Bright, red, hot patch of skin?

[fisherdvm]

After a dive today I have one patch on my arm that is very bright red, and feels really warm to the touch, it is on the topside of my arm from the elbow to the wrist, I'm curious because I've never seen that before, and it is only one area, its not sunburn(no sun to get burnt by) and its lasted for 4 hours now.

Sounds like ear syphillis to me.

 

[fisherdvm]

It could be cellulitis (infection), contact allergic dermatitis, contact solar dermatitis, contact irritant dermatitis, photodermatitis, phytophotodermatitis... and a whole lots of other dermatitides that it could be....

See a doctor, better yet, see two doctors.

 

[Zippsy]

This is hardly worth calling DAN about. I get so tired of people that have nothing to offer but "call DAN".

Dear WC, I had a question about taxes the other day and I still called my accountant instead of asking for advice on an internet forum. The funny thing was that even if I waited too long for the internet advice or got the wrong answer from some wanna-be accountant, I would only have lost some money instead of my health. :shakehead

Here is someone who clearly was worried, asked for advice and probably waited several hours for any answer. Why not drop a dime, get instant help and also assist a worthy organization at the same time? THEN come back here and report what you found out. What is the worst that can happen? DAN tells you not to worry about it being serious and see a local dermatologist?? That doesn't sound too bad to me. What's the worst thing that can happen asking for internet medical advice? Spooky thought.




(no offense to the doctors / othe medical professionals that post here)

 

[JGBrown]

Sorry, to clarify: It was not there before the dive, it was there after the dive.
I was diving dry, it was a wall dive, the first 1/2 was ok, we puttered around the side of the wall for 1400psi(tanks were overfilled to 3400, they were rentals)
then turned around to head back along the wall. This was the first dive where my trim has been really good(at least for me, I finally got horizontal when just floating by adjusting weights, I was quite happy with that, but the reason I asked is because I got too buoyant and couldn't get my suit to vent, the vent was refusing to let air out.
I turned down and my buddy pulled me down to the wall, I then vented 100% of the suit air through the neck seal( got very wet), and drained my BCD. but it turns out I didn't have enoug weight on, although I have dove with the same weight several times, I had more undergarments. I went up from 50ft to surface quite quick, braking by holding my feet at an angle, and my buddy trying to keep me down by becoming negative and hanging on.
We were within 2 minutes of the no-deco limit according to the tables(I dive tables+bottom timer), but since we had already started our ascent the computer gave a slightly safer reading(a geckko)
I know I made several errors, and my buddy explained a lot of it to me, he's been diving for a long time and is really good at pointing stuff out.
I'm thinking it was a combination of sea-water and squeeze+rubbing.
felt like a sunburn, hot to touch, sensitive to heat etc.
The physical and my errors side of it we talked over for quite a while, and I learned lots really quick
but I was curious because I couldn't figure out why it would be so localized.
its almost gone away completely now.
I realize I also get a similar reaction to the rubbing on my arms kayaking on the ocean.

I'm actually getting my DAN membership soon, it just makes sense to me and I am planning on going overseas soon.
As soon as my mum lets me borrow her CC # to get it, I've been after it for a while, I got it went with masterplan+endowment, cause I've already read a ton of their info before hand, I actually tried to get the insurance after my first dive class, but couldn't because I only had paypal.



Its not contact dermatitis, I get that from my job.
Diamond and oil all over my arms gave me according to the walk in clinic doc, the worst case he'd seen.

I am phoning dan anyways however just to be safe

EDIT:I'm at work and this post was written in bits and pieces, in a few days I will write a clear and organized version for the near miss/accidents forum.

 

[JGBrown]

Sounds like ear syphillis to me.

it will match the crabs on my BCD.

 

[fisherdvm]

DCS of the skin is a possibility. Perhaps the suit was tight on the arm, restricting blood flow, and make it more likely to trap nitrogen bubbles.

If you previously had bouts of contact dermatitis to the point that the doc said "the worst case he's ever seen", abrasion, pressure, irritation, and DCS can all inflame and target the patch of previous injury.

It is not uncommon for the same area where you previously had contact dermatitis to flare up to any kind of irritants. My guess is, you might have had a suit squeeze on that arm that restricted blood flow. The congestion then flare up the patch of eczema that you previously had the contact dermatitis.

But my first diagnosis is still what I would stand by, it is ear syphillis.

 

[TSandM]

Well, the profile and description of the dive certainly raises the likelihood of skin bends as a diagnosis. My understanding is that they generally occur in areas of heavy fat deposition, like the abdominal wall, but may also occur in places where there is constriction or pressure on the skin, such as where gauges are placed. They are described as causing a sensation which can vary from itching to severe pain. There is a current thread with some photographs of abdominal skin bends, but they are not bright red and are somewhat linear.

We can't diagnose over the internet, but cutaneous DCS has to be in the differential diagnosis, given what you've subsequently written.

 

[fisherdvm]

Well, if folks really wants to know what ear syphillis is, there are two conditions that sounds like it.

One, is erysypylas, a disease in pigs presenting as blochy hemorrhagic skin, caused by an organism called erysypilothrix, which can cause diseases in other animals and man as well.

A second one, is in human, is also called erysipilas, a cellulitis of a fascial plane, usually one cheek on the face, but can also be other fascial boundaries, like on a limb. Usually caused by group B streptococcus.

Ear syphillis is something that happens when you put things in places you shouldn't and should not be discussed in a forum frequented by minors.

 

[Wildcard]

Now that there is a lot more to go with that a red spot, It could be DCS but Id have to say suit squeeze over the site of old dermatitis...

 

[Wildcard]

And you think talking to a one semester EMT at DAN is better?

Dear WC, I had a question about taxes the other day and I still called my accountant instead of asking for advice on an internet forum. The funny thing was that even if I waited too long for the internet advice or got the wrong answer from some wanna-be accountant, I would only have lost some money instead of my health. :shakehead

Here is someone who clearly was worried, asked for advice and probably waited several hours for any answer. Why not drop a dime, get instant help and also assist a worthy organization at the same time? THEN come back here and report what you found out. What is the worst that can happen? DAN tells you not to worry about it being serious and see a local dermatologist?? That doesn't sound too bad to me. What's the worst thing that can happen asking for internet medical advice? Spooky thought.

And you think talking to a one semester EMT at DAN is better?


(no offense to the doctors / othe medical professionals that post here)