AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Chat Area capt jeff's horrible week ,of pain

jeff, my brother is an eye surgeon and he had a few spares laying around

domactic ,capt. will keep a eye out for you ..

2 i's u r
2 i's u b
i c u r
2 i's 4 he

nice onomatopoeia

I hope 'real pain double over pain' is less than double

Cpt J, I remember reading a post a few years ago with the same symptoms. Someone put forth the idea that the sickness was caused by eating barracuda. The concept being that the barracuda eat up all the little fish that have absorbed the toxins in the water. Did your Cuban angle mention this? Anyone know what I am talking about(since I rarely do)?

one particular harbor ... my problem was was caused by fruit ,unwashed fruit or it was the fresh salad greens that caused my grief or vegies un washed again ....but she did say did you eat any fish???? . but she thinks the fruit or salad was the deal......the capt never eats cuda ,not with snapper and lobster all you can eat here . ..but many here do .with no ill fellings .but do not try that in the bahamas .they eat a fish that eats a certain toxic algae that the cuda eat .thru food chain .. do not know name but it can make you sick and in some cases die ..there have been locals on the board had some mention of this [think katie v. was one .. but in two years of going to sanpedro have not personly seen anyone who got sick from cuda poisoning .. here's to better healh and cold beer and good friends and peace on earth with health and peace first ....

You are thinking of ciguatera poisoning which comes from a certain type of algae that grows on SOME reefs. The toxins in the algae are concentrated in predators that feed on reef fish.

In my opinion, baracuda has gotten a bad rap in the USA as it could just as easily occur in other large reef predators (like grouper or even snapper if they are large enough). (But you never hear of people worrying about grouper...go figure.) Really, it is more of a regional issue and less of a baracuda issue. I wouldn't worry about eating any fish from AC (even baracuda) unless there is a outbreak/history of ciguatera.

Also the key thing to watch for when eating any reef fish anywhere in the world is a numbness or tingling off the lips or tongue. If this happens stop eating the fish. Of course this may be difficult to detect if you are mixing your fish dinner with tequila shots...

"The symptoms of ciguatera vary somewhat geographically as well as between individuals and incidents and may also vary temporally within an area, but they generally include early onset (2-6 hr) gastrointestinal disturbance--nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea--and may be followed by a variety of later onset (18-hr) neurologic sequelae such as numbness of the perioral area and extremities, reversal of temperature sensation, muscle and joint aches, headache, itching, tachycardia, hypertension, blurred vision, and paralysis. Ciguatera on rare occasions can be fatal."

In other words yes there is the nausea and diarrhea, but more importantly they are accompanied by neurological problems.

HEY CAPT JEFF
miss you & glad your belly is better. i have had the dreaded food poisoning, mine caused from chicken. it is the most miserable feeling.
hope you made up for that lost time!

thank you chris ...there we go, another excellent report. and right on the money ..by chris w ..as for me it was the salad...