Re: [Paddlewise] jellyfish stings

Larry Koenig wrote: -
>It is tricky to figure out what is the best way
>to deal with a noxious marine encounter

G'Day,

It might not be relevant in all parts of the world, but the 1999 edition of
'Australian First Aid', ISBN 0 949569 38 0 published by St John Ambulance,
has a section dealing with marine bites and stings. The first aid described
is consistent with the websites Jackie posted. In this manual vinegar is
recommended for box jelly fish and cold packs for other jellyfish stings. A
Melbourne University web site gives scientific and first aid information
with a more detailed recommendation on when to use vinegar.
http://www.pharmacology.unimelb.edu.au/pharmwww/avruweb/creatable.html .

About 100 marine stings per day during the holiday season are managed by
medical professionals here and a few laboratories have studied the response
of jellyfish stinging cells to 'vinegar', which is used not to ease pain but
to prevent further release of poison. Seems to me (a non medic) that the
sting management strategies recommended by first aid organisations such as
St John's Ambulance, although based on limited data, have a reasonable
prospect of being appropriate.

But maybe prevention is better than cure in warmer climates - In the section
on box jelly fish the Melbourne University website shows a picture of
Queensland surf lifesavers wearing stinger suits. Alternatively panty hose
body stocking have been suggested by some divers/kayakers in tropical waters
as a protection against stings - it doesn't sound tough but is supposed to
be effective:~)

All the best, PeterO

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