Friday, December 7, 2007

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Monday, November 5, 2007

Lion-O (ouch!)

My new work place have a huge aquarium with lively reef creatures in it.Lovely, truly lovely. Until one day....The aquarium cleaner came and clean the aquarium, happily whistle hisfavorite tunes while cleaning the aquarium. OUCH! @#&@$^*(%&!! F*$#&%GFISH! He met this guy, which he thought one of the corals:Pic is taken from my office, Lion-O loves cameras and show off hisdeadly fins. He was immediately sent to the nearest hospital and received 4injections which cost rm50 per shot/ injection.Lion Fish DescriptionThe lion-fish belongs to the Scorpion fish family. Thisbrightly coloured fish is usually found in coral reefs, especially inshallow waters hovering in caves or near crevices. Lion-fish havevenomous fin spines that can produce painful puncture wounds.Fatalities, however, are rare.The fish have elongated dorsal fin spines and enlarged pectoral fins,and each species has a particular pattern of zebra like stripes. Aperson punctured by one of the sharp spines will immediately feel strongpain. Rapid swelling of the affected body area develops along with thepossibility of making movement of limbs very difficult. Lion-fish stingscan cause nausea, breathing difficulties, paralysis, convulsions andcollapse. Even death may occur in exceptional circumstances. Most peoplesurvive in spite of the great pain. The venom in the spines remainsactive for days, so even discarded spines should be treated withcaution. It may take several months for a full recovery and if the stingis left untreated, gangrene may develop. First AidAt first immerse the affected area (most often a hand or foot) into hotwater. This is thought to improve the blood flow and disperse the venom.Local anesthetic agents may provide deep relief in most cases andoccasionally a nerve-block may be required. An X-ray of the wound shouldbe performed to detect any presence of broken spines, so any possibleinfection can be prevented.Lion-O smiles proudly.

Thursday, October 18, 2007