pacificgal
Rest in Peace...
Owww, Carol. Insult to injury. Not fair. Just when you thought you beat the bastards down!
Video: Nettle madness
- Thread starter Gombessa
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Lenaxia
Contributor
I was actually wondering about that during my dives on Saturday. What do you guys do with your gloves during your SI to prep for the 2nd dive? I mean if you've been beating jellies during your first dive, when putting on your gloves and adjusting your mask you're going to risk smearing your face on your subsequent dives if you don't do anything to them.
Usually, when you bat nettles, what you want to do is tap on the bells, and they'll re-orient and head in the direction of the area you hit (tap the top, and they'll start swimming up), You don't want to wave your hands into the tentacles unless they're really just about to get you.
That said, when you swim in nettles, you're likely to have nettle bits all over your gear (I found a few stray tentacles in my washtub after disassembling my gear). You just have to be careful to rinse your gloves before touching your face (or better yet, remove your gloves first), or removing your hood. The most "dangerous" time is right after you surface from the dive--you'll probably want to take your mask off and your reg out, and that's when you're most likely to have nettle goo all over your hands.
You don't really need to touch them. If you swat at them, the force of the water will move them away. Sort of like swatting flies without intending to touch them. They usually get the hint and go another direction.
Mike's mouth guard looks like a good idea. The only place that I've ever been stung is on the lips, but I have heard of people getting stung on the cheek, too.
I wonder if a piece of neoprene just a little bigger than mike's mouth guard would protect your whole face without being too big.
mikeguerrero
Guest
Dan,
I've been using the mouth lip shield since I first dove in 2007. It really keeps the lips warmer than without and it has prevented tentacles from hitting my lips when I was stung.
I'm not just saying that, it's true the lip shield does occlude the entire lips. When I have donated my primary all have placed the reg into their mouth without hesitation.
You can also just use it during Jelly season, take it off when they are gone. It comes off with no tools and no need for zip ties, just pull it over your mouthpiece and you are done, remove it when ever you want.
You should try one Dan:
Regulators - Mouthpieces - Specialty Mouthpieces - Coldwater Lip Shield - Northeast Scuba Supply
princessaprilia
Contributor
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Peter, my lip didn't really swell, but it did split. It's just healing now. Re-directing the jellies by tapping the bell works on the big ones. The little ones tend to wrap around my hand when I try that, hence the jelly goo. Usually I don't employ any avoidance tactics at all and hardly ever get stung. Saturday they were too thick and too small. They kept getting stuck in the velcro on my glove when I wasn't looking, then I would shake my had to dislodge it, only to pick up another.
The large amounts of goo aren't really hard to get rid of. If you waive your hand around and then rub your hands together most of it will come off. You just have to remember to do that. OHOH I have had invisible stray bits of jelly all over my gear lately. Some of it lasts a long time too. I put my dry hood on last week and felt the prickling start all along the edge. Just enough to remind me where it had been. I had rinsed it too!
The large amounts of goo aren't really hard to get rid of. If you waive your hand around and then rub your hands together most of it will come off. You just have to remember to do that. OHOH I have had invisible stray bits of jelly all over my gear lately. Some of it lasts a long time too. I put my dry hood on last week and felt the prickling start all along the edge. Just enough to remind me where it had been. I had rinsed it too!
I've heard that exposure to freshwater triggers the stingers. Whereas a hosedown may not be so good if you've got stingers all over your skin after a dive, hopefully a good long freshwater soak and agitation of gear will prevent any uncomfortable surprises when suiting up on the next dive day
Bogie
Contributor
Thanks for the great video.
I think it would have been more exciting if you all were diving NAKED.
Now that would be fun to watch.
Maybe you could get the guys from the "Jackass Movie".
You could film them.
You could use the music "Flight of the Bumble Bees".
I think it would have been more exciting if you all were diving NAKED.
Now that would be fun to watch.
Maybe you could get the guys from the "Jackass Movie".
You could film them.
You could use the music "Flight of the Bumble Bees".
I must be really strange, cuz i love the nettles...i could swim among them and watch them forever. I find them beautiful and peaceful...with a 7mm suit ,no worries about stings..the worst has been when i forgot and touched my skin after getting out with gloves that had their stinging cells on them...but even then it is very minor like coming in contact with nettle weeds...nothing like a bee sting...
However, Rabbits at BW??? thats scary!
However, Rabbits at BW??? thats scary!
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