What do you do for jelly fish stings?
Most jellyfish stings can be treated as follows:
- Carefully pluck visible tentacles with a fine tweezers.
- Soak the skin in hot water. Use water that’s 110 to 113 F (43 to 45 C). If a thermometer isn’t available, test the water on an uninjured person’s hand or elbow — it should feel hot, not scalding.
Are you supposed to pee on jellyfish stings?
A: No. Despite what you may have heard, the idea of peeing on a jellyfish sting to ease the pain is just a myth. Not only are there no studies to support this idea, but pee may even worsen the sting. Jellyfish tentacles have stinging cells called nematocysts that contain venom.
How do you tell if you’ve been stung by a jellyfish?
Common signs and symptoms of jellyfish stings include:
- Burning, prickling, stinging pain.
- Red, brown or purplish tracks on the skin — a “print” of the tentacles’ contact with your skin.
- Itching.
- Swelling.
- Throbbing pain that radiates up a leg or an arm.
How do you avoid getting stung by a jellyfish?
The following tips can help you avoid jellyfish stings:
- Wear a protective suit. When swimming or diving in areas where jellyfish stings are possible, wear a wet suit or other protective clothing.
- Get information about conditions.
- Avoid water during jellyfish season.
How does vinegar work on jellyfish stings?
Vinegar inactivates the jelly’s nematocysts so they can’t fire, which means when you go to remove the tentacles you won’t end up with more venom than before. Of course, once you treat with vinegar you still have to remove the stingers with tweezers.
What kind of vinegar do you put on jellyfish stings?
A study published in The Medical Journal of Australia showed that removing any tentacles left by a jellyfish, then dousing an injured body part with commercial vinegar or its crucial ingredient, acetic acid, could alleviate pain and “rapidly and completely” prevent the release of more venom.
Does beer help jellyfish stings?
Alcohol of any kind will also make the nematocysts fire more, according to research, so don’t go pouring your beach beer on a throbbing jellyfish sting. Seawater is more innocuous, but trying to rinse away the tentacles just means there’s more opportunity for the stingers to latch on to other parts of the body.
