Bright, red, hot patch of skin?

[JGBrown]

After a dive today I have one patch on my arm that is very bright red, and feels really warm to the touch, it is on the topside of my arm from the elbow to the wrist, I'm curious because I've never seen that before, and it is only one area, its not sunburn(no sun to get burnt by) and its lasted for 4 hours now.

 

[Zippsy]

I sure hope you have called DAN by now. Just in case.....

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/

After they give you advice you can join them to repay the favor.

 

[Wildcard]

This is hardly worth calling DAN about. I get so tired of people that have nothing to offer but "call DAN".

It sounds like you contacted something. A little more about where this happened will help. My first though is a coral burn.

 

[TSandM]

To get some more information to try to help you, we'd have to know where you were diving, what kind of exposure protection you were using, and what your profile was. (It's unlikely this was a coral burn if the OP was diving at home . . . )

 

[crpntr133]

Cold water coral burn, yah that's it. DOH!!

Do a asearch for skin bends and see if it looks anything like that. Better safe than sorry. Just my $.02.

 

[Teamcasa]

After a dive today I have one patch on my arm that is very bright red, and feels really warm to the touch, it is on the topside of my arm from the elbow to the wrist, I'm curious because I've never seen that before, and it is only one area, its not sunburn(no sun to get burnt by) and its lasted for 4 hours now.

I'm no Doctor. However, I had a patch of skin on my shin that was also red and felt hot to the touch. Went to the Dr. and he gave me regiment of antibiotics. He said it was a localized infection. Go see the real Dr., not the just the Cyber Dr.

Dave

 

[Web Monkey]

This is hardly worth calling DAN about. I get so tired of people that have nothing to offer but "call DAN".

It sounds like you contacted something. A little more about where this happened will help. My first though is a coral burn.

People are told to "Call DAN" because nobody here is qualified to give a diagnosis over the internet.

"I've got this splotch on my arm"

Chemical Burn? Infection? Allergy? Jungle Rot? Suburn? Scrape?

Let DAN handle it. They're better at it, have more contacts in more places and (I imagine) are insured for doing what they do.

Terry

 

[Wildcard]

Then why even have this section of the forum? It's here so people can ask questions of divers with a medical background. If it's a serious condition, seek help and then call DAN, of course. if not, this is a good place to get advice from divers that do medicine. No one here would make a solid Dx online but can offer advice and suggestions as to what to do.

 

[jonesbf]

Keep an eye on it. Who says it's even related to diving. I've had cellulitis (google it) before and this sounds similar. This starts out as a localized infection but can become systemic pretty quickly. There does not have to be any sign of abbrassion or puncture. If it hasn't gotten any better or is the same at this point you should see a Dr. SOON. Even small infections can cause some major problems (even death) if not attended to. Hope you get better soon. Keep us updated.

 

[TSandM]

This forum is to discuss medical issues related to diving. Specific cases can be used as springboards for general discussion and the provision of links with more information.

NOBODY can diagnose and treat injury or illness over the internet. Sometimes we can tell somebody that something most likely doesn't need medical attention (although there's considerable risk in doing that) or that something clearly DOES, and you hope the urgent cases aren't getting posted here.