Fire coral sting

[n03]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious about others' experiences with fire coral stings. I was diving in the Red Sea in September 2015, and got stung by a fire coral on the back of my hand (by a terrible accident, of course). The rash had started to heal a few weeks after the incident and the itch went away, but then the inflammation started all over again. And the inflammation has been on and off ever since (it's not itchy though). It's now February, 5 months have passed... Any idea what I can expect and if I should apply some kind of medication? I doubt that a regular physician would know anything about it.

Thanks!

 

[Diver0001]

On the one hand, I'm sorry to hear that your hand is still hurting. I have no idea what to suggest for that aside from biting the bullet and consulting a doctor.

On the other hand, I hope every new diver reads your post and realizes that we really DID mean it when we said, "perfect your buoyancy control and don't touch anything"

R..

 

[Slym]

That's a reason we pay taxes, just see a Doctor

 

[n03]

Thanks for your advice to see a doctor... I obviously know about this option without Scuba board (the problem is that doctors don't know much about this stuff since it's so specialized). I wrote here specifically to find out how long it took other people for the stings to heal, and if they applied any medication.

 

[Hawkwood]

My "brush" with fire coral had nothing to do with buoyancy control or touching things. Perhaps I could have been blamed for diving the day it happened.

 

[mattia_v]

I've brushed against fire coral and it was gone after a few days.

 

[CuzzA]

Go see a doctor. Some may very well know what to do. It can't hurt to call around and find a doctor with experience in this type of medicine. Another hobby of mine is marine aquariums. One of the most popular corals in that hobby are palythoas and zoanthids. These just happen to contain the second deadliest natural toxin known to man (palytoxin). So naturally we see reports of people nearly dying, going blind, etc. However, many times they see a doctor and the doc knows what to do. Everyone can react different to coral allelopathy or what we like to call, "chemical warfare", but we almost always see steroids and antibiotics being prescribed. Go see the doc. Who knows what may have found its way into your blood stream or tissue.

 

[CuzzA]

Here's some more info about them that may be useful to you and others.

Venomous Corals: The Fire Corals by Eric Borneman - Reefkeeping.com

 

[ColoDale]

I have had a few fire coral stings but none bad. I have not had to see a physician for any stings (fire coral, hydorid or jellyfish) so I don't have bad reactions. I find that topical anti-itch ointments help but they will still raise up. I just wait - normally it's a matter of weeks not months for me. I also find that returning to colder and drier climates will cause them to "re-raise" after several weeks even. Scrubbing with soap and water seems to raise them up again for me. I did however had one small 1mm dot after 10 years of a fire coral brush but it never hurt or raised up after the initial sting.
If you can't wait it out then find a doctor that dives. Not sure how to do that - I lucked out and my Dr. is a diver. If I couldn't find one, I might use my DAN insurance and call them at least to see if they would talk to me about non-life threatening issues. They claim to have a physicians referral program.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Agree, call DAN for a doctor referral. I've had the stings and treated with vinegar and any residual effect was treatable with a corticosteroid cream. That said,I've an acquaintance that had a reaction more like yours, and it spread and spread. Don't wait to contact DAN. At the very least get in to see a dermatologist and bring along the info on the fire coral neurotoxin. Best of luck.