Fire Coral drama continues

So as I mentioned before I got a pretty hefty dose of fire coral hanging onto that rope for 6 minutes waiting for doug to descend. My hands stung pretty bad when I got back on board and the vinegar the dive master poured on them didn't seem to help much, but in a day or 2 they were back to normal... or so I thought.

Saturday I woke up and my left hand was itching really bad. I couldn't figure out why. I thought I may have been bitten by a spider, but that wouldn't explain why my whole hand hurt. As the day progressed the itching preceeded to get worse. Sunday morning my left AND right hand were covered in small blister like bumps and the itching was worse that ever. I decided to look online and see if I could figure out what was wrong. I had an inkling it may have been from the Fire Coral, but doug thought it had been too long. Come to find out, after you're exposed to Fire Coral, the inital pain will subside but the poison will still be in your system and depending on length of exposure can reappear in a few days in a raised rash. Well there it was! Sunday I was knocked out all day on Benedryl tablets and smeared my hands in benedryl cream, but it only felt like it was lit on fire. Yesterday, I could hardly bend my fingers they were so swollen and in pain. So I went to the doctor yesterday and he prescribed me some Cortizone pills to take to kill the infection. Today I woke up at 4am to get up and rub them on the carpet. Sounds crazy but it helps the itch so much. The swelling is starting to go down, but ow ow ow!! It feels like a second degree burn as far as pain goes. ugh.

My advice- if you ever are crazy enough to go scuba diving in the Keys or any other tropical place, wear some gloves. Fire Coral burns are no fun!!