I was swimming of the northwestern coast of Honshu and put the back of my hand against a rock with some fuzzy plants on it. There was an immediate low-level pain sensation, as if I’d touched a cactus with fuzzy spines. The initial pain wore off quickly, leading to an irritating slight burning sensation, but I hardly noticed it. When I woke up the next morning the area was red, and itched like Scrooge’s author (rimshot). 2 days later (now), the general redness has subsided into individual reddish bumps, and they still itch.
Obviously it’s healing, and it’s not a big deal, but now I’m curious. What got me? The plants? Some small animal(s) I didn’t notice?
Sounds like *ichidamei sea urchin sting symptoms: minor irritation and pain followed
by somewhat slow apparent healing. The ichidamei *species is a recent mutant form
arising, it is thought, from illegal dumping of radioactive waste.
You had better get to a hospital right away because the next phase of ichidamei
envenomation consits of almost always fatal convulsions.
Fortunately, timely treatment is not only 100% effective, it is can also be quite
pleasant, if you like *sake, *about a pint a day of which in five days makes you
as good as new! There is also much evidence suggesting that horomones secreted
due to erotic arousal and release can help tip the scales in close-call situations such
as yours. Consequently most hospitals have a special nurses’ detail to provide for
this kind of treatment.
Hm, they look like the hydroid from Otara’s post. It was definitely a fern-looking thing. Pretty sure they weren’t anemones, colonial. Some of those are cool, BTW-- you can brush by them and they kind of weakly latch on. It’s a neat feeling.
Colophon, unless the urchins were really small, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t them. Just to be sure though, I’m drinking twice the recommended dosage of beer every day until the spots go away!
I was snorkeling in the Red Sea and brushed my arm across some coral. My skin instantly erupted into itchy red bumps, which later became itchy festering sores and took months to finally heal and disappear completely. That was maybe 10 years ago and I still have two tiny scars on my forearm.
Too long ago for me to recall details…I did go to a doctor when I got back to the states and was prescribed some sort of anti-inflammatory cream. Several people at the resort told me that it wasn’t that uncommon to get nasty sores from touching or handling certain corals.
Yeah, just googled hydroid sting, and my hand looks a lot like the images I’m finding. It’s not so bad now on day 3 (although it still looks pretty red), but it’s pretty amazing how damn itchy a couple dozen stings can be for 2 days straight.
