Q: While diving about two months ago, I scraped my forearm against coral. Other than the initial cut and bleeding, I haven’t experienced any significant pain. It wasn’t fire coral, so I’ve had no burning or itching, and the swelling lasted only about ten days. It still gets red once in a while, and I have some discolouration of my skin in that area. Is there anything I can do to speed the healing or to help return my skin to its normal colour?
A: Whenever you brush against coral, its outermost layer of fine sand-like grains will invade skin tissue where the surface has been broken. Unless you vigorously cleanse the area with soap and water to remove these tiny particles, they become embedded beneath the top layer of your skin.
Because the sand-like granules are foreign bodies, it is possible that your body may work them out of your skin as small surface eruptions, possibly causing infection, redness and a rash. Your body’s defences will encapsulate the material, and eventually the discolouration should fade.
So, in answer to your question, there’s probably nothing you can do to expedite healing; it is simply a matter of time.
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This article was originally published in Scuba Diver UK #79
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