[Coral-List] Strange phone call about coral growing under the skin

[Ed Blume]

What can I tell the lady who called me to tell me that she was in Akumal, Mexico, ten years ago?  While walking along a hard coral beach from a resort to Akumal Bay, she got lots of scratches on her feet from the dry coral that formed the beach.  

Those scratches are now coming back.  

Local people at the time told her that coral can continue to"grow" under your skin.  Her scratches healed, and she thought nothing of it but now she is concerned. She has tried to find information and has had no luck. 

What can I say that's polite and helpful?  The coral isn't growing.  Maybe chips of the coral are working their way out of the tissue and up to the skin.  Even that seems a little far-fetched after 10 years, doesn't it?

Ed Blume
Madison, WI