Infection from coral sting:Help!!

[DandyDon]

Tracy, I wonder if this history you mentioned in another thread could be connected? http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=195719

So, you said you were calling DAN? Did they have any good ideas? Hope the call was a good experience...

 

[tracydr]

Yes. It is probably vibrio visificus. (spelling?)
From the hemmorhagic look to the bullous the first week, which I thought was from the sting intself. Cipro by itself or doxycycline with cephalasporin. Doing the cipro as the omnicef has given me migraines a couple of times. Thanks for asking!

 

[dvrliz1]

Tracy,

Wow how rare!!!! I read up on it and it can be nasty! "Vibrio vulnificus" Did they culture for it?

Liz

 

[vladimir]

From Dangerous Marine Creatures (A field guide for medical treatment) by Carl Edmonds, MD:

Marine vibrios may cause local and systemic infections, as well as gastroenteritis from shellfish and crustacean contamination, with a high mortality. Vibrio vulnificus has an almost 50% mortality.

Antibiotics of choice are ciprofloxacin and doxycycline, until sensitivity tests are available.

 

[fisherdvm]

I wonder if it is mycobacterium marium ...
http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic281.htm

 

[DandyDon]

My regular bud and I are really good about wearing at least long skins, even cheap nylon socks to protect our ankles on the boarding ladder. We talked about this thread over dinner tonight, actually - and he's heard me with my chicken-little sounding warnings when applying antibiotic ointment from my little bag to others: "If this looks worse in the morning, you do not have time for an appointment - go to ER, make sure they call DAN, as there are some really bad bugs in FW and Salt." I treated and warned a physician on a Florida boat once. We lose a few a year in Texas alone to such, fishermen mostly.

I am certainly not educated in these things, but do like to encourage others to seek out those who are before the too late point. I've also commonly heard that "physicians make the worst patients."

Good luck, Tracy...!

 

[tracydr]

Went to a colleague who does a lot of derm but is an FP doctor yesterday. He wanted to wait a day or two since I had some improvement with cipro. I'm seeing him again today for possible biopsy. It looks better then two days ago but I really can't say that it's better then yesterday. Did have a CBC done but he didn't think a blood culture would be helpful since I've been on so many antibiotics. If the WBC is up we'll get the blood culture today.
I'll let you know the results!

 

[tracydr]

My regular bud and I are really good about wearing at least long skins, even cheap nylon socks to protect our ankles on the boarding ladder. We talked about this thread over dinner tonight, actually - and he's heard me with my chicken-little sounding warnings when applying antibiotic ointment from my little bag to others: "If this looks worse in the morning, you do not have time for an appointment - go to ER, make sure they call DAN, as there are some really bad bugs in FW and Salt." I treated and warned a physician on a Florida boat once. We lose a few a year in Texas alone to such, fishermen mostly.

I am certainly not educated in these things, but do like to encourage others to seek out those who are before the too late point. I've also commonly heard that "physicians make the worst patients."

Good luck, Tracy...!

It sounds like the vibrio mortality is mainly with immune compromised patients. (I've been doing lots of reading on this) Plus, it's been kept in check from the antibiotics I've been on which seem to be working but not completely.
I can't use a topical antibiotic OTC because I'm allergic to bacitracin and neosporin. I will get a script for bactroban and put it in my bag from now on. I honestly figured it was just a sting and I react so bad to bug bites and stuff that I didn't think much of it at the time.
I will probably get a biopsy today. I really want to know what this is.
I hope I'm not a terrible patient! I ran to the ER when I had that fasciitis and seemed to get along great with all the staff throughout my hospital stay.
I will admit that I wore gloves illegally the rest of the week in Bonaire. I figured if the scuba police wanted to pick on me I'd just show them my nasty hand.

 

[ZoSo]

Just another example of why gloves should be allowed for entry and exits on Bonaire. I was in Bonaire last week and got cut up on entry also.

 

[tracydr]

Just an update. The cipro worked!! Finally, it's almost gone. Didn't have the tissue biopsy as the doctor wanted to give the cipro a few more days.
Thanks for everyone's help and concern!