Stung by coral

[billamp]

If you feel you need to wear gloves get a Doctors prescription that says you are required to were gloves when diving. Laminate and carry it in your logbook and you can wear them wherever you dive. Personally I prefer to wear them for just the reason you bring to our attention. Hope verything is ok.

 

[sjmueller61990]

hope everything starts to turn around soon for ya, i would definatly take billamp's advice with the doctor signing off on you needing gloves. im going to be doing the exact same thing because im one of those people who if its there ill get it, get stung by it etc...

 

[ameneon]

If you feel you need to wear gloves get a Doctors prescription that says you are required to were gloves when diving. Laminate and carry it in your logbook and you can wear them wherever you dive. Personally I prefer to wear them for just the reason you bring to our attention. Hope verything is ok.

Or the OP and you could just stop touching the corals... which is why there is a rule about gloves in the first place...

 

[Doc]

ameneon apmlified

If you feel you need to wear gloves get a Doctors prescription that says you are required to were gloves when diving. Laminate and carry it in your logbook and you can wear them wherever you dive. Personally I prefer to wear them for just the reason you bring to our attention. Hope verything is ok.

Interesting advice, but if you read the OP....

I had to hold on to a dead-looking hard coral (stony, massive) with bare hands for about a minute while other divers were chasing a shark.

But Bill was already way ahead with his own epiphany....

I will of course try very hard not to touch anything, and wear gloves where possible in the future.

Well, kind of.

 

[nehasinggh26]

I went to the doctor and he basically treated for my symptoms. He prescribed Steroids (oral prednisole for 6 days), and antibiotics (cephalexin for 7 days), along with Heat compress. The swelling is under control, and the burning sensation has reduced. The heat compress really helps, and it is bit counter-intuitive to apply heat when fingers are burning, but it does really help with itch and burn.
Gloves or no gloves, I will try my best not to touch anything. After sufferring this much, I think I have learnt my lesson. It is good to know about prescription-gloves though, and I hope divers are mature enough not to think of it as ticket to mischief. I wish the dangers of touching stuff are emphasized more in the Padi course, and this is coming after being stung I am a safe/responsible diver, not chasing and touching sharks, tugging at lobster, kicking fish nests, etc, which I saw 30% of other divers doing in the same dive. Quite primitive but true- Punishment can be a good teacher. Thanks for everyone's posts.