Ouch! It’s the time of year when HK waters are visited by jellyfish of the genus Cyaena also known as the lion’s mane. Although I have written a previous post about the lion’s mane, I realised that I gave no advice on treating stings from this jelly. As last weekend both my kids got stung, I have learnt a thing or two from the experience!
Obviously much depends on where you get stung and how big an area of sting there is, but here is some basic advice on dealing with the stings:
– urinating on the sting is absolute nonsense (I knew that already). If anything the person urinating is only adding to the problem causing possible secondary infection! Lemon juice is also ineffective.
– vinegar is only effective for some species e.g. the deadly box jelly (Chironex fleckeri). Jellyfish have been around for over 500 million years making different jellyfish groups as genetically different from each other as humans are from squid (appearances are deceiving). What works for one jellyfish type, does not necessarily work for others.
– the best thing to do is to rinse the sting with warm – preferably sterile – saline solution. If that’s not available use warm seawater, just make sure there are no more stinging tentacles in the water your using! Whatever you do, DO NOT RINSE WITH FRESHWATER OR BOTTLED WATER! This could shock the remaining stinging cells causing them to fire more venom and make things worse!
– if rinsing with salt water is not feasible or ineffective at removing tentacles, use pliers, or even your finger pads (safe) or a credit card to remove the tentacles.
– young are more sensitive to stings and should be taken to a doctor or a hospital A&E department. Don’t take chances.
– if the sting is on the face especially mouth, nose or eyes, or if you ingested any stinging tentacles, go to the hospital A&E as soon as possible! This is dangerous: swelling of the sting can cause breathing problems or eye damage. A sting on the genitals (male or female) is also serious and needs medical attention. A genital sting can cause urinary track blockages from swelling, which is dangerous! So no skinny-dipping or letting kids play naked in the water – at least from March to September.
Try to avoid getting stung in the first place (duh!). Wear rash vests, wet suits or similar protection…your dermatologist will thank you, because you will be avoiding skin-cancer inducing sun burns. Be safe and have a good summer!