Wanna see some Jellyfish?

[boydski]

This one came floating out of the gloom on Snake Island wall ( Nanaimo, B.C. ) yesterday. They always make me a bit nervous when I get within a few feet in order to take a picture.

The tentacles ( and nematocysts ) live for a long time, even after being chopped up by a boat, and it's not uncommon to get a nice red welt where a floating tentacle finds the only skin we have exposed ( our face). Ouch!

Boydski

 

[Dee]

That's one mean looking jelly!

 

[o2 clean]

How bad does a Jelly Fish Sting? Does it swell up, or just hurt?

 

[Dee]

Scuba Bee once bubbled...
How bad does a Jelly Fish Sting? Does it swell up, or just hurt?

The Moon Jellies in these photos don't sting. Or at least that's what I was told. I've had Thimble Jellies sting like fire ants and leave a red whelp for a couple of hours. Then there's the Man O' War that can kill you.

Be safe...don't touch any of them or let them touch you if at all possible.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Man~o~war are not jellyfish... and their sting is usually not fatal... or at least that is what I have read... never been stung by one.

As for the effects of a Lion's Mane... I ran into a mass of trailing Lion's Mane tentacles while scootering and it felt like someone had poured boiling hot water on my lip. That was the only exposed area but I had the stuff all over me. Shane came over and helped wipe me off and we continued the dive but I was in serious pain the whole time.

On the (half hour) boat ride back to port I started to get nervous when the pain had not abated, my lip was red and swollen and the toxin was starting to effect me systemically... I had a pins and needles feeling all over my body! Remembering that hot packs will neutralize marine toxins I took a towel, soaked it in seawater and then put it on the exhaust manifold until it got real hot. That seem to help but left me with a rust colored upper lip.

 

[Dee]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
Man~o~war are not jellyfish... and their sting is usually not fatal... or at least that is what I have read... never been stung by one....

I admit it, I was using my memory again!

 

[GearHead]

Pug is right, the Man o' War isn't a jellyfish, it's a Hydrozoan. I've experienced a sting from a type of Hydrozoan, Fire Coral, and also a few Sea Wasps (aka Box Jellyfish) on trips to the Caribbean. The Fire Coral was intensely painful for hours. I don't know what I could compare that pain to, but it was BAD :holycow: Much worse than a bee sting. In my defense, I'm not a reef-scraper. It happened because a guy from our diveboat carelessly dropped his weightbelt at the end of the dive as he boarded the boat and I was trying to do him a favor by retrieving it. I miscalculated the effort necessary to swim up the 15lbs of lead, and it pulled me right into the Fire Coral. When I did get back on board, the dude was too embarrassed to even say thanks, let alone buy me a brew. Can you tell I'm still bitter?

The Sea Wasp stings were relatively mild in comparison to a bee sting. The sensation of pain was there for a few minutes, but subsided gradually and quickly. They leave a welt, but not so much pain. That was one trip where I wish I had brought a full suit instead of a shorty just for the night dives where there were SeaWasps all over the place between 0 and 15 fsw after dusk.

 

[Uncle Pug]

GearHead once bubbled...
The Sea Wasp stings were relatively mild in comparison to a bee sting. The sensation of pain was there for a few minutes, but subsided gradually and quickly. They leave a welt, but not so much pain. That was one trip where I wish I had brought a full suit instead of a shorty just for the night dives where there were SeaWasps all over the place between 0 and 15 fsw after dusk.

Rick.... I don't think you ran into a Chironex fleckeri (Australian box jelly aka seawasp)

Or are you just back from the dead to tell us your story too?

http://www.aglimpseofeternity.org/boxjellyfish.htm

 

[danceswithoctopus]

Dang Pug, where did you come up with that link?

 

[Uncle Pug]

danceswithoctopus once bubbled...
Dang Pug, where did you come up with that link?