Did I get a fire coral sting?

[DandyDon]

It'll be okay when you grow new skin.

 

[Sue Sue]

Hello,

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, so feel free to move if it's not. On a shore dive Wednesday 8-28, something got me. I remember brushing up agaist the rock with my wrist and feeling a sharp pain, kind of like a bee sting. After the pain subsided, it began to itch and has been itching ever since. It started out as a tiny red dot and it has spread into a dime-sized red area. I know what fire coral looks like, but I thought it grew on the bottom and not on rocks? If it's not fire coral, does anyone know what else it could have been? I looked closely at the rocks after I got the sting but could not see anything. I have not done any treatment and have been trying not to scratch it.

Sorry you ran into this stuff. It can be really uncomfortable and painful. I have have been hit by hydroids due to my own error and also to no fault of my own. Once, I swiped across some with my hand/wrist while reaching for my camera that slipped down off my wrist. I also have been hit while minding my own business and hanging out in the middle of...nothing...at least 30 feet away from anything. My guess is that somewhere, sometime, hydroid was knocked loose by whoever or whatever, and it hit me as it floated along. I got "burned" on my face, neck,wrist and ankles all at once. OUCH ! Thank goodness I wear a full skin or wetsuit. I do believe it was hydroid as I ended up with the raised itching rash that remained for about 2 weeks. Vinegar, hydrocortisone cream and warm/hot water helps.

Hope your discomfort passes quickly.

 

[Prop Joe]

If your still "on island" you can get 2.5% hydro-cortisone creme without a prescription. I have a tube in front of me. Collicort is the brand name. Hidrocortisona Crema is Spanish description. I get it at the pharmacia that is on the south east corner of the square. Probably pay more but I know they have it. You can only get 1% stuff here in the USA unless you have a script from a doctor. Seek the 2.5% stuff. Been there done that. Anything that stings, likes me, and every trip I get hydroid stings. I've also gotten stung while mid-water doing a stop. The stuff is out there floating. Welts last up to a month on me but I think I'm allergic to them.
Hope your feeling better soon.

 

[BTravlin]

If your still "on island" you can get 2.5% hydro-cortisone creme without a prescription. I have a tube in front of me. Collicort is the brand name. Hidrocortisona Crema is Spanish description. I get it at the pharmacia that is on the south east corner of the square. Probably pay more but I know they have it. You can only get 1% stuff here in the USA unless you have a script from a doctor. Seek the 2.5% stuff. Been there done that. Anything that stings, likes me, and every trip I get hydroid stings. I've also gotten stung while mid-water doing a stop. The stuff is out there floating. Welts last up to a month on me but I think I'm allergic to them.
Hope your feeling better soon.

It's a shame you have that kind of reaction, Joe. I see them all around too and get stung here and there but it's annoying for 1/2 hour or so and then goes away. Must add a whole other dimension to diving.

 

[DandyDon]

If your still "on island" you can get 2.5% hydro-cortisone creme without a prescription. I have a tube in front of me. Collicort is the brand name. Hidrocortisona Crema is Spanish description. I get it at the pharmacia that is on the south east corner of the square. Probably pay more but I know they have it. You can only get 1% stuff here in the USA unless you have a script from a doctor. Seek the 2.5% stuff. Been there done that. Anything that stings, likes me, and every trip I get hydroid stings. I've also gotten stung while mid-water doing a stop. The stuff is out there floating. Welts last up to a month on me but I think I'm allergic to them.
Hope your feeling better soon.

I should pick up a few while I am the in a couple weeks. Remember what they get for it?

Are hydrocortisone-cipro ear drops still OTC there? Wonder how much it is? I have 2 very out of date bottles since I got better at alcohol-vinegar rinsing after swimming and every dive, but infections still happen. I had 3 very out of date bottles last month but used one, even tho I had not been swimming. Still works ok, but in-date is preferable.

I know, I know: self treating is questionable and smuggling is smuggling, but I try to keep within harmless limits. Have been known to call my vet for a antibiotic prescription, but only if I know exactly what I am doing.

Vinegar is commonly suggested for stings but a DAN article a year or so back dismissed it as a cure-all, actually causing more damage on some stings. I carry a plastic credit-type-card in my first aid bag to scrape well, then soak in very warm water, followed by hydrocortisone cream or ointment and antihistamines as general treatment.

You can always call DAN, collect, 24/7, as it is a dive injury - and even file a claim for reimbursement on dive insurance if you see a physician.

 

[Prop Joe]

I should pick up a few while I am the in a couple weeks. Remember what they get for it?

.

I wanna say about $20.00 for a very large 60g tube. I would have paid much more for the relief given. One thing I've learned is that everything is negotiable on the "square". I'm sure prices will be more if you have a big welt across your upper lip. Not that I would know or anything. I got to find that picture. I dont cruise the reef with my face normally so I guess I'm special with the whole hydroid thing. :blinking: I went to the ER when I got back to the USA from Cozumel the 1st time. I was wearing a shorty and had welts around every seam. Made for a brutal plane ride home. Like I said I think I'm allergic. ER Doc in the USA perscribed the 2.5% creme and sent me home.
The wife and I have had some small exama patches and 2.5% creme is great for relief of those areas any other time of the year. When we are in Cozumel we stock up with the 2.5 creme.

 

[Prop Joe]

It's a shame you have that kind of reaction, Joe. I see them all around too and get stung here and there but it's annoying for 1/2 hour or so and then goes away. Must add a whole other dimension to diving.

Bill,
We need to come up with a new name for this dimension... Besides pain and itch.

 

[DandyDon]

I wanna say about $20.00 for a very large 60g tube. I would have paid much more for the relief given. One thing I've learned is that everything is negotiable on the "square". I'm sure prices will be more if you have a big welt across your upper lip. Not that I would know or anything. I got to find that picture. I dont cruise the reef with my face normally so I guess I'm special with the whole hydroid thing. :blinking: I went to the ER when I got back to the USA from Cozumel the 1st time. I was wearing a shorty and had welts around every seam. Made for a brutal plane ride home. Like I said I think I'm allergic. ER Doc in the USA perscribed the 2.5% creme and sent me home.
The wife and I have had some small exama patches and 2.5% creme is great for relief of those areas any other time of the year. When we are in Cozumel we stock up with the 2.5 creme.

Prices close to the waterfront tend to be similar to US prices. I'll check on 30th Ave.

thanks!​

 

[Coral-Reefer]

The Cozumel "Red Badge of Courage"

During a week of diving I always seem have something somewhere as a result of the reefs. Usually it is from putting my finger in the sand and having it sink to old coral. It makes my finger tips itch for about a month. I kind of enjoy it because it takes me back to the dives and makes me long for the next trip.

3 months, 22 days and counting......

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

hydroid, like they all said. on a side note, if it was a fir coral hit, you would not be in doubt. pain so intense, people can lose consciousness. And then there is swelling. I mean big. Stay with the hydroids, annoying as they are.