Is this a coral sting?

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I see what looks like two, possibly three different lesions. There's what looks like a linear series of small bullae (blisters) about mid-calf that looks like a hydroid envenomation, and one more upper-middle calf that looks like it could be either a scar or an indurated area (similar to a mosquito bite). There's another one more toward the front of your leg. Which are you referring to, or did they all contact the coral?

Either way, it wouldn't hurt to be seen by a physician. Other posters have mentioned the possibility of a secondary reaction, and if you have retained fragments it could lead to infection, as Doc mentioned.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[tarponchik]

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?

Siphonophores can sting you. They look like a transparent finger cap with a single 5" tentacle. The pain can be intense but goes away in about 15 min, and no marks are left.

 

[outofofficebrb]

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?

Sea lice is another skin irritant.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Okay, I take it back. Don't treat yourself. I bow abjectly before those with superior knowledge, which is why I had moved this thread in the first place.

Get thee to a physician.

(To Doc and other real doctors here, why isn't attempting to keep it at bay until getting in to a doctor a good idea?)

 

[chillyinCanada]

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?

Quite common. Little hydroids can sting. Jellyfish bits, pieces of stingers still sting. I get stung around the lips and backs of hands.

 

[Doc]

(To Doc and other real doctors here, why isn't attempting to keep it at bay until getting in to a doctor a good idea?)

It would be a good idea, but since it occurred in Cancun (which could be argued to be non-third worldish), that would have been the place to talk to a medical professional or a Divemaster or somebody who had seen this 237 times before. Avoiding anyone who offered to pee on your leg, but in Mexico, the correct medical fix would be very inexpensive.

Since it occurred a week before the OP, and the OP is now back in Chicago (which could also be argued to be non-third worldish, but good luck on that one), medical help is everywhere...just a matter of finding a Chicago expert on the subject (vs simple gunshot wounds). The cure in Chicago will not be cheap, especially at this later stage of ulceration.

What's the Jungle Medicine fix- If you're really in the wilderness? I would revert back to any available source of XXXXXXX that I could scrounge from either OTC meds or scrips that I had at hand. If it's already in cream or liquid, that's easy, but if it's in a spansule, break it open and sprinkle or add a bit of clean water and make a poultice. (You figure out what XXX represents, I just don't like giving that kind of info as some sort of Internet gospel)

So, yes, do something at the moment. But ask the obvious experts who are there locally. Better that than 7+ days later and going on-line.