Can anyone help my patient?

[svernon800]

[Hi everyone, I'm a Registered Nurse in the Cleveland, OH area. I have a patient who is in for surgery and during his rehab he shared with me the experience of getting stung in his ankle by Fire Coral 12 years ago. Since then he has had flare ups that seem to be getting worse. He has been on topical creams and the doctor initially took out some 'pieces' of coral 12 years ago. Is it possible there is still some of this material left in the wound? Doctors in our area of the country are unfamiliar with this rash.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
Please forward to anyone you think might be able to help.
Sharon

 

[craracer]

call the Divers Alert Network (DAN) at 1-800-446-2671

 

[Jax]

Sharon, the Divers Alert Network will answer anyone's questions. They maintain a diving medical information database and have (probably) more information than anyone else in the world.
. . . +1 on calling them.

 

[Thalassamania]

Please post what you find out.

 

[Teamcasa]

Try this as well
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/14752-fire-coral-remedies.html

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

[Hi everyone, I'm a Registered Nurse in the Cleveland, OH area. I have a patient who is in for surgery and during his rehab he shared with me the experience of getting stung in his ankle by Fire Coral 12 years ago. Since then he has had flare ups that seem to be getting worse. He has been on topical creams and the doctor initially took out some 'pieces' of coral 12 years ago. Is it possible there is still some of this material left in the wound? Doctors in our area of the country are unfamiliar with this rash.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
Please forward to anyone you think might be able to help.
Sharon

Sharon,
It's possible that he still has retained fragments. Also, depending on how badly he was "stung" (he might have had a cut that penetrated deeply), he could have some underlying osteomyelitis. How do the flareups present? Does he have any other comorbidities, e.g. peripheral vascular disease, DM, etc? What was his surgery for? If this gets into HIPAA territory you can feel free to send the info via private message, or PM me and I'll give you my work email.

 

[svernon800]

Thank you so much for your response. I spoke with the patient yesterday. Pass medical history: BPH, HTN, Colon CA 6 yrs ago with surgery and chemo and cerebral hemorrhage 20 years ago. He came to us in Dec for spinal decompression L2-S1 with repair of dural erosion on Dec 22. Developed large hematoma with evacuation post-op and subsequent rehab for lower leg weakness. He was high functioning and secular working before surgery. His flareups come every 2-6 months. It starts with itching and small bumps (like poison ivy) and he puts Ivy dry or other astringent on it. Then it dries up and cracks. There is no swelling of the ankle or foot but some darken discoloration at the area of the sting.It is amazing he has not had infections. The vascular surgeon was called in yesterday for a very small clot in his right calf(same leg as fire coral problem). The vascular surgeon was very interested in my research and your response as he has no experience with this subject. I told him I would share your rersponse with him. They are not concerned about the clot at this time. Again, thank you for your information. Sharon

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Sharon,
Consult info provided to you via private message. Feel free to have your staff contact us at any time.

 

[svernon800]

Thank you to all who replied to my plea for help. I have passed the information and contact numbers on to the physicians involved in his care as well as the patient and family. This is the first time I have used the Internet to help a patient and I can't thank you enough that you took the time to read and reply. May all your dives be good ones and watch for FIRE CORAL!!!

 

[Scubadaina]

Hi Sharon. i was accidentally stung by Fire Coral back on my hand in early November.. (there goes my hand modelling career.. lol). For some reason I reacted very badly to it. It reactivated very badly both times, and i could not get rid of it. My doctor recommended "dish soap" to kill the venom. So twice daily I took a soft bristle brush and scrubbed the damaged part of my hand with the dish soap (plus it felt good 'cause it was sooo itchy).. this helped tremendously. My doctor also prescribed Taro-Clobetasol. This is a miracle cream. My hand is so much better, it no longer itches, and i can now take the gloves off and go out in public ! i hope this helps with anyone who has this.