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Toxic Shellfish

Toxic Shellfish


Postby Caberfeidh » Sat Jun 25, 2022 2:10 pm

NB Anyone camping, travelling up the west coast, check for local warnings re shellfish poisoning.
DO NOT EAT SHELLFISH FROM THE SHORE.
Toxic Shellfish Poisoning Alert:
https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/highland-council-issues-warning-after-increased-levels-of-biotoxins-found-in-loch-sunart-shellfish?fbclid=IwAR29bnC8XsqSEEA2U_22J4gLumJFWCbE2ueYWxalultH_2Kde33Vt5fZpfk
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby JWCW2014 » Sun Jun 26, 2022 4:08 pm

And for anyone who thinks they’ll be brave and risk getting the runs:

When humans consume shellfish containing biotoxins, it can lead to three different types of poisoning: amnesic (short-term memory loss), paralytic (affects nervous system), and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (gastrointestinal).
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Ewen1966 » Sun Jun 26, 2022 11:37 pm

The Britanny coast had warnings last year combined with toxic algae. We didn't come across the algae but some towns had no peche a pied signs up.
Still had mussels and chips in the towns without warnings
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Caberfeidh » Mon Jun 27, 2022 6:29 am

JWCW2014 wrote:And for anyone who thinks they’ll be brave and risk getting the runs:

When humans consume shellfish containing biotoxins, it can lead to three different types of poisoning: amnesic (short-term memory loss), paralytic (affects nervous system), and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (gastrointestinal).


I once treated a patient in Intensive Care who had been on the Isle of Raasay, by Skye, and had been warned not to eat the mussels. She did so anyway, and in the night felt that she had lost sensation in her legs. She called for help, and while waiting to be taken to hospital the numbness spread. Luckily the helicopter got to her on time, she was whisked into hospital where she remained for some days. She needed to be intubated and ventilated (what the press love to call a "Life-Support Machine", our Indian consultant loved to call them "Death-Support Machines") as her breathing muscles were paralysed. So were all her other muscles. She needed haemofiltration, which is a bit like a "kidney machine" or dialysis. Gradually the sensation returned to her muscles, she was able to breath on her own after some days and eventually got out of intensive care and into a ward, before being discharged home. All in all she cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds, a blocked hospital bed, a midnight helicopter run and all the risks that entails to the crew, a lot of work for already over-worked hospital staff, and it could all have been avoided if she had only heeded the warnings. It could also have been avoided if she had not phoned for help - she would have suffocated that night as her breathing muscles failed.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Arthurs Eat » Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:08 am

JWCW2014 wrote:And for anyone who thinks they’ll be brave and risk getting the runs:

When humans consume shellfish containing biotoxins, it can lead to three different types of poisoning: amnesic (short-term :? :? memory loss), paralytic (affects nervous system), and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (gastrointestinal).



In my younger years, I think I may have had all these symptoms offer a good night out and no shellfish
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby JWCW2014 » Mon Jun 27, 2022 9:17 am

Caberfeidh wrote:
JWCW2014 wrote:And for anyone who thinks they’ll be brave and risk getting the runs:

When humans consume shellfish containing biotoxins, it can lead to three different types of poisoning: amnesic (short-term memory loss), paralytic (affects nervous system), and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (gastrointestinal).


I once treated a patient in Intensive Care who had been on the Isle of Raasay, by Skye, and had been warned not to eat the mussels. She did so anyway, and in the night felt that she had lost sensation in her legs. She called for help, and while waiting to be taken to hospital the numbness spread. Luckily the helicopter got to her on time, she was whisked into hospital where she remained for some days. She needed to be intubated and ventilated (what the press love to call a "Life-Support Machine", our Indian consultant loved to call them "Death-Support Machines") as her breathing muscles were paralysed. So were all her other muscles. She needed haemofiltration, which is a bit like a "kidney machine" or dialysis. Gradually the sensation returned to her muscles, she was able to breath on her own after some days and eventually got out of intensive care and into a ward, before being discharged home. All in all she cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds, a blocked hospital bed, a midnight helicopter run and all the risks that entails to the crew, a lot of work for already over-worked hospital staff, and it could all have been avoided if she had only heeded the warnings. It could also have been avoided if she had not phoned for help - she would have suffocated that night as her breathing muscles failed.


I can’t see much detail in the literature but any sense of how common this is? I know Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland have research and work on this within the food production industry but that doesn’t seem to cover folk that catch their own shellfish.

I don’t personally see a lot of information on this - sure there used to be signs up round the east coast but that could be a false memory.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Caberfeidh » Mon Jun 27, 2022 10:01 am

JWCW2014 wrote:I don’t personally see a lot of information on this - sure there used to be signs up round the east coast but that could be a false memory.


Local newspapers such as the West Highland Free Press, Stornoway Gazette, Oban Times, etc. carry warnings, also warnings are displayed in the windows of local shops, post offices, etc. But yes, I'm sure in these days of digital communication these things could be made more widely known. People used to have the knowledge anyway; traditionally shellfish were not eaten in the summer months, only in months with an "R" in them, though I would not eat them in September if the weather was mild.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby CharlesT » Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:10 am

Lord C's horror stories almost make me glad that gout in my large toe joints prevents me from eating shellfish (they are purine rich, the source of uric acid which crystallises in joints). It's an ill wind..... :D
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Caberfeidh » Thu Jun 30, 2022 12:49 pm

CharlesT wrote:Lord C's horror stories almost make me glad that gout in my large toe joints prevents me from eating shellfish (they are purine rich, the source of uric acid which crystallises in joints). It's an ill wind..... :D


Drink large quantities of water to dilute your internal fluids, and have a large peripheral vasodilator in the evenings. Glen Morangie 12 year-old single malt is a particularly nice peripheral vasodilator... :D Uric Acid crystallising like broken glass inside the body tissues and joints is a ghastly nightmare.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby CharlesT » Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:08 pm

Caberfeidh wrote:
CharlesT wrote:Lord C's horror stories almost make me glad that gout in my large toe joints prevents me from eating shellfish (they are purine rich, the source of uric acid which crystallises in joints). It's an ill wind..... :D


Drink large quantities of water to dilute your internal fluids, and have a large peripheral vasodilator in the evenings. Glen Morangie 12 year-old single malt is a particularly nice peripheral vasodilator... :D Uric Acid crystallising like broken glass inside the body tissues and joints is a ghastly nightmare.

Thank you for the advice. I now manage it quite well, once I'd worked out what it is. Lots of water yes, but I don't think alcohol is a good idea when managing gout, and anyway I haven't drunk anything alcoholic for over 16 years and never much liked whisky when I did.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby LeithySuburbs » Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:35 pm

Toxic Shellfish is a great name for a band.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby al78 » Sat Jul 02, 2022 8:30 am

Caberfeidh wrote:
JWCW2014 wrote:And for anyone who thinks they’ll be brave and risk getting the runs:

When humans consume shellfish containing biotoxins, it can lead to three different types of poisoning: amnesic (short-term memory loss), paralytic (affects nervous system), and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (gastrointestinal).


I once treated a patient in Intensive Care who had been on the Isle of Raasay, by Skye, and had been warned not to eat the mussels. She did so anyway, and in the night felt that she had lost sensation in her legs. She called for help, and while waiting to be taken to hospital the numbness spread. Luckily the helicopter got to her on time, she was whisked into hospital where she remained for some days. She needed to be intubated and ventilated (what the press love to call a "Life-Support Machine", our Indian consultant loved to call them "Death-Support Machines") as her breathing muscles were paralysed. So were all her other muscles. She needed haemofiltration, which is a bit like a "kidney machine" or dialysis. Gradually the sensation returned to her muscles, she was able to breath on her own after some days and eventually got out of intensive care and into a ward, before being discharged home. All in all she cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds, a blocked hospital bed, a midnight helicopter run and all the risks that entails to the crew, a lot of work for already over-worked hospital staff, and it could all have been avoided if she had only heeded the warnings. It could also have been avoided if she had not phoned for help - she would have suffocated that night as her breathing muscles failed.


Learning the hard way that ignoring advice can be a very bad idea.
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby CharlesT » Sat Jul 02, 2022 4:26 pm

LeithySuburbs wrote:Toxic Shellfish is a great name for a band.

AKA Montezuma's Mussels
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Caberfeidh » Wed Jul 06, 2022 12:17 pm

CharlesT wrote:
LeithySuburbs wrote:Toxic Shellfish is a great name for a band.

AKA Montezuma's Mussels


Be-elzebub's Bivalves. :shock:
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Re: Toxic Shellfish

Postby Ewen1966 » Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:54 pm

Caberfeidh wrote:
CharlesT wrote:
LeithySuburbs wrote:Toxic Shellfish is a great name for a band.

AKA Montezuma's Mussels


Be-elzebub's Bivalves. :shock:



The Clabby Doodoos.
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