Skin cream and the aquarium

[Woefulrelic]

Hi friends, I have eczema and part of my skin care regiment requires the use of steroid creams. I'm curious if I could potentially harm my fish by putting my hands in the aquarium. (really the sump) I wash my hands after applying it, but I expect some of it to have absorbed and potentially leech into the water. I have the full arm leather gloves but anything that requires finesse is lost on them. Speaking particularly of stuff like triamcinolone. Thanks

 

[kno4te]

It's not water soluble and a little won't do much even with tank maintenance if it gets in the water.

 

[deeda]

You could also try OB gloves used for checking cows, they come in shoulder height and could probably be reused for our purposes.

I bought a couple at my local feed store and use them whenever I need to when I apply medication to my hands/arms, especially when I get poison ivy and apply treatment.

 

[Drstrangelove]

No idea. We all naturally place non terrestrial compounds in our tanks from time to time in exactly the same way, and in most cases it appears not to be a serious problem. Certainly washing and rinsing carefully can remove a lot of them, so ordinarily we can mitigate some possible contamination.

But, your concern could be valid. Your best bet is to contact the makers and ask them what chemicals / compounds could leech into water from your skin after an application. It could be none especially if it's from a topical cream that was applied hours earlier.

Another option is to follow Deeda's lead and look for better gloves.

 

[FMA4ME]

Lol, I was wondering if you noticed tank water more irritating to your skin?

 

[Woefulrelic]

It's not water soluble and a little won't do much even with tank maintenance if it gets in the water.

I've used lots of moisturizers over the years and not noticed any ill effects, never really thought about it but I've started using some of the heavier creams as of late. This plus my fish eating well makes me a bit less worried.

You could also try OB gloves used for checking cows, they come in shoulder height and could probably be reused for our purposes.

I bought a couple at my local feed store and use them whenever I need to when I apply medication to my hands/arms, especially when I get poison ivy and apply treatment.

Are these the disposable plastic kind? They look like they'd offer much better grip.

No idea. We all naturally place non terrestrial compounds in our tanks from time to time in exactly the same way, and in most cases it appears not to be a serious problem. Certainly washing and rinsing carefully can remove a lot of them, so ordinarily we can mitigate some possible contamination.

But, your concern could be valid. Your best bet is to contact the makers and ask them what chemicals / compounds could leech into water from your skin after an application. It could be none especially if it's from a topical cream that was applied hours earlier.

Another option is to follow Deeda's lead and look for better gloves.

The heavier gloves are nice for my in tank stuff, it gives me a little bit more confidence working around the rays too. I think lighter gloves for sump work might be the ticket, I'm really not spending much time with my hands in the water because my skin doesn't appreciate it either. I'm playing with a few hundred gallons of water which will hopefully minimize harm as well. I've actually not contacted a manufacturer like this before, it sounds like it wouldn't be a fun process.

Lol, I was wondering if you noticed tank water more irritating to your skin?

I notice more irritation any time I let my hands get sufficiently wet, but I don't notice any more irritation from doing maintenance than doing dishes.

 

[deeda]

Yes, the OB gloves I referenced are considered disposable for their intended use but are reusable for our purposes. I usually just hang them upside down to let them dry out since my hands get sweaty when using them.

 

[Woefulrelic]

I'll see if I can't get a hold of some, I was worried about them holding up but then I considered that most people don't want them breaking inside a cow, so...