Marine Life My first jellyfish sting

[PeterRabbit]

I went on my first scuba trip with my local dive shop to Cayman Brac Beach Resort and received my first jellyfish sting during the one and only night dive we did. Luckily this happened towards the end of the dive as I was ascending back to the boat about 10 feet below the surface. Water was about 80 degrees the whole week I was there so while I was wearing long sleeve protection on top, bottoms I only wore swim trunks the entire trip. I didn't even take time to look down and find the jellyfish that stung me. It was instant, searing pain, and all I knew was I wanted to get the hell out of the water as quickly as I could. It felt almost like someone was holding a lit cigarette lighter up to my skin and you couldn't get away from it. Luckily on the boat they had vinegar, and a splash of that instantly soothed the pain to make it more tolerable. The pain died down gradually over the coming hours, and I was fine the rest of the trip.

First picture is the night of the sting, second picture is one week post-sting. It's on the back of my leg opposite my knee. The thing that took me by surprise is after the pain died down the first night, I thought I was out of the woods and it would just sort of fade away over time. Well, what actually happened is about 6 days later, the INTENSE itching started! The itching is actually more irritating than the initial burn from the sting. I've been putting hydrocortisone cream, and topical lidocaine on it the last two days. Today the itching is finally subsiding and I expect it will just get better from here on out.

I will admit that if I had worn more protective clothing, it would have helped prevent the sting in that location, but I accept full blame and responsibility for this to potentially happen. Also as crazy as this might sound, I was actually very curious about what it would feel like to get stung by a jellyfish, and little did I know, I got my wish on this trip!!! It became something to laugh about later with my dive buddies.

Many other people got stung on this night dive as well. There was actually someone in my group wearing full top and bottom protection during this dive, but he got stung on the back of his hands. He could not have prevented that because the boat operator PROHIBITED the wearing of gloves of any kind on this trip because of local laws banning it. After we were all safely back on the boat showing each other our battle scars from the jellies, the boat captain said "OK raise your hand if anyone wants to do another night dive this week?!" No one raised their hand and we all laughed.

 

[scubajasonr]

Years ago I had a similar delayed reaction to a jelly fish sting.

I was diving in Thailand and was diving in an open part of a wreck wearing a shorty, I felt something brush my arms and legs but wasn't really in a position to do anything about it under water. I guess it was jelly fish tentacles. Back on the boat the jelly fish marks were obvious, but did fade down fairly quickly. A few days later we moved onto Bangkok, and at some point while we were there the stings flared up again - we made a quick trip to a pharmacy (who spoke no English) and I had to try and mime what a had stung me, from the response I got I think jelly fish stings are uncommon in Bangkok! I can't remember what I was given (probably hydrocortisone) but that did help. I think the flare up did reoccur a few times again before disappearing for good. After that trip I stuck to wearing a full suit for many years. I have gone back to wearing a shorty in warm water now.

 

[PeterRabbit]

Years ago I had a similar delayed reaction to a jelly fish sting.

I was diving in Thailand and was diving in an open part of a wreck wearing a shorty, I felt something brush my arms and legs but wasn't really in a position to do anything about it under water. I guess it was jelly fish tentacles. Back on the boat the jelly fish marks were obvious, but did fade down fairly quickly. A few days later we moved onto Bangkok, and at some point while we were there the stings flared up again - we made a quick trip to a pharmacy (who spoke no English) and I had to try and mime what a had stung me, from the response I got I think jelly fish stings are uncommon in Bangkok! I can't remember what I was given (probably hydrocortisone) but that did help. I think the flare up did reoccur a few times again before disappearing for good. After that trip I stuck to wearing a full suit for many years. I have gone back to wearing a shorty in warm water now.

Yeah I feel like many of the effects of the sting happened later. It's like the venom has mind of its own when it wants the scar to flare up or not, and whether it itches from one moment to the next.

One thing I was not aware of, that perhaps I should have been aware of, is back on the boat after the sting I was told that jellyfish are attracted to light. I was completely unaware of this at the time, and I had Bigblue CF1800P dive light on as I surfaced. I would have dimmed it down to the lowest setting or turned it off closer to the ascent if I had known this, as I could actually see surprisingly well around me even without a flashlight on since the boat had its lights on.

I also continued to chance it, and wear just swim shorts the rest of that week since they were all morning/afternoon dives. Just out of curiosity, I am now wondering if jellyfish are more active and likely to sting divers at night rather than the day? I actually don't know. So I don't know if it was just pure "luck" that I never got stung diving during the day, or if there's more of a technical reason for it. No one else in my group got a sting during the day dives either.

 

[-JD-]

IIRC, when we were briefed for night dives on Bahamas LOB, it was noted that they were attracted to the lights. It was suggested to turn lights off and to (if there was sufficient gas reserve) purge our backup 2nd aggressively to help clear a path to the surface.

 

[34109411]

First picture is the night of the sting, second picture is one week post-sting. It's on the back of my leg opposite my knee. The thing that took me by surprise is after the pain died down the first night, I thought I was out of the woods and it would just sort of fade away over time. Well, what actually happened is about 6 days later, the INTENSE itching started! The itching is actually more irritating than the initial burn from the sting. I've been putting hydrocortisone cream, and topical lidocaine on it the last two days. Today the itching is finally subsiding and I expect it will just get better from here on out.

I will admit that if I had worn more protective clothing, it would have helped prevent the sting in that location, but I accept full blame and responsibility for this to potentially happen. Also as crazy as this might sound, I was actually very curious about what it would feel like to get stung by a jellyfish, and little did I know, I got my wish on this trip!!! It became something to laugh about later with my dive buddies.

Many other people got stung on this night dive as well. There was actually someone in my group wearing full top and bottom protection during this dive, but he got stung on the back of his hands. He could not have prevented that because the boat operator PROHIBITED the wearing of gloves of any kind on this trip because of local laws banning it. After we were all safely back on the boat showing each other our battle scars from the jellies, the boat captain said "OK raise your hand if anyone wants to do another night dive this week?!" No one raised their hand and we all laughed.

i never understood why no glove.

 

[PeterRabbit]

i never understood why no glove.

Haha, I read your "Solo is the Way!" and noticed you are also solo certified. I had a random thought trigger in my head when I read that, and it stems from a few incidents on my recent trip to Cayman Brac. So I'd say there were about 16 people diving with us as a group. There were 4 people there including me from my local dive shop. This was only my second experience diving with a large group of people, and these incidents sparked a drastic change of my personal opinion on solo diving. When I first got certified through SSI, it was engrained in my head OK, I will NEVER ever, ever dive solo. My opinion made a 180 degree turn after this trip! So I learned very early on on this trip, I prefer to be at the back of the pack. On more than one occasion I had incidents, where a diver in my group would come up directly behind me, and swim RIGHT underneath me. I am talking less than 1 foot of separation!!! This irritated the F*** out of me for many reasons! For one, I enjoy my personal space. I made it a point, to stay near the back of the pack when possible, and I tried to maintain awareness of my surroundings and maintain perfect buoyancy diving in a straight line when possible, neither going up or down. When I changed direction, I looked all around me including behind to make sure I was not crossing or intersecting the oncoming path of another diver. Yet multiple times, again and again, (and it was always the same TWO people on my boat) they would come up behind me finning very quickly past me with less than a foot of separation! It also irritates me because I fearful of getting kicked in the head or the mouth by their fins, or getting my regulator ripped out of my mouth. In the middle of the trip, I finally asked my dive buddy who is an SSI instructor, if she ever swam solo. She said yes, because she doesn't like people (and for the record, I don't either). I explained to her my reason asking, and I asked her if I was in the wrong for wanting people to keep their distance during a dive. She said absolutely not, and she is the exact same way. She replied that we are diving together in an ENTIRE OCEAN!!! so there is no reason for someone to come up behind you, and get right in your personal space on a dive. I whole heartedly agreed with her statement, and she understood why it upset her. People were doing it to her as well, and come to find out, we were BOTH being highly irritated by this behavior from other divers. (And if you are a diver who does this to other divers on purpose, F*** YOU!!!) Now if a diver is somehow unaware of how close they get to me, then I forgive them, because perhaps I have made the same mistake at times. But when someone is doing it deliberately, there is absolutely no excuse for that.

My view on solo diving has changed, and I would not mind doing it AT ALL, and I accept any consequences that resulted from doing so. I would also have a self-imposed limit of diving solo to 60 feet or less. I found that diving to 110 feet on this trip was "cool" I guess because I broke my own personal record (plus that's the max depth the boat operator allowed), but I dislike it in general because of how FAST I went through my air at depth, the loss of light and color at deep depth, plus I did not see anything extra special by diving to such a depth. I got much more personal enjoyment out of my dives, when I stayed shallower than 60 feet or less!

 

[therookie]

IIRC, when we were briefed for night dives on Bahamas LOB, it was noted that they were attracted to the lights. It was suggested to turn lights off and to (if there was sufficient gas reserve) purge our backup 2nd aggressively to help clear a path to the surface.

Exact same instructions have been given to us on all night dives we have done in Roatan. DM usually goes up first at the end of the dive to scout for jellies and flashes their torch at us if due to jellyfish presence we need to use the alternate in exactly that way (recommended to surface vertically, spinning with the alternate in that scenario)

Hasn't happened yet, but that was the briefing.

 

[The Chairman]

I will admit that if I had worn more protective clothing, it would have helped prevent the sting in that location,

First, I'm sorry you've been stung. Have you tried to pee on it? Just kidding, so please don't. I'm not a doctor, but it would appear to this lay person that you're having an allergic reaction. Topical Benadryl after dousing it with vinegar will probably give some relief. I've also used calamine lotion with some success. Once, I had an allergic reaction to poison ivy on the back of my neck. The doctor gave me a topical steroid which worked wonders.

You might also want to give Divers Alert network a call. They consult on more than just the bends.

Call DAN!
+1-919-684-9111

DAN Emergency Hotline: +1-919-684-9111DAN medics are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to assist divers and medical personnel in managing diving emergencies.​

 

[PeterRabbit]

First, I'm sorry you've been stung. Have you tried to pee on it? Just kidding, so please don't. I'm not a doctor, but it would appear to this lay person that you're having an allergic reaction. Topical Benadryl after dousing it with vinegar will probably give some relief. I've also used calamine lotion with some success. Once, I had an allergic reaction to poison ivy on the back of my neck. The doctor gave me a topical steroid which worked wonders.

You might also want to give Divers Alert network a call. They consult on more than just the bends.

Call DAN!
+1-919-684-9111

DAN Emergency Hotline: +1-919-684-9111DAN medics are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to assist divers and medical personnel in managing diving emergencies.​

All my coworkers at work are begging me to pee on it as a joke! I told them the vinegar worked just fine. Yeah if it flares up again, I just might give them a call, I have Dan Enhanced, and also their Dive Accident Insurance already so I just may contact them thank you for the suggestion!!!

 

[The Chairman]

I have Dan Enhanced, and also their Dive Accident Insurance already so I just may contact them thank you for the suggestion!!!

Good on you. They've helped get me home after I broke a leg in Fiji and were consulted after I had a pneumo embolism after a surgery. However, they will take anyone's call, covered or not! They are good people!