Tuberculosis Scare

[gwand]

Gary E put the fear of god into me about contracting TB from aquarium water. New purchase. The hot pink keeps the TB bacteria away from me.

 

[GaryE]

Those should also keep anyone with human forms of tb away from you too. The hands of Patrick from Sponge Bob.....

 

[Uberhoust]

I really don't know how people manage to use gloves with their aquariums. When I work on my aquarium I often get wet to the shoulders and often get my front wet as well. For me the risk of getting a disease from my fish tank is too low to be bothered with wearing glove when working with the aquarium. Bare fingers are the best to prune my my plants and make sure the snails stay in the tank. That said I don't add fish often, keep my tanks clean, and I am pretty risk tolerant.

 

[MaloK]

Nothing sticks much on me... When young I went trough a military training, drank shitty water and after that was the only one in the troop that didn't catch intestinal worms

And I always tough that knowing how your tank water taste is a really good motivator for keeping up with water changes

 

[Uberhoust]

Just to be clear, if you are concerned about nontuberculous mycobacteria by all means use gloves, it's actually a good idea. For me, my perspective is similar to @MaloK, after crawling through packrat poop while caving in the rockies or scuba diving near a sewage outfall (un-intentional), or even gardening without gloves it is pretty hard to get worried about putting my hands into a fish tank. Plus I like the feel of the fish nibbling on my fingers.

 

[GaryE]

I seem to have caused the concern, and I never wear gloves. If I have an open cut on my hands, tank work can wait til it scabs over. I really don't think I would have caught Myco marinum if I hadn't been in a state of exhaustion and high stress - I was in a very extreme situation stress wise. I had kids, two jobs and was caring for a dying close family member. I cut sleep radically, and that's when I encountered the pathogen.
The other person I knew who caught it was a hardcore drug user working in a pet store. She was a wreck.

Then again, I respect a doctor being cautious, and maybe there's something there. But I wouldn't be caught dead wearing gloves that ugly!

I mentioned I had had this to a local doctor, and she said she was surprised to learn I'd been a deep sea scuba diver. Nope. So they get it too.

 

[gwand]

Those should also keep anyone with human forms of tb away from you too. The hands of Patrick from Sponge Bob.....

I forgot to mention that I bought a matching hot pink wet suit for those really deep tank cleaning jobs!

 

[Uberhoust]

I forgot to mention that I bought a matching hot pink wet suit for those really deep tank cleaning jobs!

My wife had a hot pink wetsuit in the late 80s, she looked pretty hot in it. Do you look hot in yours?

 

[Oldspartan]

No gloves here. I have done significant old plumbing in my time. No description necessary. I wash well after working the aquarium.

 

[Back in the fold]

Get those gloves from a proctologist ?

 

[MaloK]

No gloves here. I have done significant old plumbing in my time. No description necessary. I wash well after working the aquarium.

After a plumbing session... I wash before working the Aquarium tho.

 

[gwand]

My wife had a hot pink wetsuit in the late 80s, she looked pretty hot in it. Do you look hot in yours?

That’s a picture you wouldn’t want to see

 

[gwand]

Get those gloves from a proctologist ?

We could test them out on you.

 

[MaloK]

You boys don't get in a furthest pee contest..

Or I'm applying to to become a mod.

 

[fishorama]

Oh, you guys, lol.

When I QT fish I keep their equipment separate from other tanks. But when I suspected TB (myco) I did use a glove on my right "tank hand". It was a 20g long so quite shallow. I had no TB symptoms, but the fish sure did.

I thought fish TB was not so infective/invasive to people. Just like a bubbly surface thing treated w/an antibiotic cream? Not like people TB of the lungs. Both my paternal grandparents died of TB in their 20s ~1930.

I'm not overly worried about my healthy tanks even when I go armpit deep, but I do rinse/wash with soap after. But I didn't know GaryE had gotten it, even in a weakened state. I may need a rethink my habits