Is this a coral sting?

[O.homel]

Hello all.
I just got back from Cancun, Mexico about a week ago. I went snorkeling & scuba diving, but while I was scuba diving I was not paying attention and hit some coral. It was stinging while I was in the water but stopped. It has been about 4 days since I got back and it keeps itching during the night. Should I go see a doctor or treat it at home? Let me know.
Thanks.
Olivia

 

[northernone]

Hello all.
I just got back from Cancun, Mexico about a week ago. I went snorkeling & scuba diving, but while I was scuba diving I was not paying attention and hit some coral. It was stinging while I was in the water but stopped. It has been about 4 days since I got back and it keeps itching during the night. Should I go see a doctor or treat it at home? Let me know.
Thanks.
Olivia

Yes, looks just right. Ouch. Quite common, a doctor could be helpful with some prescriptions if the discomfort is too bad.

Cameron

 

[O.homel]

Yes, looks just right. Ouch. Quite common, a doctor could be helpful with some prescriptions if the discomfort is too bad.

Cameron

Do you by chance know how long it will take to heal?

 

[Larryjd1]

Last Fall, while diving in Aruba, I barely brushed the back of my hand against what I thought was fire coral while moving around a wreck.

I felt stinging when I got back on board the dive boat, which went away by later in the day.

About after a week after I returned home (10-11 days after the contact) I started to develop a raised red rash not only where I had contact, but it got bigger, darker and spread to other parts of that hand and the other as well.

I did a phone/video call with my health provider who was kind of perplexed by the movement of the to the other hand, but couldn't come up with a better reason than coral (and what lives on it) are living things.

Ended up having to apply antibiotic cream to the affected areas, and it seemed like a stubborn thing to get rid of, so I was glad I had it looked at and treated.

Good luck with it!

 

[chillyinCanada]

You need to get it looked at and treated. It would be good if you could see someone familiar with coral rashes/infections, regardless, do get it treated because it really can spread/get worse.

Meanwhile try antihistamines and over the counter steroid cream. Maybe some Polysporin.

 

[soggybadger]

Been stung a few times. Sometimes only a few minutes of stinging and redness other times a few days. I would see a doctor.

 

[TheCoolBeans]

I was diving in Vietnam 6weeks ago and i knelt on some coral whilst freeing a trapped fish from a net.

My whole knee looked like i'd been stung by a bunch of wasps for days afterwards. the itching lasted a couple of weeks, I still have the raised bumps but they are going down slowly.

 

[Doc]

Get thee to a physician now. An allergist or skin guy would be good. Likely they'll go with a scrip steroidal ointment, I would avoid self-medicating with antibiotic ointments or cortisone.

Most importantly: I have seen such things devolve into a necrosis. If you google that, you'll understand my urgency and concern.

It happened to me and I've seen it in a handful of other poor souls. Ate a hole in my forearm for about 4 months.

It ain't the Sharks that'll kill'ya.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Talk to a real doc before self-medicating. If it's an infection you really, really don't want to treat it with antihistamines or steroids.

 

[Saboteur]

On a related note, are there any difficult to see floating creatures that can sting, besides jellyfish that may be at the surface? Last year in GC something seemed to sting me around my lips just as I was surfacing in the last foot or so of water. Also occassionally I see these translucent coiled "worms" floating in the water column. Can they sting?