RackinRocky
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just wanted to warn those of you who put your hands into your tanks. All it takes is the SMALLEST cut/abrasion you can imagine to get bacteria from your tank water to enter your skin. You might not even know there is a break in you skin. I had a sore that didn't heal for 2 weeks. I had cut it cleaning out a filter with Q -tips, and my hand scraped against the filter. This happened 3-4 times, each time making my hand bleed a bit, but healed in the week until I did water changes again every week. Finally, one time it didn't heal, and I developed Cellulitis. I went to Urgent Care, because the sore had not healed, and I was developing big bumps (like hives) under my skin almost up to my elbow. I was put on antibiotics and told to wear gloves (up to armpit) from now on. These infections can turn into staph infections, and you know what that means--life threatening, and hospitalization requiring IV antibiotics. This scared me enough to really learn my lesson. Below is a picture of my hand that shows the lesion only, not the lumps (that were pink).
Scary stuff.
Scary stuff.