good solution needed

[Rooster1]

I was hoping to get some feedback on any good homemade solutions for Jelly fish stings and other hazards that might need pain relief from if you get hurt on a reef. Also anything good to buy at the drug store??

I have never been stung or hurt but would like to be prepared

 

[DiveTub]

Here in Australia we have heaps of Stingy things
Blue Bottles, Sea lice, Jelly Fish the works including Box Jelly Fish, these little suckers can kill you in less than 30 minutes.

The one we use on the beaches as Life Guards is very cold Aloe Vera, you can purchase it in a tube lovely green colour, followed by ice directly on the sting, this numbs the area and neutralises the sting.

Also a product called Stingoes, again it is a mild anaesthetic and nubs the affected area but not as well as Aloe and Ice

Some people can have severe allergic reactions the same, as Bee stings so if you do get stung make sure you tell someone and keep an eye on Airway and breathing. If the symptoms persist hospital is the way to go

 

[Stone]

A day at the beach

 

[chickdiver]

Plain, old, white distilled vinegar, available at any grocery store. works wonders for jellyfish.

 

[Ari]

Have someone pee on it. Works like vinegar and always available.

Ari

 

[BillP]

There's a product called Safe Sea that claims to prevent stings by jellyfish, "sea lice", coral, anemones, etc. I don't have any personal experience with it, but it might be worth a try if you're at risk. See:

http://www.nidaria.com/

HTH,

Bill

 

[PnL]

Ari once bubbled...
Have someone pee on it. Works like vinegar and always available.

Ari

Actually works more like ammonia. Either way, it does work!

BTW - this isn't an invitation for all of you to pee on me if you think I just got stung!

 

[Stone]

I've used ammonia for jelly stings many times; however, I may have been lucky that there were no tentacles still stuck to me. Apparently, "Fresh water, alcohol, ammonia, or bleach should never be applied to a jellyfish sting as these cause the nematocysts to discharge their venom," as stated in the "A Day at the Beach" article.

I stand by the pain relieving effects ammonia (as long as you are not draped in tentacles).

 

[DocVikingo]

This treatment is not supported by the literature or most dive medicine experts. It's an old wive's tale that sadly pops up in places that should know better.

It perhaps gained seeming credence because jellyfish envenomations that were urinated upon cleared up. However, fact is most jellyfish run ins clear up on their own. It has not been demonstrated that urine helps this process.

What has been shown, at least for certain jellies, is that if unfired nematocysts remain in the skin urine can cause them to release, making things worse.

Happy holidays.

DocVikingo

 

[tinman]

Box Jelly Fish...deadliest creature known to man, can kill in 3 minutes by stopping the heart - according to a delightful Discovery Channel special I watched last night that chronicled the globe trotting antics of a Crocodile Hunter wannabe. That said, it sounds like Sydney_diver has the straight goods on a lot of this from practical experience...

Of course, you will want DAN covering your back while down South...

Interesting thread, always on the hunt for more stuff to fill the "Save a Dive" and "Save the Day" kits.