Skin Rash From Snorkeling?

by Brandy
(Charleston, SC)

Can you get a skin rash from snorkeling?

My husband and I recently went snorkeling in Bermuda and I came home with a rash that lasted nearly two weeks. I did get tangled up in some rocks trying to help my husband, who is a bit less experienced, with his equipment. I was so worried about him putting his hands on something he shouldn't that I wasn't minding the waves and caught a few good ones. At one point we were both thrown into a large rock on top of one another and had a few scratches and bruises from it. Nothing serious, but we cleaned them well and put some antibiotic ointment on it just in case.

Two days later we went out again, the water was less rough that day and we didn't snorkel around rocks above the surface. I'm fairly certain I didn't touch anything that day but I started itching head to toe by the time I got showered afterward. While I itched like I was covered in hives it took almost three more days to become visible. Once it was visible it was most concentrated on the insides and backs of my legs and arms.

It did not appear to be jellyfish larvae as it was literally everywhere and not concentrated mostly inside my swim suit. When the rash became visible it looked first like tiny pink spots with white around each spot then became tiny dark red spots.

My doctor had no idea what it was and chocked it up to laundry detergent or some other environmental irritant, but the timing was too close for me to believe that. A round of steroids later and the visible rash is gone but the itching reappears every couple of days. It has been nearly three weeks now. We did encounter a few tiny pieces of seaweed but nothing big and I don't think I ever touched any of it.

Any similar experiences? If so, did you figure out what it was?