. not just the regular nitrifying etc bacteria but others like vibro, pseudomonas and more. being clean and well protected is always a good idea. hand washing before and after handling ANY coral should be considered mandatory.
I also change my shirt after fragging (I remove my shirt then wash my hands) just so any juices that get squirted onto it can not re contaminate me after my hand washing. the dirty shirt goes straight into the washer so no one risks handling it after the fact. people have gotten palytoxin poisoning from used towels. always wash or disposed of anything used in fragging immediately after use, including towels, work surfaces, clothes, and tools. dispose of them properly to ensure pets or children do not contaminate or consume anything left over, a contaminated rubber band is as dangerous to a cat or dog as eating a chunk of palythoa. also as an extra precaution to protect my loved ones I warn my wife that the stuff in the washer is contaminated so she doesnt toutch anything in there. how bad would i feel if my wife got sick just doing the laundry when it was preventable?
this may seem a bit drastic to some, especially those that have fragged many times and have yet (note I said yet) to have a problem. but once you get laid up for 2 days with horrific diharreah, you start taking extra precautions. not to ,mention the worse that can happen.
I did some fragging this morning and decided to put this out there for people to read in hopes that any first time fraggers ask themselves, how can I be safer, and cleaner.
Skim reading did me no justice on this post, needless to say it caugh me off guard...... I reread it right the second time
Great write up Reef, you are VERY right! I had a LFS employee, who always does the shops fragging get lazy on a paly "quick cut", failed to wear protective glasses, and got it into his eye... 3 days in the hospital later.... Same employee found out after 6 years of hadling corals, he has developed an alergy to hammer corals, they puff up his whole arm. (I get red marks from hammers).

 

[travelerjp98]

Very nice and thoughtful of you to write this article. Many people are not aware of the toxins these corals emit.

 

[reefkprz]

just trying to keep people on their toes, its easy to cut corners when it comes to fragging safety but its also really easy to get sick or other wise injured doing it too. hopefully soon I will be able to shoot some more fragging videos and you'll notice about 90% of the time I wear gloves an glasses yet even me who is a proponent of awareness, gets lazy and skips the gloves once in a while. which is really bad because I almost always have a cut or scratch on my hands somewhere since I work with my hands as a carpenter.
here is a link to most of my fragging vids for anyone thats bored and feels like watching a redneck hack up corals to heavy metal music. I thought I had another one with more fragging threads on it but cant seem to find it
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/272990/short-fragging-videos
doh found it here is a bunch of fragging threads
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/320042/links-to-every-fragging-thread-i-can-find