being bitten by parasites??

[nokaoidiver]

a question for any hawaiian divers: i dove last week and while hunting i lay on the reef to hide from the fish. i usually only wear a rash guard and shorts. the next day i woke up in the am with what appeared to be mosquito bites all over my stomach, chest, some on my arms and on my legs below my shorts. (knees) :( . i have a friend at work who said he had gotten the same thing. has anyone else diving in hawaii had a similiar experience?? and if so, what wear a wetsuit?? i dont like to wear them 'cause i get too hot. mahalo, any info. would be great, peace!!

[thecrab87]

Maybe man-o-war, but more likely to be stinging hydroids. They look like small feathery fronds on the reef. Pretty, but they do sting.

Could also be stinging plankton that got between your suit and you, but I'd bet on the hydroids.

I don't wear a suit for the thermal protection so much as for the environmental protection.

[PargoAmargo]

I used to get those from time to time diving in Cuba. Never found out what causes it. Wearing a wetsuit did not stop it, it felt like something got trapped between the wetsuit and the skin and was itching, after scratching it would turn into a rash. Annoying. Haven't gotten it in Florida yet to the point I forgot all about it.

[seateadiver]

noka oi, i definitely agree with crab on this one. the manowar typically don't just sting in little dots like you described. i actually have scars on my left side from the hydroids that crab described. i was diving a rig off of oahu and brushed up against some submerged synthetic line. i didn't notice it at first but before i got out of the water i started having an itching sensation. i figured i'd gotten into some type of creature growing on the rope and upon closer inspection of the rope found the "feathery fronds" crab described. they were tiny but they pack a punch. the itching didn't go away for several days and the mosquito bites themselves turned into faint scars. shouldn't be too big a deal but it sounds like you might have gotten it even worse than i did. best medicine is more diving! dive safe bro

[ObieWan2bWet]

Ocassionally in Florida and elsewhere we run into 'sea lice', essentially thimble larval jellyfish, can't say that's what it is in HI but what you describe sounds a lot like it and may also be a possibility. These teenie little guys can be in any part of the water column.

P.S. There is a product called "Safe Sea", http://www.buysafesea.com/ ,its a sunblock with something in it that is supposed to help prevent the stinging cells of jellyfish from firing. I find when sea lice are out in force, without it I tend to get hit occasionally, with it I don't seem to as much. I use it and it seems to work for me.

[nokaoidiver]

someone else sent me a pic of the sea lice bites and it looked exactly what i had. i had it pretty bad, but nothing like the pic above, whoa manny, that looks REALLY, REALLY BAD!! thanks for the info, aloha, sl