A Brilliant Idea for Coral Scrapes

[cougar]

:doctor: I was hanging out watching a turtle in a cave located in a sort of tunnel area at Palancar reef in Cozumel when I got surprised by a current that knocked me sideways and headed me into a huge tower of live coral.

I was wearing a suit but no gloves. Didn't want to body slam the coral and commit coraliside...so I reached out with my left hand to deflect the impact.

The minute I got back from the dive I washed the hand in vinegar....over the next few days the area got a little red and ten days later I had a flaming pustular rash that itched and burned everytime I took a shower or came in contact with fresh water. (Remeber how badly chicken pox itched when you were a kid...multiply that 100 fold)

I checked this web site, I checked DAN..I called DAN. The best written advice was to debride down to blood because I obviously still had foreign material in my hand. When I called DAN they did give me the name of the only diving Doc in New Mexico...a fellow named Ole Peloso in Albuerque ...two and a half hours away. I talked to my local doc, who knows nothing whatsoever about coral, and gave her the article from the DAN site.

By this time I was two weeks past the initial contact and my hand looked like it was ready to rot off...except the skin was not broken ...just inflamed and full of bumps and swollen spots. My local Doc called the fellow in ABQ and said, "I really hate to debride intact skin and make an open wound." The TOTALLY BRILLIANT Dr. Peloso said, "Don't do that! Use wax ...for removing unwanted hair." I sent my husband off to teh local Wal-Mart with instructions to get something organic and not full of chemicals since I was already hot and itchy. He came back with a leg wax with honey in it and little linen strips. I spread the warm wax on my hand ...plastered down the linen strip...yanked it off according to directions...and immediately the itch lessed. 24 hours later it was obviously on the mend. 4 days later it is barely noticible and doesn't itch or burn. What a terrific idea for removing those pesky spines! Thought I'd pass this on as I didn't find this suggestion in my search on what to do.

 

[jbd]

about your mishap with the current and the coral. But thanks for the therapy suggestion. Might be a good idea to carry that stuff along as part of the first aid kit.

 

[Dee]

I bet that would work on Fire Coral too. I haven't been stung in a while but seems like every time I'd get close to the sand to take pictures, I'd find the only little piece of Fire Coral in the area....even after looking for it!

 

[MgicTwnger]

I had a similar experience in Coz last month. I had a seam rip in my dive skin, and did one dive without it. A close encounter with something gave me a bunch of welts on my calf, which I successfully (or so I thought) treated with vinegar.
Back home in corn-country Illinois ten days later, my ankle swole up badly. I went to a local urgent care facility, and explained my problem to the admitting clerk.
When the doctor came in, he looked at me like I was claiming to be Napoleon, and said: "Now let me get this straight. You were attacked by some kind of sea creature?"
Guess he dosn't see too much of that in the Midwest. A regimen of antibiotics fixed the problem.

 

[BillP]

Thanks for the tip, cougar. It's an interesting idea and seems well worth the try for removing superficial coral debris. I'm always amazed at the information available on this board.

Bill

 

[Natasha]

Lynn:
I always take "Neet" with me on trips. Now I can use it for more then one thing, if need be. Thanks for the tip, and sharing your story. Glad it turned out OK.