What is ciguatera poisoning?

This is not an illness that is directly related to diving, but one that many divers get.  Ciguatera actually comes from eating bottom feeding fish that carry toxins acquired from microscopic dinoflagellates.  Fish that can cause ciguatera poisoning include barracuda, jack, snapper, grouper, and many others.  Symptoms start within 15-30 minutes of eating infected fish and include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tooth pain, numbness, blurred vision, weakness, difficulty walking, tearing of the eyes, twitching muscles, lack of coordination, difficulty sleeping, and sometimes difficulty breathing.  In more severe cases heart problems, low blood pressure, deficiencies in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and even collapse.  The non-life-threatening symptoms can last for weeks.  There is no “cure” for ciguatera and treatment is based on the symptoms.  A physician should be consulted and should administer treatments.  While recovering from ciguatera a person should avoid eating all shellfish and fish, sauces made from these, alcohol, and nuts and nut oils.