Tingling & Itchy Hands

[Santorini]

I am new to diving (certified 10/1/06). We just returned from a dive trip to Curacao where we did 13 dives in 5 days. The deepest I went was 71 feet (briefly). I did the required safety stop at each dive. I waited 38 hours before flying home. Once home I noticed a "pins and needles" feeling in both hands. That feeling has lessened but now both hands itch. Anybody got any ideas? If this is a skin hit, what happens on my next dive?
Thanks

 

[DandyDon]

Edit: Okay, DrDeco has posted this morning, good. I'm going to remove my comments.

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello Santorini:

Your problem is probably not related to decompression sickness because of the long dive-symptom interval and the fact that you do not state that it appeared, or became worse, on the flight home (low aircraft cabin pressure).

These problems might be related to some aspect of diving such as a pinched nerve from straps or hauling dive gear.

Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[Blue Moon]

I am new to diving (certified 10/1/06). We just returned from a dive trip to Curacao where we did 13 dives in 5 days. The deepest I went was 71 feet (briefly). I did the required safety stop at each dive. I waited 38 hours before flying home. Once home I noticed a "pins and needles" feeling in both hands. That feeling has lessened but now both hands itch. Anybody got any ideas? If this is a skin hit, what happens on my next dive?
Thanks

Regarding your hands now itching, did you by chance hang on to a mooring line with bare hands on your safety stops or for accents or descents? I've seen several divers get coral stings by doing this... As DandyDon suggests, it never hurts to call DAN for advice...

http://dan.org/medical/faq/index.asp


Blue Moon

 

[Santorini]

Yes, I did hang on to a buoy line during one of the dives. We were having our pictures taken. I was bare-handed also. Perhaps this is where the problem lie?
Thanks,
Santorini

 

[Blue Moon]

Yes, I did hang on to a buoy line during one of the dives. We were having our pictures taken. I was bare-handed also. Perhaps this is where the problem lie?
Thanks,
Santorini

Coral grows on the mooring lines so it is possible that you have very small lacerations on your hands. You should always where gloves anytime you touch anything underwater, especially a mooring rope.

This happened to my girlfriend when she did her OW dives in Cayman, her instructor told her to hang on the mooring line for our safety stop. Being the highly educated girl that she is, she was a great student and kept her bare hands on the mooring line even though I attempted removed her hands a couple of times while were at the safety stop... I was floating next to her at the time... While the current was gentle, the swaying caused enough friction to cause very minor lacerations on her hands...

She called DAN when we got home because she had similar symptoms that you describe. Fortunately it was just coral lacerations. Her doctor gave her a prescription of Cortisone and in about two weeks she was as good as new...

That said, no idea if you are having the same problem but you should mention it to DAN when you call as well as to your local doctor.... Hope you feel better soon! Also, welcome to SB!

Blue Moon

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

Sounds like some sort of sting, jellyfish, coral, sea lice, rather than neurological... in my experience, coral stings leave visible marks, like a poison ivy rash... also, I don't think steroid creams do much for these stings after the fact. If you come in contact with coral or jellyfish, best to douse the area with vinegar as soon as you leave the water. Most dive boats have it, but I still carry my own. It works.

 

[DandyDon]

Regarding your hands now itching, did you by chance hang on to a mooring line with bare hands on your safety stops or for accents or descents? I've seen several divers get coral stings by doing this... As DandyDon suggests, it never hurts to call DAN for advice...

I posted the common Call DAN suggestion late last night as I didn't know how soon a medical professional would post here. I didn't think it was likely to be DCS, as that would be more likely to show up on the flight - but I am not qualified to advise that. Good to see DrDeco post here this morning, which is why I emptied my prior post.

Coral grows on the mooring lines so it is possible that you have very small lacerations on your hands. You should always where gloves anytime you touch anything underwater, especially a mooring rope.

This happened to my girlfriend when she did her OW dives in Cayman, her instructor told her to hang on the mooring line for our safety stop. Being the highly educated girl that she is, she was a great student and kept her bare hands on the mooring line even though I attempted removed her hands a couple of times while were at the safety stop... I was floating next to her at the time... While the current was gentle, the swaying caused enough friction to cause very minor lacerations on her hands...

She called DAN when we got home because she had similar symptoms that you describe. Fortunately it was just coral lacerations. Her doctor gave her a prescription of Cortisone and in about two weeks she was as good as new...

That said, no idea if you are having the same problem but you should mention it to DAN when you call as well as to your local doctor.... Hope you feel better soon! Also, welcome to SB!

Yeah, fire coral will grow on the lines, along with barnacles, etc. Lots of things to burn and/or cut hands and lead to local irritation. It does sound pretty typical now that you mention it. I didn't really think that far late last night, and - I do not grab mooring lines barehanded anymore after some lessor but similar experiences. The Ops tell you to not wear gloves on reef dives, an old and well debated topic here, but I carry mine in my BC pocket and don them as I start ascending toward the line.

Vinegar on the boat is a good treatment, followed by cortisone cream and perhaps antihistamines. Santorini did not say how long s/he has been back or how severe the irritation was? If it's not too bad, call DAN Monday for further advise on how to treat. If it's not bearable, call now or over the weekend.

Santorini, you can update your profile with Dive info now if you'd like, as they got that fixed. Gives others more to go on when answering your questions. And even tho you joined last month, you are still welcome to post an Intro in that forum, if you'd like.

 

[Santorini]

Thank you all for your replies. I am certain my problem is due to grabbing the mooring line barehanded. It only makes sense. You can bet I won't do that again! Being new, I have a lot to learn.
DandyDon, I updated my profile and posted an intro!