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Puerto_Rico_Surfer
- Posts: 673
- Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 3:45 pm
- Location: Puerto Rico
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driftfast180
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 6:23 am
- Location: kaimuki
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Bud
- Supreme Overlord
- Posts: 5802
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 4:52 am
- Location: Oahu
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magoo
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sun May 07, 2006 12:26 am
- Location: Australia- Gold Coast
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driftfast180
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 6:23 am
- Location: kaimuki
whoa
dang bud, thats crazy. I had only seen about 2-3 of those lookin through the archive. You get stitches for any of those besides the head. Also if you could give me some advice for takin care of the reef rash that would be cool. Ive only surfed a couple reefs in my day but I was able to come out alright. Whats some things I should have in a medical kit to take care of stuff like that. Thanks
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HMARK
- Posts: 2322
- Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 11:30 am
- Location: Between Heaven & Earth
- Contact:
Small bottle of hydrogen peroxide, fresh water if no more showers to rinse off at.
Keep reef cuts clean. Dont surf bowls.
Stay away from sewage run off, rain run off.
Impale all longboarders.
Get a tetnus shot every 5 years or so, keep good medical records.
8 days after every full moon, beware da jellyfish.
Aloha
Keep reef cuts clean. Dont surf bowls.
Stay away from sewage run off, rain run off.
Impale all longboarders.
Get a tetnus shot every 5 years or so, keep good medical records.
8 days after every full moon, beware da jellyfish.
Aloha
~ God created surfboards so the truly gifted would not rule the world ~
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Puerto_Rico_Surfer
- Posts: 673
- Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 3:45 pm
- Location: Puerto Rico
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Dont forget vinegar. With that you can poor it over jellyfish stings, it neutralizes them and then scrap the stinging area with a credit card to remove them.
"Keep firing, make your attackers advance through a wall of bullets. You may get killed with your own gun, but they'll have to beat you to death with it, because it's going to be empty!"
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Rocky Rockbottom
- Posts: 682
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:48 pm
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Puerto_Rico_Surfer
- Posts: 673
- Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 3:45 pm
- Location: Puerto Rico
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The pissing theory is myth, go to any dermatologist or medical person that has to deal with jellyfish stings and they will tell you.
Nematocysts are inactivated by vinegar.
At best, urinating on a jellyfish sting will do nothing. Experiments indicate that in some jellyfish species, urine actually sets off the remaining stinging cells, making the sting even worse.
The urine cure and other folk remedies miss the mark, anyway. The point of rinsing the wounded area is not to alleviate the pain. The venom’s already in you. Urinating on it will not help any more than it does to urinate on your thumb after you hit it with a hammer.
The point of the rinse is to get rid of any remaining tentacles or other jellyfish tissue that might still harbor stinging cells, or nematocysts, which could still fire and make the sting worse. (These cells, which are all over jellyfish, contain a tiny poison dart that shoots out at a touch or because of a chemical reaction; thousands of them typically fire simultaneously.) For the aforementioned reason, urine is a terrible candidate for the job.
Susan Scott, “Oceanwatch” columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, has investigated jellyfish stings in the field (as well as in the lab) probably as much as anyone, having spent years visiting injured tourists and the like on Hawaii’s beaches. A registered nurse, she and husband Dr. Craig Thomas authored “All Stings Considered: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Hawai’i’s Marine Injuries.”
In her column in 2001, Scott summed up years of study on a variety of sting “cures”: “Nothing worked.” In an e-mail to me, she summed it up another way: “Anything works.”
This paradox goes to the heart of the urine myth. “Nothing worked” means that none of the main folk remedies—including urine, meat tenderizer and commercial sprays—did anything to stop the pain of a sting.
On the other hand, “Anything works,” because the vast majority of jellyfish stings are not severe and their effects disappear within a few hours at most, no matter whether you urinate on yourself or simply do nothing.
“Anything works for another reason”—mind over matter. “The placebo effect is a powerful treatment,” Scott said, referring to the common psychological phenomenon in which people who receive a useless treatment feel better simply because they think they have been medicated. In this case, believing you have been given an analgesic may well reduce your subjective experience of pain. (In addition, different people can have widely varying pain thresholds.)
Folk remedies for jellyfish stings can be quite exotic; Scott mentioned mustard, and minor studies have been done on Coca-Cola. But the urine cure is exceptionally widespread, found on beaches from Vietnam to Belize. It is also applied (equally uselessly) to other marine wounds, like coral cuts and sea urchin spike punctures. How did the idea get started?
Urine is an ancient folk medicine for a boggling variety of ills, and its main nitrous component, urea, does have some real medicinal properties (though not for jellyfish stings). Among many other things, it’s also a folk remedy for bee stings.
Scott had a simple conjecture for its application to jellyfish: “We think this is because it’s usually the only substance readily handy during jellyfish stings.”
The “anything/nothing works” warning aside, there are definitely things you should do to treat a jellyfish sting, and there are things you can do to prevent it from becoming worse. (The following information focuses on box jellies and Portuguese man-of-wars, which are the most dangerous jellyfish on bathing beaches; check with lifeguards at your beach for guidance on identifying local dangerous species.)
In all cases, immediately scrape off any remaining tentacles or other visible jellyfish tissue with a glove or some kind of tool—never with bare hands.
On box jellies, you can rinse the area with vinegar. Experiments have shown that vinegar chemically deactivates the nematocysts of box jellies, disabling any remaining cells from firing into your skin.
On Portuguese man-of-war stings, do not use vinegar; experiments show that in its species, vinegar sets off the nematocysts. Instead, just rinse the area with seawater. (Fresh water is probably OK, too, though some doctors worry it can also set off nematocysts by osmosis.)
Once the area is clear of any more nematocysts, you can attempt to deal with the pain. Gritting your teeth works. Scott said hot or cold packs, or hot baths, are the only treatments she’s seen work for anybody.
If the pain is severe and lasting, or there are any other symptoms such as sweating or faintness, go to an emergency room immediately. Some jellyfish are certainly capable of killing humans, and some people are highly allergic to minor stings.
If you touched the area with your hands before rinsing, make sure you wash up before touching yourself anywhere else, especially your eyes. An eyeful of nematocysts is unpleasant indeed.
Nematocysts are inactivated by vinegar.
At best, urinating on a jellyfish sting will do nothing. Experiments indicate that in some jellyfish species, urine actually sets off the remaining stinging cells, making the sting even worse.
The urine cure and other folk remedies miss the mark, anyway. The point of rinsing the wounded area is not to alleviate the pain. The venom’s already in you. Urinating on it will not help any more than it does to urinate on your thumb after you hit it with a hammer.
The point of the rinse is to get rid of any remaining tentacles or other jellyfish tissue that might still harbor stinging cells, or nematocysts, which could still fire and make the sting worse. (These cells, which are all over jellyfish, contain a tiny poison dart that shoots out at a touch or because of a chemical reaction; thousands of them typically fire simultaneously.) For the aforementioned reason, urine is a terrible candidate for the job.
Susan Scott, “Oceanwatch” columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, has investigated jellyfish stings in the field (as well as in the lab) probably as much as anyone, having spent years visiting injured tourists and the like on Hawaii’s beaches. A registered nurse, she and husband Dr. Craig Thomas authored “All Stings Considered: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Hawai’i’s Marine Injuries.”
In her column in 2001, Scott summed up years of study on a variety of sting “cures”: “Nothing worked.” In an e-mail to me, she summed it up another way: “Anything works.”
This paradox goes to the heart of the urine myth. “Nothing worked” means that none of the main folk remedies—including urine, meat tenderizer and commercial sprays—did anything to stop the pain of a sting.
On the other hand, “Anything works,” because the vast majority of jellyfish stings are not severe and their effects disappear within a few hours at most, no matter whether you urinate on yourself or simply do nothing.
“Anything works for another reason”—mind over matter. “The placebo effect is a powerful treatment,” Scott said, referring to the common psychological phenomenon in which people who receive a useless treatment feel better simply because they think they have been medicated. In this case, believing you have been given an analgesic may well reduce your subjective experience of pain. (In addition, different people can have widely varying pain thresholds.)
Folk remedies for jellyfish stings can be quite exotic; Scott mentioned mustard, and minor studies have been done on Coca-Cola. But the urine cure is exceptionally widespread, found on beaches from Vietnam to Belize. It is also applied (equally uselessly) to other marine wounds, like coral cuts and sea urchin spike punctures. How did the idea get started?
Urine is an ancient folk medicine for a boggling variety of ills, and its main nitrous component, urea, does have some real medicinal properties (though not for jellyfish stings). Among many other things, it’s also a folk remedy for bee stings.
Scott had a simple conjecture for its application to jellyfish: “We think this is because it’s usually the only substance readily handy during jellyfish stings.”
The “anything/nothing works” warning aside, there are definitely things you should do to treat a jellyfish sting, and there are things you can do to prevent it from becoming worse. (The following information focuses on box jellies and Portuguese man-of-wars, which are the most dangerous jellyfish on bathing beaches; check with lifeguards at your beach for guidance on identifying local dangerous species.)
In all cases, immediately scrape off any remaining tentacles or other visible jellyfish tissue with a glove or some kind of tool—never with bare hands.
On box jellies, you can rinse the area with vinegar. Experiments have shown that vinegar chemically deactivates the nematocysts of box jellies, disabling any remaining cells from firing into your skin.
On Portuguese man-of-war stings, do not use vinegar; experiments show that in its species, vinegar sets off the nematocysts. Instead, just rinse the area with seawater. (Fresh water is probably OK, too, though some doctors worry it can also set off nematocysts by osmosis.)
Once the area is clear of any more nematocysts, you can attempt to deal with the pain. Gritting your teeth works. Scott said hot or cold packs, or hot baths, are the only treatments she’s seen work for anybody.
If the pain is severe and lasting, or there are any other symptoms such as sweating or faintness, go to an emergency room immediately. Some jellyfish are certainly capable of killing humans, and some people are highly allergic to minor stings.
If you touched the area with your hands before rinsing, make sure you wash up before touching yourself anywhere else, especially your eyes. An eyeful of nematocysts is unpleasant indeed.
"Keep firing, make your attackers advance through a wall of bullets. You may get killed with your own gun, but they'll have to beat you to death with it, because it's going to be empty!"
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driftfast180
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 6:23 am
- Location: kaimuki
well put. I just learned somethin from that. I though fa sho urine would do the trick. I dont know if this is a florida thing, but any jelly ive been stung by (stung 1000 times total) never hurt, its more of an annoying pain. maybe i got use to it? The only jelly on the east coast where you would need to ease the pain is the manowar. Ive been stung by that once, two spots at once, and pray I will never feel that pain again. Hows da jellies over there?
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uncle
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:52 am
- Location: Kuliouou
I've been stung more times than I care to think about it. The box jelly sting has got to be one of the most painful way more painful than man-o-war. I had a jelly completely wrap around my stomach once, almost passed out. The last time I got stung, Queen's was about 3ft+ and glassy. It was a dawn patrol and I got stung on the paddle out. Tried to stay out for a while, but got stung again and had to come in. Everyone saw the jellies, but the waves were good, so they went out, BUT everyone got stung! by 7:30am, it was empty peeling waves.
I make it a point not to go out in certain areas on the 10th day after a full moon. I've noticed 8th or 9th day is not too bad, but the 10th is the worst. By the 11th, they're gone.
PRS, I heard another tale that the more you get stung by the jellies, the more poison remains in your system and you get a worse reaction each time. Don't know if it's true, but I almost checked in at emergency last time I got stung.
I make it a point not to go out in certain areas on the 10th day after a full moon. I've noticed 8th or 9th day is not too bad, but the 10th is the worst. By the 11th, they're gone.
PRS, I heard another tale that the more you get stung by the jellies, the more poison remains in your system and you get a worse reaction each time. Don't know if it's true, but I almost checked in at emergency last time I got stung.
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laks
- Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:34 am
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driftfast180
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 6:23 am
- Location: kaimuki
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driftfast180
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 6:23 am
- Location: kaimuki
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