Lips all tingly? Body going numb? Trouble standing? Unless you've been drinking all day, the culprit might be bad crab.

A Haines man developed those symptoms after eating Dungeness crab on Friday. The middle-aged man was medevaced to a Juneau hospital on Saturday, where he was held until Monday morning, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services. His symptoms were consistent with paralytic shellfish poisoning, according to the hospital.

The hospital where the man was taken, Bartlett Regional, is the same hospital where a 57-year-old woman died Thursday after eating cockles harvested from Auke Bay.

The man released today was the fifth case of paralytic shellfish poisoning reported in the state in the last two weeks. That's an increase over the past few years. In 2009 and 2007 one case was reported each year; 2008 saw no cases reported.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by a toxin that lives in cold coastal waters, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Symptoms can begin anywhere from 15 minutes to 10 hours after eating contaminated shellfish. In severe cases, death may occur in two to 25 hours.

The crab that sickened the Haines man was reportedly caught in front of Jenkins Rock near the Chilkat Inlet of Lynn Canal.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.