First time poster here.
Spent a couple of days at Montego Bay, Jamaica this past week. Made three drives on a reef near the airport.
The dive boat utilized an underwater mooring that was marked by a floating buoy. The divemaster told the group to jump in and then assemble near the bow of the boat and wait until all the divers had entered the water. We were to use the mooring rope to hold onto while we waited.
The underwater portion of the rope was coated in seaweed and barnacles and other aquatic growth. Without hesitation, I grabbed on and held tight until we got the signal to descend.
After the dive, we climbed back aboard the boat and that's when I noticed it: an intense stinging on the palms of my hands and on the areas of my fingers where I had gripped the mooring rope. It felt like sharp barbs going into my skin.
A day later, my palms and fingers turned red and became extremely sensitive. There was reddness, swelling and extreme sensitivity.
Three days on, the sensitivity and redness is still just as strong. It's very hard to pick up objects without a degree of discomfort, and the sensitivity makes it hard to do simple things like grasp a cup of coffee.
Does any of this sound familiar to any of you? Does anyone know what I could have touched to cause this? Any idea about what sort of aquatic plant or creature could cause these symptoms?
Thanks for any advice or information you can share!
Spent a couple of days at Montego Bay, Jamaica this past week. Made three drives on a reef near the airport.
The dive boat utilized an underwater mooring that was marked by a floating buoy. The divemaster told the group to jump in and then assemble near the bow of the boat and wait until all the divers had entered the water. We were to use the mooring rope to hold onto while we waited.
The underwater portion of the rope was coated in seaweed and barnacles and other aquatic growth. Without hesitation, I grabbed on and held tight until we got the signal to descend.
After the dive, we climbed back aboard the boat and that's when I noticed it: an intense stinging on the palms of my hands and on the areas of my fingers where I had gripped the mooring rope. It felt like sharp barbs going into my skin.
A day later, my palms and fingers turned red and became extremely sensitive. There was reddness, swelling and extreme sensitivity.
Three days on, the sensitivity and redness is still just as strong. It's very hard to pick up objects without a degree of discomfort, and the sensitivity makes it hard to do simple things like grasp a cup of coffee.
Does any of this sound familiar to any of you? Does anyone know what I could have touched to cause this? Any idea about what sort of aquatic plant or creature could cause these symptoms?
Thanks for any advice or information you can share!