i got hit..in a fly-by....STINGING???

[oregondiver]

I was bit or stung durinng the trip we just finished in curacao..I mean literally..we are in the Miami airport waiting for our connecting flight

During our dives..we got bit by? I say "we" but i really mean me mostly. My husband was hit/stung 2-4 times. I was hit/ stung about a dozen or more separate times (With multiple stings from each event).

First time it happened it felt like someone ran a red hot fire poker along my bicep. Close call to abort dive or not from the pain! We were in about 25 feet of water and about 10 feet from the bottom. Quick look around for a box jelly or floating fire coral. Nada. Only by gripping the bicep long and hard enough to create bruises did the pain abate after 5-10 minutes. Surfacing i didnt see anything but a few hours later i had 4 mosquito type welts appear! And they itch like the dickens!

Throughout our next 20 dives i was stung incessantly. Almost like i hit fire coral. flashing pain at the "bite" site that goes away in a bit. Few hours later the welts appear And iI am still itching the first one...even after 7 days!.

I am only diving in a swim suit (not cold) but does anyone have any idea what sort of "no-see-um" could have caused this?

Yesterday morning it nailed me on the butt, through my suit

 

[smokin3000gt]

floating jellyfish tentacles?

 

[oregondiver]

But wouldn't I see them? We are talking about repeated stings over 6 days of diving...and I kept looking around and never saw anything.

 

[tracydr]

This is why I always dive with at least a thin wetsuit. I suspect you were stung by small jellies or possibly "sea lice", which are microscopic jelly fish larva.
Treat with benedryl,cortisone cream and watch for signs of infection. Next time, use a light, full length wetsuit.

 

[lionfish-eater]

bedbugs from the hotel?

 

[oregondiver]

Not the hotel since first dive involved no hotel beds (changed from travel clothes to swimsuitand in the water 20 minutes after arriving in hotel). Stings were IN the water

Steer clear of SEA LICE! Avoid the itch and irritation! Here's how. - Prevention Pointers June 2007, Palm Beach County Health Department

Dr Tracy...i think you are right. I found this link which sounds about right (delayed reaction/welt) except it says wear LESS clothing..not more. Lol

 

[TMHeimer]

As long as it's not Iricongi (sp?). Of course you wouldn't be around to write this.

 

[knotical]

As long as it's not Iricongi (sp?). Of course you wouldn't be around to write this.

fwiw, irukandji are not found in Curacao, but in Australia. Quite nasty, even occasionally fatal.

 

[CaribbeanChick]

We have sea wasps in STT. looks exactly like box jellies not nearly as bad but they do suck when you get stung. You most likely ran into a bunch of drifting jellyfish or possibly hydroids on the currents, jellies are very common and most are clear. Lots of jellies in Cozumel too when I went last year, It was only when I stopped and stayed completely still did I see the tiny 1/4in stinging little jerks.. Was actually really annoying. In STT I always wear a rash guard which helps except for the ones that get you on the lip. Ouch.

 

[koozemani]

fwiw, irukandji are not found in Curacao, but in Australia. Quite nasty, even occasionally fatal.

From Wikipedia via Nat geo

Irukandji jellyfish were at one time thought to be in the northern waters of Australia only. Since then, according to a National Geographic documentary[5] on jellyfish, the species has been found in waters as far north as the British Isles, Japan, and the Florida[6] coast of the United States.