Man O Wars today at Kamaole II

[adjuster-jd]

We were out playing on Kamaole II beach late this afternoon and had a tiny Man O War wash up in next to the sand castle my kid was building. While playing some more in the same, had another one wash up and wrap around my ankles stinging both. My daughter also got stung on the ankles. Some other folks got stung all over by these.

We encountered these while wind was blowing very strongly in from the ocean.


A mere inconvenience for me and my daughter but I feel bad for the other girl that got some larger stings.

Is this something common? I've never seen a Man O War before today.

 

[KrisB]

Occasionally the right (wrong?) weather conditions blow them towards Maui.

I haven't seen them before (thankfully), but I've heard it's not *really* uncommon.

Similar to the box jellies... they're not here always, but when the ocean conditions move a certain way, they find their way here.

 

[howard4113]

Box jellies usually show up 9-10 days after a full moon. That would have been July 15-17. I've heard of adult PMOW's at Molokini - but that's very rare. More info here:
808jellyfish is Hawaii's guide to the box jellyfish arrivals on the south shores of Oahu. Keep your family safe and know when to go to the beach!

Probably a good idea to mention sting treatment here. Primary first aid for any jellyfish sting should be to minimize the number of nematocysts discharging into the skin and to reduce the harmful effects of the venom. Remove the remaining tentacles with tweezers..

Jellyfish/coral stings are treated with a sea water rinse, vinegar rinse, meat tenderizer, baking soda, shaving... Stings should NOT be treated with fresh water as this causes the remaining nematocysts to fire. Any sign of an alergic reaction is cause to alert emergency services for professional treatment.


Here's an interesting article about using a new lidocaine product:Popular Jellyfish Sting Treatment Also Proven Effective on Stings From Portuguese... | Reuters

And a jellyfish sting kit:
WikiAnswers - What is Stop-Sting Jellyfish Sting Treatment Kit

Mark

 

[DiveWestOahu]

thanks howard,,, finally someone else who knows how to treat stings,,,, to everyone else, if someone offers to pee on you after jellyfish stings, they just wanna pee on you,,, that only works for "vana"

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

For those that have never seen a MOW;



To see the full res image click on the thumb, then click on the image again. Look in and below the reflection of my buddy.

 

[Shaka Doug]

That looks more like a Box Jelly Steve...not a Man o'War. The man o'war has a blueish/purplish float and is mostly found floating on the surface or washed up on shore. As noted, (all) jellies are pretty uncommon around here but sometimes the weather brings them in. When that happens, look out! Watch for them and keep your distance. Wetsuits provide good protection.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Your exactly right Doug, you passed my test! ROFLAM

 

[Shaka Doug]

Test? I didn't know this was a test but I guess I'm glad I passed it! I was really surprised someone else didn't beat me to it with a much more complete explanation...wow, shocker!

Now the next test is...what does ROFLAM stand for? I'll take a stab at it: (Rolling On Floor Laughing At Myself??)

Anyway, that's a cool shot Steve. Kind of "Artsy".

 

[adjuster-jd]

Thanks all for the info. Sad thing is that if I had my normal dive booties on my ankles would have been covered. Since I had just been snorkeling I grabbed only my footies which didnt cover my ankle. Oh well. The pain went away pretty quick so all is well.

 

[smellzlikefish]

We see them in Kaneohe Bay a lot. My girlfriend got a good sting a couple of years ago while snorkeling a patch reef there and we have been finding them while tow-boarding out past the sandbar. You just have to watch out for them when the weather conditions are right. Fortunately, they usually only leave a slight stinging spot.