It might just be a Staph infection.

I had a couple surfer friends who lived in Hawaii and they were pretty paranoid about infections because in the tropics soars just don't dry up and heal easily. They cleaned their cuts often, using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, and tried to keep them dry.

They also used polysporin, which is the dry version of neosporin, and things like liquid bandage, which disinfects and covers cuts well.

They also swore by Noni, which is a Hawaiian fruit know for it's healing. They would put Noni oil on cuts and drink the stuff (it tastes awful) if they thought they were getting an infection.

About Staph and marine cuts:
http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/alsting3.html

http://www.highway60.com/mark/brs/linda_bite.htm
do they have brown recluses in rarotonga? tourniquet! and if that does not work amputate!

otherwise yeah, mini-unicorn bite :D hope the sore heals, good luck :D

Kickstart (/m38), no boingboing is no longer a directory, it
is merely 'fair and balanced'. As in 'fair skined' and 'color
balanced' rashes.

Having dealt with my fair share of fungal blight while living Bermuda, I can tell you that ain't ringworm. Ringworm doesn't create a open sore like that. It's just an itchy rash that sometimes is ring-like, but not always.

Keep it clean and dry, and keep an eye on it. If the sore keeps growing, seek medical attention before you lose a limb.

Ha ha. I hope.

I've always had nasty reactions to spider and mosquito bites. The only time one of them got that bright red halo was from one I had on the inside of my wrist. Because of its location, I frequently abraded it, and it became very irritated. It looked pretty much like your image here, right up to the point where a red streak (maybe 1/4" wide) appeared between the bite and traversed up the inside of my arm.

The doctor said it had turned to blood-poisoning with the onset of that symptom. If you get a streak, hie thee to a medic. You don't want to get on the downhill side of blood-poisoning.

The brand of antiseptic that we used to scrub those sores thoroughly with a toothbrush was called Dettol. Come to think of it, we never used it diluted for mouthwash, but only topically for coral cuts and those ulcers. I checked the ingredients and it appears to be a stronger version of what we have on the shelf here in the US as Bactine.

Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties, so wouldn't hurt to give it a try. You're likely to have it in good supply there...

Edited by author 08-18-2003 11:54 PM
It's not ringworm.

in guam we got those - never knew if it was a bug bite or what - but being sweaty, maybe not too clean, in the ocean (everyday/all day), they just never healed well -

what we did: scrubbed them with bristle brush first - bleeds, but cleans it out (we were camping...maybe you're in better conditions) - dressed them with HP and kept them dry - in a couple of days all was well...

but the little "sore" part remained for months - not to worry though - wounds just don't heal that well in the tropics.

also: you can no doubt find some sort of ointment - usually some terrible medicinal goo that looks like zinc peroxide can be obtained from a clinic - rub it on the CLEAN wounds it can help more than the anti-biotic cream because it makes an "air-tight" bandaid goo thing...

good luck and don't fret.

I lived in Mexico a few years, and had really terrific international insurance - the company specialized in third world. It was cheap, and wonderful, they paid total claims on everything, even some holistic medicine claims I didn't expect.

I contracted it individually, but I think I heard of the company from working with School for International Training. I can't find the company name in my files, and I'm really not sure on this - but you might e-mail info@sit.edu. The webite is http://www.sit.edu/.

I'm sure you guys are insured, but this company had a 1-800 number to America - to find an English-speaking local doctor if that was the need, or to ask an American health person a question.

I had a few usual health probs and always visited my own Mexican doctors, but the service would help us with translating prescription names and stuff. That worked for me; I could go to doctors I knew and trusted from local connections. Otherwise I would have traveled and paid more before reimbursement for going to unknown American or Canadian clinics and such.

I also had a panicky moment - involving a nasty rash and swelling from US tattoo ink in the middle of the night after my homeland vacation. I got to 1-800 a nice nurse from the USA who said it was prolly just allergic reaction, and to call my doc in the morning. It all worked out fine. That was priceless.

I'm not a doctor, but it doesn't look like anything I've had before. You should be aware, if you're not already, that some insect species in your part of the world lay their eggs under the skin of mammals, causing a nasty sore until they hatch out.

Keep it clean and have it looked at at earliest opportunity. I'm betting your nearest clinic is well acquainted with your affliction, whatever it is, and a full-blown dermotologist is unneccessary.

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I scrubbed it with tea tree oil and a toothbrush. The scab in the center came off. All that's left is a smoothish red oval. Went to the pharmacist and she swears its ringworm. Gave me a tube of Clotrimazole Anti-fungal Cream. I'm also taking Cephalexin antibiotics, just to be safe. I hope it goes away. I think I have another sore near my armpit.

Edited by author 08-19-2003 08:17 AM
<img src="http://www.dermnetnz.org/img/tinea/tcblis.jpg">

Ringworm does have many manifestations, including this one, above. I'd think we should let the medical personnel over there have their chance before we diagnose via Internet.

BTW: taking antibiotics while you have certain fungal infections can make the fungal infection worse...ask any woman who has had a yeast infection

And hey, Wiley!

this looks just like something I had last month. it was a staph infected insect bite. the nurse said there had many here recently and the staph was highly antibiotic resistant. Very important to treat with the correct antibiotic. have a culture made if possible to determine the correct meds. if this is a resistant bug, treatment can be difficult if not caught in time.

Hey Mr. Rushkoff, how you is.
write me at weevil@wileywiggins.com