Fire coral?

[paulw]

If this helps I have experienced a run in with fire coral and the rash in your pictures looks exactly like what I had on my hand. It was a swollen rash, felt kind of sore, itched like crazy and took at least a month to completely go away but I didn't have the extreme sickness you describe.

 

[Cruisin Home]

you said you were doing a wall night dive? Did you come close to bottom/side or were you always in the water column?

 

[Cruisin Home]

Looks like Sea Urchin to me. generally lot more venomous than fire coral as well as this distinct but separate punctures. However they sometimes breakoff in your skin, was there anything broken off in the little wounds.?

 

[j2s]

There's an old remedy for marine toxins [most are protein based] that works well as a temporary stop gap before getting hospitalization....Meat tenderizer from the grocery store...It breaks down the protein base of the toxins [vinegar just takes the sting away] and slows/stops the continuation of the toxins effects.....Soaking in a tub of cool water diluted w/a couple packets of tenderizer or making a paste w/it and covering the affected area....Easy to carry in gear bag/easy to find and cheap....Works well on jellyfish, man-o-war and anemones......

 

[DocVikingo]

Meat tenderizer from the grocery store...It breaks down the protein base of the toxins [vinegar just takes the sting away] and slows/stops the continuation of the toxins effects....

Hi j2S,

That really is not an accurate statement about vinegar, at least not as regards fire coral scrapes and many other cnidarian run-ins. What vinegar does is help prevent unreleased nematocysts within the wound from firing. It does not decrease existing pain or diminish the effects of already injected venom. Granted such inhibition of unfired nematocysts may reduce the development of additional pain, but it will not help the discomfort caused by already fired capsules.

Please, let us endeavor to be accurate in the Diving Medicine forum.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Wayan]

I looks like Corallimorpharia injury to me, a animal closely related to the sea anemones.

Seems likely that during a night dive you might have knelt on the bottol or grazed the animal without knowing it.

They usually have short tentacles and some types of them can cause injuries that last for weeks / months. Some of them have been noted to have necoritic type of effect. Typically you do not know that you ave been stung until sometime afterwards

 

[browncd81]

Looks like Sea Urchin to me. generally lot more venomous than fire coral as well as this distinct but separate punctures. However they sometimes breakoff in your skin, was there anything broken off in the little wounds.?

Nothing that I can tell. We definitely looked for that though

 

[browncd81]

I looks like Corallimorpharia injury to me, a animal closely related to the sea anemones.

Seems likely that during a night dive you might have knelt on the bottol or grazed the animal without knowing it.

They usually have short tentacles and some types of them can cause injuries that last for weeks / months. Some of them have been noted to have necoritic type of effect. Typically you do not know that you ave been stung until sometime afterwards

Hmm.. I looked that up but didn't find too much. I think this may not be the case though because the pain was instant and during the dive my knee burned and my left leg got pretty stiff

 

[browncd81]

There's an old remedy for marine toxins [most are protein based] that works well as a temporary stop gap before getting hospitalization....Meat tenderizer from the grocery store...It breaks down the protein base of the toxins [vinegar just takes the sting away] and slows/stops the continuation of the toxins effects.....Soaking in a tub of cool water diluted w/a couple packets of tenderizer or making a paste w/it and covering the affected area....Easy to carry in gear bag/easy to find and cheap....Works well on jellyfish, man-o-war and anemones......

Thanks - I'll be sure to grab some meat tenderizer for my gear bag. Even if I never get stung again, I guess it's always a good thing to have to help others

 

[browncd81]

you said you were doing a wall night dive? Did you come close to bottom/side or were you always in the water column?

Was pretty close to the wall. Of course the light for the most part helped me judge the distance and not get too close... well, except for once