Fire Coral Stings In Scuba Diving
Facts A Diver Should Know About Stinging Fire Coral And Treatment
Oct 11, 2008
Fire Corals resemble seaweed, so it is easy for divers to brush against them with painful consequences. The Corals' tiny tentacles penetrate bare skin and deliver venom resulting in stinging pain.
What Are Fire Corals?
Fire Corals are members of the Cnidaria phylum. Calling them “corals” is not strictly true. They are related to stinging anemones and jellyfish more than corals.
Fire Corals are found in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and are usually bright yellow-green or a brown colour.
Symptoms Of Fire Coral Sting
Fire Coral sting can be range from a mildly painful brush to aching pain. When bare skin comes in contact with Fire Coral, it usually takes 5 to 30 minutes before a diver will feel anything. The symptom can be a burning sensation, or a stinging pain.
A red rash usually follows, accompanied by itching. This itching needs to be managed as excessive scratching can open the skin for infection.
In isolated cases, swelling of the lymph nodes can occur, as well as possible nausea and vomiting. This could be as a result of other problems occurring simultaneously with the brush with the Fire Coral, such as an anxious diver, or seasickness leaving the diver in a weakened state prior to the sting.
Treatment Of Fire Coral Sting
Immediate treatment for a Fire Coral sting is to rinse with salt water. The experts at emedicinehealth.com recommend avoiding fresh water as it only increases the pain.
Vinegar, or acetic acid, should be liberally applied over the area of the sting. Isopropyl alcohol can also be used. Vinegar is more readily available, and is something most divers should have tucked away in their gear bag or spares kit.
Tentacles embedded in the skin should be removed with tweezers.
The diver should be kept as still as possible to prevent the venom spreading further in the body, though this can be difficult on a dive boat.
The diver should be monitored for signs of swelling of the tongue, throat or shortness of breath. These are symptoms of an allergic reaction and medical advice should be sought as soon as possible.
For ongoing pain management, emedicinehealth.com recommends “1-2 tablets of acetaminophen (Tylenol) every 4 hours and/or 1-2 tablets of ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) every 6-8 hours.”
Preventing Fire Coral Stings
The presence of Fire Corals on a reef shouldn’t prevent a diver exploring the underwater world. There are two simple ways to prevent a sting from Fire Coral:
- Cover up as much bare skin as possible. This is usually done with a wetsuit, but because Fire Corals occur on tropical reefs where there is usually warm water there is a tendency for divers to skip the wetsuit, or maybe just dive in a short suit. An all-over covering like a lycra suit can provide the freedom of movement while providing protection at the same time.
- The second way is to simply not touch anything. This sounds easy, but when underwater anything can happen. Accidental brushes against coral is common while exploring caves. Maybe a bump from another diver, or problems with swells at entry or exit.
One thing to remember is the time delay between the contact with the Fire Coral and the start of the stinging. This can lead a diver to mistake which coral was the actual culprit.
Stings from Fire Coral can be painful, but rarely life threatening. All divers in tropical waters should be prepared to dive with Fire Coral, and then be able to deal with an accidental brush with the coral during a dive.
