Red Tide Health Advisory
Red Tide Present along Pensacola Beach

PENSACOLA – Escambia County Health Department is issuing a health advisory for red tide, which may give residents and visitors mild and short-lived respiratory symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation similar to cold symptoms. Red tide does not affect everyone who comes into contact with it and usually symptoms end when a person leaves the area or goes indoors. Health officials recommend that people experiencing these symptoms stay away from beach areas -- once a person leaves the red tide area, the symptoms usually go away.  If symptoms, do not subside, please contact your physician for assistance.

People with severe or chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic lung disease are cautioned to avoid red tide areas. If water samples indicate that the Red Tide organism is present in areas other than Pensacola Beach, the health department will issue additional advisories.

There are no long-term health effects from being exposed to Red Tide.

About Red Tide

Red Tide is a microorganism containing a concentrated toxin that is found in the Gulf of Mexico  and occasionally washes onshore.  Though not all people are susceptible to the effects of red tide, it can be absorbed by humans directly, as well as be absorbed in shellfish; therefore, it is important that you recognize the symptoms. 

General Health Information

• Not all people are susceptible to the effects of red tide. 

• Susceptible people who come into contact with salt water spray may experience varying degrees of eye, nose, and throat irritation similar to cold symptoms.

• Health officials recommend that people experiencing these symptoms stay away from beach areas – once a person leaves the red tide area, the symptoms usually go away. 

• Effects from contact with salt spray – such as eye, nose and throat irritation – are temporary, with no long-term health effects. (See precautions below on eating seafood.)

• A rash can sometimes occur after contact with affected water, and usually goes away within 24 hours.

Swimming, Boating

• After swimming in an affected area, it is a good idea to rinse off with clean fresh water.

• Swallowed water is unlikely to cause health effects. 

Residents of Beach Areas

• Residents living in beach areas are advised to close windows and run the air conditioner (making sure that the A/C filter is maintained according to manufacturer's specifications).

• If outdoors, residents may choose to wear paper filter masks, especially if onshore winds are blowing.

• For people with long-term exposure, such as beach workers or fishermen, a more properly fitted mask is recommended.

Locally-caught Fish and Shellfish

Precautions should be taken when preparing and cooking fish caught in local waters, and individuals should not eat locally-harvested molluscan shellfish such as oysters, clams, and coquinas when red tide may be present. Red tide may also cause fish kills.              

Red tide can also affect humans if they consume contaminated molluscan shellfish. During a red tide, bivalve shellfish, including clams and oysters, concentrate the toxin.  This concentrated toxin can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) in humans who eat bivalve shellfish.  Both mild gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms occur in NSP, which can include tingling and numbness of lips, tongue, and throat, muscular aches, dizziness, reversal of the sensations of hot and cold, diarrhea, and vomiting. Onset of this illness occurs within a few minutes to a few hours; duration is fairly short, from a few hours to several days.  Recovery is complete with few after effects; no fatalities have been reported.

Cooking does not eliminate the toxin.  Only clams and oysters collected in shellfish harvesting areas monitored and open for harvesting, as determined by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), should be eaten.  Scallops may be consumed as long as only the muscle is eaten. Any healthy finfish harvested from red tide affected waters should be carefully filleted and cooked fresh, avoiding consumption of roe and internal organs. The meat of fresh, healthy fish should be safe to eat.

Disposal of Dead Fish

Many questions are asked about what to do with the fish that have died during red tide conditions. Contact with fish killed in a red tide event does not produce any red tide associated symptoms. However, these fish can present a nuisance, in that they have an unpleasant odor, and attract flies and vermin. These fish may be disposed of according to local solid waste practices. It is recommended that gloves or tools be used to collect any fish and to use double-lined plastic bags for disposal

 
Additional Information

Attached is a summary of common questions and answers about red tide. The public may obtain more information on ongoing red tide events from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.  The Institutes' website is http://research.myfwc.com/. Additionally, there is red tide information at the Mote Marine Laboratory website: http://www.mote.org/~mhenry/WREDTIDE.phtml.

To find out more about the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) Red Tide Health Effects Study visit the web site: http://www.mote.org/niehsredtidestudy. 

The Florida Poison Control Information Center in Miami has a toll-free 24/7 Aquatic Toxins  Hotline for reporting of illnesses from exposure to red tide, or for more information on red tide and associated health effects, at 1-888-232-8635.

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