My husband has been snorkeling for more than a year now. He had snorkeled in the oceans of Southern Leyte and has snorkeled in some parts of Cebu South. Last week he decided to put a temporary stop to his snorkeling when he got stung by the most poisonous fish in the world— the stone fish— in his left hand. He was just diving down some corals when he suddenly saw something near his left hand and then it stung him. The pain was so excruciating that he barely managed to swim back to shore and drive his home. He tried applying first aid—soaking the infected part in hot water that he can tolerate but the pain was unbearable that he opted to soak his hand in an iced water to numb the pain. That was around lunch and his hand began to swell up to his biceps. Around 2pm, he decided it was time to see a doctor. The doctor had not treated a case like that before. However, he gave my husband two shots of pain killer and another shot of antihistamine and a pill to be taken for five days. Now four days later, his swollen hand is almost in its normal size.
