Ready to enjoy a day of the beach and tanning? While that sounds amazing, there are some hazards at the beach that could prevent your fun such as jellyfish. Galveston is notorious for having tons of jellyfish in the sea as well as ones washed up on the shore. Jellyfish, despite having no spine or brain, manage to kill eight times as many people than a shark per year. Despite their lack of having a brain or any bones, they have tentacles that will sting if the jellyfish feels that it is in danger. Today, we’re going to talk about the symptoms and best way to treat a jellyfish sting.
Symptoms of a Jellyfish Sting
To begin with, there are many symptoms you could possibly experience when stung by a jellyfish.
Symptoms include:
- an awful stinging pain
- itching
- rash
- raised welts
More progressive symptoms include:
- diarrhea
- stomach pain
- muscle spasms
*Severe reactions to a jellyfish sting include:
- difficulty breathing
- coma
- death
*While these reactions seem scary, they are extremely rare.
Treating a Jellyfish Sting
- Rinse the spot with salt water or hot water.
- Taking a hot shower may also be very beneficial as jellyfish stings are better treated with hot water rather than chilly water or ice packs.
- If you are in much pain, you can try taking Advil or other over-the-counter medicines that you can get your hands on.
Some people find that they are allergic to the sting. They experience symptoms such as hives. If this is the case, antihistamine cream will take the edge off. Some people find that vinegar is another way to treat a sting. However, this method has proven to make some stings worse, so it is your risk to take whether you use this method or not.
Here are some things you should AVOID doing when treating a sting.
- While human urine is believed to help with the pain of the sting, it hasn’t been scientifically proven. Also, human urine is extremely unsanitary as it is a discharge from the body.
- Rinsing the sting in cold water is also not a good idea. This may lead to more stingers being activated in your skin, which will cause you immense pain.
- A meat tenderizer is another popular way to treat a sting, but I would personally stay away from it because it causes major tissue damage.
In Conclusion
To conclude, a jellyfish sting can cause a lot of pain, so it is important to treat it as carefully and as accurately as you possibly can. I hope this article will help you in case the inevitable happens. But as long as you swim in low jellyfish populated areas, your trip to the beach will be packed with adventure and fun!