Fire coral?

[browncd81]

Was wondering if anyone could help me identify what I might have come in contact with.

A year ago in Panglao, Bohol Island, Philippines I was doing a night dive. Shorty wetsuit, wall dive, slow drift dive. Yes, I know, should have worn a long and should have also been more careful . Towards the end of the dive my left knee struck something. Burning sensation was instant. I finished the dive and about 25 minutes later was at the shop. We put vinegar on it to neutralize.

That night I started puking pretty bad. I knew I was going to be dehydrated so I went to the hospital in Tagbaliran. Got some meds and headed back to room via cab. Next morning, felt worse and could barely walk. Back to hospital for more meds. I was released that afternoon to catch my ferry back to Dumaguete - felt horribly weak and was still puking up even the slightest bit of water or food. Made my ferry ride to Dumageute and stayed in a motel. Would you believe after 15 minutes of being in bed the power went out? There went the AC (or fan?), which I sorely needed, for the rest of the night. It was August and I was still weak, tired, and dehydrated. I barely slept but instead sweated and continued to vomit up even a sip of water. The next morning I took a plane to Manila. Puked in the airport once and on the plane twice. So upon landed I went straight from Manila airport to the hospital and they kept me overnight. I received 4 consecutive IVs and they said my creatinine was so high the doctor almost ordered dialysis. After being released from the hospital the next day, I could still barely walk and felt very weak still. My knee looked like lasagna.

Yet I was crazy enough to complete my quick trip around the world so continued on to Cambodia (almost thought they'd see my knee and wouldn't let me in the country), Burma, and then Italy. In Italy, which was about 2 weeks after being stung, my leg was still freakishly swollen. Actually if you look at the 3rd picture, that was about a week before the swelling was at it's peak. All the flying didn't help . So I went to the doctor and I received one shot in the rear and two in the stomach. I returned home as scheduled 3 weeks after being stung. I continued to fight swelling in my leg for about 2 months. During that time, I had to wear a compression sock, like Diabetics wear, and any day I forgot would cause it to swell more.

If not fire coral, anyone know what else this might have been?

 

[Jill from Phoenix]

such a trooper! that's a passionate traveller that keeps trekking on. sorry, you had to have that on your journey.

i've never seen fire coral hit anyone that bad. an anemone enemy? i'd be curious when you find out..

 

[FinPivots]

Could a jellyfish of some kind cause that? Probably not is my guess...

Lesson learned I guess!

 

[Beowulf]

Perhaps the dive medicine forum or DAN could help more? Or maybe the Philippians forum? Just not sure how many people with the proper knowledge may find this here.

 

[Mossman]

Sea anemone most likely. A bad reaction to a carpet anemone sting?

 

[boulderjohn]

I believe this question will be better served in the dive medicine forum. I will report it and have it moved.

 

[g1138]

I don't think a jellyfish could give you such a localized and "clean" bruise. Probably banged your knee of fire coral or something of the likes. Your body probably just had a very bad reaction to the stinging cells. I'm not a doctor but I would dare say you had an allergic reaction.
Just like bee stings, some people have more of a reaction than others.

I'm sure a coral biologist or diving doctor could chime in with better info.

Oh and btw, you've got some massive balls of steel. Nice job finishing your trek
How's your leg now?

 

[modzs]

It's some weird oceanic STD.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

browncd81,
Great story (in retrospect). The outcome could have been much worse. What were the injections you received? Antibiotics, steroids? To me, your injury looks like you had retained fragments from whatever you bumped against. Could have been fire coral, or possibly a sponge; sponge spicules can cause symptoms like that. Have you recovered fully? Is the knee tender to the touch?

Excellent photos. Would you mind if we used them for education here? We'd blur your face so there would be no identifying info.

 

[browncd81]

@ DDM: Yes, you may use the pictures. Anything I can do to help dive education/research. In retrospect, I only wish I had done a better job at keeping my medical paperwork... I'm sure my blood results would have yielded some good info. But, I was in sort of hippie mode then so my attention to detail was minimal

Medically, I do remember that when I returned to Boston, I had blood work again to confirm my creatinine (sp?) levels were back to normal and of course they were. This was about 3 weeks after the sting. But again the swelling was no joke. It took a good two months before I could stop wearing the compression sock without it swelling up. And any time I did forget to wear the sock, the next morning after I wore it again, my urine smelled funny, so I guess that's the normal way of telling if the fluid was leaving the body.

Also, I forgot to mention originally that I had lost a bit of sensation in my left foot on the bottom and towards the inside. That was fine once the swelling stopped. That did raise some concerns with the doctor in Boston that I could have had a small blood clot or something. But it's all normal now.

I included a few more pics - this might help show the immediate progression better. One is about an hour after it happened, and the other two are when I was in the hospital that night for my first of 3 hospital visits - about five hours after the accident.