Got stung pretty bad by a bristleworm today (careless)

andrewkw · Oct 20, 2019

I grabbed a handful of frags that I was putting back on eggcrate and didn't realize I had a big worm on my hand. I ran hot water / vinegar / alcohol on it asap but still has that burning feel. I used tweezers to remove the bulk of the bristles but I'm sure quite a bit got in me. I even wrapped my 2 fingers in tape and tried to pull any remaining ones off. It's not the end of the world, I have been stung many many times before, but never this bad. Won't be making a fist with my left hand for the next day or so but I can obviously still type. The above pic is a macro of my left ring finger.

Wear gloves or at least be careful!

Flippers4pups · Oct 20, 2019

andrewkw said:
I grabbed a handful of frags that I was putting back on eggcrate and didn't realize I had a big worm on my hand. I ran hot water / vinegar / alcohol on it asap but still has that burning feel. I used tweezers to remove the bulk of the bristles but I'm sure quite a bit got in me. I even wrapped my 2 fingers in tape and tried to pull any remaining ones off. It's not the end of the world, I have been stung many many times before, but never this bad. Won't be making a fist with my left hand for the next day or so but I can obviously still type. The above pic is a macro of my left ring finger.

Wear gloves or at least be careful!

Wow I hope you feel better soon. Yep, gloves are needed!

andrewkw · Oct 20, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Wow I hope you feel better soon. Yep, gloves are needed!

Thanks. I hope tomorrow, but probably 2-3 days. If you (anyone) has never been stung that is surprising, but it's not extremely painful, something between an itch and a burn or more accurate 1000s of teeny tiny itches and burns. Of course there is always the chance you are allergic. Since I have been stung before I knew I'm not so I didn't freak out except of course when I realized I had the worm in my hand.

saltyhog · Oct 20, 2019

Ouch! I wonder if that wasn't really a fire worm? Great picture!

fredk · Oct 20, 2019

I agree. Great picture. Hey, @revhtree , I'm sure there's a photo contest in this some how.

Oh, um, sorry about the sting... ;Shamefullyembarrased

andrewkw · Oct 24, 2019

So it still hurts / burns / itches. Not terribly, but it's actually looking worse now. Hopefully this picture isn't too gross. I hate seeing graphic photos but I don't think this is that graphic. I do have all these little dots all over my middle and ring finger, especially in the area where I photographed which is my ring finger which no doubt rubbed against middle finger.

Hopefully in a few more days it will be better, it's just an annoyance nothing serious but wow I've never had this reaction in all the times I've been stung. This was certainly the worst string I've ever had from a bristle worm and probably the worst sting I've ever had from anything in my tanks. A long time ago I was stung by a dwarf lion and I freaked out because I didn't know if I was allergic or not but it was like a very mild bee sting.

EMeyer · Oct 24, 2019

Terrible little creatures. I always think "I'm just going for one quick frag, I don't need gloves this time"
*a thousand needles of pain enter my hand*
I feel your pain.

AllSignsPointToFish · Oct 24, 2019

I guess my hands are just tough and leathery because I've never been stung by a bristleworm (and I don't wear gloves). I typically try to avoid touching them, but I certainly have come into contact with them in the past.

Did you get a picture of the offender? Are you sure it wasn't a fire worm?

C. Eymann · Oct 24, 2019

Either you have a bad reaction to them or this was a fireworm, I have grabbed bristle worms many times when tearing down/moving tanks etc etc, usually just a few "dabs" of duct tape to pull the bristles out and I was good to go, minimal if any irritation.
Biggest pains were always calcerous tube worms, and vermetid snail tubes, those can tear your hands up pretty good.

andrewkw · Oct 24, 2019

AllSignsPointToFish said:
Did you get a picture of the offender? Are you sure it wasn't a fire worm?

I am pretty sure. A fire worm would be a lot worse. I did not get a picture. I was very startled and flung him back into the tank and then proceeded to pull as many bristles out as possible. Looked like a run of the mill bristleworm and other then the fact he got me all over 2 fingers it feels no different then previous stings. He just got me really good. I wouldn't even guess how many times I've been stung in my life. Usually very minor by tiny worms on the bottom of plugs rocks ect, but this was a big one who got a lot of contact time.

Daniel@R2R · Oct 24, 2019

andrewkw said:
I grabbed a handful of frags that I was putting back on eggcrate and didn't realize I had a big worm on my hand. I ran hot water / vinegar / alcohol on it asap but still has that burning feel. I used tweezers to remove the bulk of the bristles but I'm sure quite a bit got in me. I even wrapped my 2 fingers in tape and tried to pull any remaining ones off. It's not the end of the world, I have been stung many many times before, but never this bad. Won't be making a fist with my left hand for the next day or so but I can obviously still type. The above pic is a macro of my left ring finger.

Wear gloves or at least be careful!

Ouch!! Yep! Been there, done that!

EMeyer · Oct 25, 2019

Been stung by fireworms, they are even worse if you can believe it.

Common bristle worms sting me 100% of the time. It's not really a sting, just bristles.

Tiny, painful, razor sharp bristles.

RobsReef2020 · Apr 27, 2022

andrewkw said:
So it still hurts / burns / itches. Not terribly, but it's actually looking worse now. Hopefully this picture isn't too gross. I hate seeing graphic photos but I don't think this is that graphic. I do have all these little dots all over my middle and ring finger, especially in the area where I photographed which is my ring finger which no doubt rubbed against middle finger.

Hopefully in a few more days it will be better, it's just an annoyance nothing serious but wow I've never had this reaction in all the times I've been stung. This was certainly the worst string I've ever had from a bristle worm and probably the worst sting I've ever had from anything in my tanks. A long time ago I was stung by a dwarf lion and I freaked out because I didn't know if I was allergic or not but it was like a very mild bee sting.

How long did this take to heal. I'm dealing with a similar case. My finger swelled up a week later. It's been about 3 weeks so far and the swelling has not gone away.