scubagruba,
Everyone's pretty much covered the treatments. I live in Florida and on any given weekend I've probably got my hand in a hole after a lobster.
Fire Coral sounds like a death sentence. The truth is that, yeah, it stings--for a few minutes and then you forget about it.
If you're wearing gloves and a skin, watching your bouyancy, the chances are it's not going to happen. The worst place to get a sting (in my opinion) is on the lip, neck or forehead. The good news is you're not gonna die. Portugese Man-of-War is much worse--that really hurts. If you are really allergic to the fire coral, you can choose to treat it aggressively. Otherwise, rinse with vinegar and go diving some more.
Typically, a fire coral sting will leave a welt that is first red and then becomes kind of brownish. It may "weep"--feel wet to the touch for about a week. It may itch starting a day or so after exposure. In my own experience, hydrocortisone doesn't make it disappear any faster. You may see a skin discoloration for up to two weeks.
Just ignore the sting unless you are really allergic or are having medical symptoms beyond the simple stinging. Any brush with coral can result in an infection--this is a different problem. Nearly every body lives after an exposure.
A day lobstering without a fire coral sting means I haven't been diving. No problem mon.
Come on guys...any of you been hit by fire coral? So how bad was it really? Let scubagruba know it wouldn't be so bad.
Enjoy your trip. Oh, by the way...its Shark Season in the Bahamas now...enjoy--actually, the sharks say it's Divers Season.
Larry Stein