"Cudezilla"

    Damn ROLO. You seem like a preety good doctor there. I had to pull out my dictionary out:0, That is to much info for me. :laughing3: I couldnt follow you. Joaking. I understand first hand what you mean. Like i say family members have this symptoms in the past. And once they eat certain fish that might contain a little trace of the toxin. The reaction shows fast and everytime it happens it gets worst. That is because they really never got rid of the toxin in the first place. Like they say in Puerto Rico. You just keep building the amount up. This good info right here. but i guess this will be a huge thread by itself. As spearos we focus on the hunting. As fish eaters well we are like anyone else cook the fresh fish and eat it. The ciguatera is always a gamble. I have not seen a method that really works when it comes to identify the toxin. Anyone have any idea, cause i have heard of some weird shit like let a cat smel it. and if he doesnt eat it is bad. I can tell you that my family ,ishermans most of them. have tried that . and doesnt work:laughing3:. Even the one that you let the meat sit in a table and if the flies dont get to the meat is because is bad meat. And i know old school spearos or comercial fishermans have plenty of stories about it. I was tought to spear by a old cuban when i was 12 years old. 21 years later i can still remember all his stories, Real awesome guy, he got lots of pictures with huge snappers and Groupers from back in the day in cuba. And he told me lots of stuff about different species that in Puerto Rico lots of people dont eat but they are good eating. have you guys hear this weird stories from fishermans?

    You know what? In Venezuela there is not ciguatera AT ALL. You can eat whatever fish you get from the water with no danger.
    Exceptional cases (very rare) are from fishes caught in the islands.
    Any time I go there I eat barracuda and amberjack, which are the more risky ones in PR. As a matter of fact, barracuda is sold at the same price as snapper in the markets.


    In Puerto Rico, I have got ciguatera 4 times: cuda, amberjack, hogfish and king mackerel. The worst was the first time and was with a 5 pound barracuda that I got at "Sail Rock", close to Saint Thomas, which happens to be the place with highest ciguatera incidence in the Caribbean.
    My older son got a really bad ciguatera about 4 years ago from an amberjack. He was sick for about 6 months, with "flashbacks" lasting a year... :(
    I have developed my personal "ciguatest", which consist in trying a small amount of any "suspicious" fish before giving any to my family. If I feel "weird" after a couple hours, I throw away everything. This has happened to me two times now. Normally it is a diharrea (Cagazón) accompained with a feeling of tiredness. I lasts like 4 hours.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Marco, sorry to hear about your son, I know I'd rather have it happen to me than my kid. When I think there's a chance of cig I do the same as you, eat a little piece. I got cig once and it was from a lizard fish in Cuba.


    Quote from monster slayer

    What are the symptoms of ciguatera intoxication?



    From Wikipedia:


    [edit] Symptoms
    Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera include gastrointestinal and neurological effects.[6][7] Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea usually followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, and hallucinations.[2][7] Severe cases of ciguatera can also result in cold allodynia, which is a burning sensation on contact with cold (commonly incorrectly referred to as reversal of hot/cold temperature sensation).[6] Doctors are often at a loss to explain these symptoms and ciguatera poisoning is frequently misdiagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis.[8]


    Dyspareunia and other ciguatera symptoms have developed in otherwise-healthy males and females following sexual intercourse with partners suffering ciguatera poisoning, signifying that the toxin that produces ciguatera poisoning may be sexually transmitted.[9] As diarrhea and facial rashes have been reported in breastfed infants of mothers with ciguatera poisoning, it is likely that ciguatera toxins are also transferred into the breast milk.[10]


    The symptoms can last from weeks to years, and in extreme cases as long as 20 years, often leading to long term disability.[11] Most people do recover slowly over time.[12] Often patients recover but redevelop symptoms in the future. Such relapses can be triggered by consumption of nuts, alcohol, fish or fish-containing products, chicken or eggs, or by exposure to fumes such as those of bleach and other chemicals. Exercise is also a possible trigger.[2]

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Quote from Marco

    From Wikipedia:


    [edit] Symptoms
    Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera include gastrointestinal and neurological effects.[6][7] Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea usually followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, and hallucinations.[2]



    Dang, i must be in a constat state of ciguatosis then ... I got it now, ciguatera is like the feeling after hearing rap music ...:D or corridos de la sierra :D

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

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