Jellyfish Stings - What to do and not do!
With the open water swim season starting, I thought it might be timely to provide some basic first aid information on treating jellyfish stings. The following information came from https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/marine-stingers.
Australia’s waters are home to many interesting and fascinating creatures, including jellyfish, some of which can be the cause of painful stings! Although they are generally quite easy to avoid, they can cause discomfort if you are stung. The intensity and severity of a sting varies on a range of factors including type of stinger, location of the sting, and the health and fitness of the victim.
Non-tropical stingers can be found all around Australia but are more commonly found south of Bundaberg in Queensland and south of Geraldton in Western Australia. Jellyfish that are commonly encountered in Mandurah include: the Bluebottle (shown on the left above) and Cyanea (shown on the right above).
The Bluebottle (Physalia) is probably the most well known jellyfish around the Australian coastline. Their blue, balloon like sail sits above the water and is attached to a long tentacle extending below it. This tentacle is covered in stinging cells called nematocysts. When this touches the skin it reacts by injecting a small amount of a toxin which causes irritation and can be quite painful.
Another common jellyfish is the Hair Jelly (Cyanea), which has a more classic ‘bell’ shaped body with many tentacles protruding underneath. They can also cause a painful sting.
For bluebottle stings: • Wash off any remaining tentacles with seawater, or pick off with your fingers (they can’t usually sting through
the tough skin on your fingers!) • Immerse the patient’s sting in hot water (no hotter than can be easily tolerated) • If local pain is not relieved or immersion facilities are not available, the application of cold packs or wrapped ice
is also effective.
For other non-tropical minor jellyfish stings: • Wash off remaining tentacles with seawater, or pick off with fingers. • Apply cold pack or wrapped ice for at least 10 minutes or until pain is relieved. • Refer to medical aid for further treatment if condition deteriorates.
A quick note on some things that DON’T work for stings...
Lifeguards are often amused and entertained by the many strange and bizarre treatments people try to relieve the temporary pain of a non-tropical marine sting, such as; • Rubbing sand over the sting (it just gives you a rash around the sting) • Pouring soft drinks over the sting (just makes it sticky) • Pouring vinegar over the skin (is vitally important for TROPICAL marine stings, but not for non-tropical stings) • Urinating over the sting (it’s just gross, and doesn’t work anyway!)
See you at Doddi's!