No doubt about it, we live in a toxic world. Our clinic treats countless different toxic conditions 
from metals to mold to synthetic organic toxins. From National Geographic and BBC nature documentaries, I knew that various wildlife could produce some pretty nasty toxins as well, but this story grabbed my attention. A fish tank threatened this family’s lives during a simple cleaning process.
“We couldn’t regulate our temperature, we were struggling to breathe and coughing, We woke up the next morning feeling groggy but initially put it down to flu.”
Nature provides some seriously dangerous toxins. Even without our own contributions to the world’s toxic soup, organisms from microscopic mold and yeast to larger organisms like poison frogs and snakes may drop someone dead in short order. In this case, the fish tank owner innocently intended to care for his fish with a tank cleaning. By brushing the coral in the tank he unknowingly released the poisonous palytoxin. Within 24 hours his entire family was ill. Had he not reached out for help, who knows how much worse it could have become in another 24 hours.
Lesson to learn? Know your potential toxin exposures whether they come from mercury in your fillings or your coral in a fish tank. Knowledge can help you live a healthier more abundant life and avoid crises like this family.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
