Portugese man of war everywhere(upper keys)

[Boarderguy]

Jellyfish stings - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic

www.mayoclinic.org

What To Do If You're Stung By a Jellyfish

The ocean is full of fun, but it's also full of wildlife, including jellyfish. Do you know what to do in the event of a jellyfish or man o war sting?

www.thoughtco.com

 

[tridacna]

Heat applied directly to the area is better at neutralizing jelly stings than vinegar. I think it needs to be ~120°F. I'll look for the study in the meantime.

This was in 1980. I had to stop my buddy from peeing on me. I smelled like fish & chips for weeks. Chick magnet.

 

[boulderjohn]

At the beach two days ago (Deerfield Beach), the high tide line featured sargassum filled with man o' wars. I would guess there were a few hundred within our sight.

A friend ran into a stray tentacle while wading in the water a couple weeks ago. It wrapped around her leg. It was excruciating. She was not willing to go into the water again until a few days ago.

When I was diving in Australia, they made us wear what they called stinger suits to pretect us from box jellies. Box jellies are way worse than man o' wars. The stinger suits were made of very thin fabric, so I think just about anything covering the skin will protect you.

 

[tridacna]

At the beach two days ago (Deerfield Beach), the high tide line featured sargassum filled with man o' wars. I would guess there were a few hundred within our sight.

A friend ran into a stray tentacle while wading in the water a couple weeks ago. It wrapped around her leg. It was excruciating. She was not willing to go into the water again until a few days ago.

When I was diving in Australia, they made us wear what they called stinger suits to pretect us from box jellies. Box jellies are way worse than man o' wars. The stinger suits were made of very thin fabric, so I think just about anything covering the skin will protect you.

I still have mine bought in Oz a few years ago. They're made of Lycra and protect you quite well, Nothing is 100% sting-resistant though. We call them rash guards in the US.

 

[Ukmc]

Jellyfish stings - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic

www.mayoclinic.org

View attachment 768237

What To Do If You're Stung By a Jellyfish

The ocean is full of fun, but it's also full of wildlife, including jellyfish. Do you know what to do in the event of a jellyfish or man o war sting?

www.thoughtco.com

View attachment 768238

I don’t think either recommendation is completely correct.
Traditional teaching for jelly stings was to apply vinegar PRIOR to removal tentacles to prevent addition discharge of pneumocytes.. Then remove then wash. That was for jelly stings and always there was a caveat that vinegar is not to be used on man of war stings. A more recent study from university of Hawaii, I believe, showed that vinegar was also effective for man of war stings.
Recommendations keep changing slightly over the years. Also rinsing with fresh water can cause more discharges if pneumocytes are not inactivated.

 

[mattfish]

I recently completed the DAN Diver's First Aid course as part of my SSI Stress & Rescue certification. Here's what DAN has to say about jellyfish stings as opposed to Man-O-War and Bluebottle jellyfish stings:

 

[mattfish]

I can't find it right now, but there was also info on not using fresh water for the same reason (triggering a toxin discharge) and using seawater instead.

Some more info:

Box jellyfish, also known as “sea wasps,” are considered the most venomous of all
creatures and contribute to for more human fatalities than any other marine organism. According to health authorities in Queensland, Australia, where the highest number of cases are recorded, box jellyfish have been responsible for at least 63 recorded deaths in Australian waters since 1884.
Rapid toxin absorption affects the cardiovascular system and can lead to death from cardiac arrest in as little as three minutes — scarcely enough time for any rescue response. Prevention, therefore,
is a key measure. Even a lightweight dive skin
can provide adequate protection.

And:

Portuguese man-of-war are floating cnidarians that use their sail-like gas bladder to catch wind currents that propel these animals along the surface of the open ocean. The gas bladder, known as a pneumatophore, is filled with atmospheric gases, and it may contain up to 90 percent carbon dioxide (CO2).
There are two species: the larger Atlantic or Portuguese man-of-war and its smaller IndoPacific relative known as bluebottle. The Atlantic species is found from south Brazil through the Gulf of Mexico and all along the eastern United States. Further east, they are found around South Africa and as far north as the Mediterranean and Scotland. While the Pacific species is typically found in Australia, the Indian Ocean and New Zealand, they have also been reported in the Hawaiian Islands.
Because of their propensity to cause systemic symptoms, these two species are considered among the most dangerous cnidarians. Their venom contains a powerful neurotoxin that can paralyze small fish and other prey.
Symptoms can persist up to 48 hours. Severe systemic symptoms are rare but may require advanced life support including mechanical ventilation and advanced cardiac life support. The first responder must consider evacuation to a higher level of care if symptoms worsen or the overall condition deteriorates.

 

[tridacna]

I can't find it right now, but there was also info on not using fresh water for the same reason (triggering a toxin discharge) and using seawater instead.

Some more info:

And:

I can talk to the veracity of that with regard to South Africa. They were the bane of our existence when surfing or swimming in False Bay. As kids, we used to prove our masculinity by bursting the pneumatophores of specimens that washed up on the beach with our bare heels. 14 yrs old and dumb as worms we were.

 

[Pressurehead]

I remember a woman changing from her regulator to a snorkel with a Blue Bottle in the snorkel mouth piece, put it in her mouth not knowing, went from smile to pain. Bluebottle
She was diving from from my dive charter boat, not nice.

 

[MrChen]

I saw one washed up on the shore today at BHB.