Fire Coral/hydroids sting (help!)

[smellzlikefish]

Vinegar is great for neutralizing any remaining nematocysts, but it isn't going to do anything for the venom that is already in your blood. For that, you really need to apply heat. It is pretty late in the game, so the remaining itch is your body's reaction, but you could try immersing it in hot water to see if that relieves anything. Like really hot, like just BARELY not burning your skin hot and soak it for as long as you can, up to 45 minutes.

 

[dberry]

On two separate occasions I've had a delayed reaction to fire coral that was like the worst poison ivy rash I'd ever seen. Two weeks later my wife was concerned I was going to scratch my flesh down to the bone, so she made me go to the urgent care center on a Sunday. A shot of methylpregnisone + benadryl and the itching stopped and it cleared up slowly over a few more days. The second time (a year later) I didn't need to be told to see a doctor - I just went for the shots as soon as it erupted. I've been careful to make sure there wouldn't be a third time.

The scary thing for me was it took >5-7 days for a very minor rash to break out as big welts that itched like crazy. One fellow claimed this was due to infection by cyanobacteria found in similar reef locations, but I'm not sure where he got that info from.

 

[dberry]

+1 for applying heat. Put a damp washcloth in a microwave for 30 seconds, apply to affected area until you can't stand it any longer (but just short of actually burning your skin.) I had a very small patch on my arm last week, and the heat treatment (1) stopped the itching for 1-2 hours at a time, and (2) that small patch did not break out into welts a week later like my previous exposures.

 

[ColoDale]

After the intitial sting, I have used topical cortisone and antihistimine. For the ones that continue to itch, I have used oral antihistimine. I use these at night or evening since they put me to sleep. In my own experience, heat (days after the initial sting) make it itch more and raises it up more, YMMV. I have not had to do more than that but I seem to react less than some I know.

 

[Michelle Brainard]

I had hydrocortisone 2.5 transferred from the States. I'll apply tonight to see if it will help.

 

[cougar]

A couple of days ago in St John I was trying to make some adjustments and drifted into a mooring line with my leg. I have a pretty decent red welt-like rash and a scratch where they stung me. I wasn't able to follow any of the protocol with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide and now I am not sure what to do about the rash. How do I know if there are untriggered barbs in it and what can I do to help with the inching and inflammation? I have tried bactroban and hydrocortisone. Where do I go from here? Thanks so much.

I did the same thing years ago. None of the standard things worked. I came back to the mountains of New Mexico with an itchy welt that was driving me bats. DAN said to debride it. I went to my doc who said, "It goes against my grain to debride intact tissue. Let me call a friend of mine." She called another doc down in Albuquerque. They both recommended wax hair remover. No chemical stuff...just the straight wax women sometimes use to get hair off their legs. It was magic! Stopped itching within hours and almost totally gone, no swelling, redness or itch by the next day! This is now part of my kit!

 

[dberry]

I did the same thing years ago. None of the standard things worked. I came back to the mountains of New Mexico with an itchy welt that was driving me bats. DAN said to debride it. I went to my doc who said, "It goes against my grain to debride intact tissue. Let me call a friend of mine." She called another doc down in Albuquerque. They both recommended wax hair remover. No chemical stuff...just the straight wax women sometimes use to get hair off their legs. It was magic! Stopped itching within hours and almost totally gone, no swelling, redness or itch by the next day! This is now part of my kit!

What a novel approach! I'll have to file that thought away if the need ever arises again.

 

[Cali_diver]

I did the same thing years ago. None of the standard things worked. I came back to the mountains of New Mexico with an itchy welt that was driving me bats. DAN said to debride it. I went to my doc who said, "It goes against my grain to debride intact tissue. Let me call a friend of mine." She called another doc down in Albuquerque. They both recommended wax hair remover. No chemical stuff...just the straight wax women sometimes use to get hair off their legs. It was magic! Stopped itching within hours and almost totally gone, no swelling, redness or itch by the next day! This is now part of my kit!

We used to do something similar with bad patches of poison oak... worked like a charm.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I'd be willing to bet the wax contributed the heat your irritation needed.