Advice on jelly fish stings has been issued by the Public Health Regulation Division.
In a statement it said symptoms following a bite from a jellyfish included an intense, stinging pain, itching, rash and raised welts. Other effects were rare.
When stung by a jelly fish, oneshould:
* Soak or rinse the area in sea water. Fresh water should not be used as this would lead more toxins to be released;
* Remove tentacles with a stick, card or a pair of tweezers, being careful not to touch them with other areas of the skin to avoid secondary stinging;
* Apply alcohol to the area;
* Not rub the area;
* Not apply ice or hot water;
* Seek immediate medical treatment in case of difficulty in breathing or swallowing, chest pain or intense pain at the site of the sting.
One should avoid exposure to jelly fish by:
* Not going to known jellyfish-infested areas or where large numbers of jellyfish were reported;
* Not picking up dead jellyfish. These could still have live nematocysts that could release toxins (even if dried up);
* Wearing protective clothing when swimming in jellyfish-infested areas.
The division referred to unconfirmed reports of sighting of Portuguese Man O' War in the Mediterranean Sea.
This, it said, was not a jelly fish but a colony of marine invertebrates, the stings of which usually caused severe pain leaving whip-like, red welts on the skin.
Occasionally, a sting was accompanied by fever, shock, and interference with heart and lung action. Rarely, svere stings were associated with death.
The division said one should seek medical advice if:
*the pain persisted or was intense;
* there was an extreme reaction, or the rash worsened;
*a feeling of overall illness developed;
* ared streak developed between swollen lymph nodes and the sting;
* the affected area became red, warm and tender, or
* breathing became difficult.
The best treatment was similar to that of a jelly fish. In such cases hot water followed by the application of an icepack was helpful. Vinegar should not be used, the division said.
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Comments
Moreover, the same articles states that rubbing alcohol is a well known method that does not work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/health/14real.html?_r=1
Australia deals with huge amounts of sharks / jellyfish / crocodiles / spiders / snakes and plenty of other deadly creatures. They know what they're doing. Although vinegar is known NOT to work on all jellyfish stings, it does cover the majority of them.
Malta, however, deals with mosquitos and the occasional jellyfish in summer. I would take advice from a country that has more experience.
Studies have shown that VINEGAR does not aid in any way, as acidic substances do nothing to kill the toxins. There is also no evidence that urine, an age old remedy to jellyfish stings, can help with its alkaline pH. I believe the Australian authorities should update their research material, since it seems to be dated back to 1928.
Karl Farrugia,
Malta
Well here in Australia VINEGAR is supplied on every beach in Far North Queensland,,
I suggest that they do some research on Jelly Fish..
Paul Pulis
Australia
http://firstaid.about.com/od/bitesstings/ht/06_jellyfish.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/b/2008/06/08/treating-jellyfish-stings-and-man-o-war-stings.htm
The article is correct. If you apply ice or hot water you're basically applying fresh water thereby releasing more toxins. So don't do it. An icepack on the otherhand does not allow water to come in contact with the skin meaning it can be used safely.
The authorities should make an effort to confirm if the sightings reported are authentic or just someone's sick idea of a joke. We really can do without the alarmism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/29/portuguese-man-of-war-mediterranean ... probably this is the source of it all
Results: 49 patients received hot water immersion and 47 received ice packs with similar baseline features, except patients treated with hot water had more severe initial pain. After 10 minutes, 53% of the hot water group reported less pain versus 32% treated with ice. After 20 minutes, 87% of the hot water group reported less pain versus 33% treated with ice. The trial was stopped after the halfway interim analysis because hot water immersion was shown to be effective. Hot water was more effective at 20 minutes in nematocyst-confirmed stings. Systemic effects were uncommon in both groups. Conclusions: Immersion in water at 45° C for 20 minutes is an effective and practical treatment for pain from bluebottle stings. Medical journal of Australia
Rinse with salt water, apply a product named Stingmate®..scrape the wound clear of tentacles..apply heat (113 degress water immersion or heat pack) the results are very effective.
Hopefully this clears up the ice/heat/vinegar confusion...protocol w/StingMate is being regularly used by beach rescue units along the East Coast and the Gulf States, U.S. Good luck..
from what i can understand tru: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Man_o%27_War
the best is alcahol or sea water
the so called jellyfish in the picture isnt a jellyfish but a Marine siphonophore so the application should be diferent!!
I have noticed yesterday that there are two typesof new "jellyfish" I was @ lapsi & in wied iz zurieq and there another kind of jelly fish which shares the same colours but more intense and it doesn't have the bag shape floating out of the water like the potuguese man o war . Its Familiar to the normal jelly fish we know
In the article there seems to be a contradiction about this!!!! Booooqqqqqq...
* Not apply ice or hot water;"
Later:
"The best treatment was similar to that of a jelly fish. In such cases hot water followed by the application of an icepack was helpful."
Do or don't?