JELLYFISH: HOW TO TREAT STING

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Even if dangerous or even fatal jellyfish are rare, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, their sting is always painful: burning, sometimes vomiting and headache, allergic reaction or even anaphylactic shock.

What to treat a jellyfish sting?

The first thing to do is to rinse the area with some seawater and scrape gently to remove tentacles. The ideal would be to use some warm water or a saline solution.

If the contact occurred on your face, you have to spray a saline solution in your eyes and call a doctor immediately.

After washing the area, always in the attempt to remove all tentacles from the skin, you can use some sand for a gentle scrub or to cover the wound and then wash again.

After this, you can remove the eventual tentacles stuck in your skin with some tweezers.

When the wound is clean, we can treat it like a normal burn. There are some specific pharmaceutical products which can be very usefuls onboard or on the beach.

Lavander oil, too, seems to be very efficient against pain. Generally used against mosquito bites, it offers relief to jellyfish stings. After washing the wound, it’s sufficient to use few drops of essential lavander oil and repeat the operation 3-4 times during the first half an hour.

In case of allergic reactions or anaphylatctic shock (dizziness, weak or fast heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, vomiting) it’s necessary to call a doctor and give an antihistamine as soon as possible.

Beware of some grandma’s recipes. Urine, usually considered useful because it contains ammonia, can infect the wound, while vinegar can activate stinging cells instead of calming pain.

Fresh water, too, risks to increase the stinging effect. Don’t suck the area, don’t put lips on it and don’t cut the wound for any reason. Finally, don’t use alcohol.