First Aid for Jelly Fish & Sea Urchins
 

Any comments on how to treat stings and barbs from these two sea creatures would be appreciated.

Ammonia immediately (jellyfish).

Lifeguards on a beach once had someone who got stung keep their arm in wet sand until they could get to the doctor.<BR><BR>Another place, I saw some kind of first aid treatment for stings. Unfortunately, can't remember the name and don't know what's in it. Maybe ask at a dive shop or hotel.<BR>

Believe or not, urine. Yup, uric acid disolves the stingers from sea urchins!<BR>Ronnie

Yes, Ron's right - an old surfer told me the same thing!

PISSSSSSSSSSS

Best cure for sea urchins is not to be stupid enough to stand on or touch them. If you don't go near them, you don't have to worry.<BR><BR>Best thing for jelly fish - white vinegar.

For jellyfish, first flush the area vigorously with vinegar. This will help neutralize the venom and prevent further stings from any stingers left on the skin. You should NOT use fresh water to rinse. Scrape any visible tentacles off with a knife or a razor. Be careful not to touch them with bare skin because you may be stung. After initial treatment, steroids applied either as a cream or given internally may be helpful. If stung by a sea nettle, a baking powder solution maybe better for the initial flushing, but vinegar is best when you are not completely sure what stung you. Ice or ice packs will relieve the pain. For the puncture type of stings, the best initial treatment is to flush the wound with seawater. This is followed by soaking the wound in non-scalding hot water (at around 110F) for 30-90 minutes or until the pain decreases. You should add hot water as needed to maintain the temperature. It is very important to make sure that the water is as warm as can be comfortably tolerated, but not hot enough to scald. Examine the wound for any retained spines that need to be removed. Your doctor may need to order x-ray examinations to find spines that are not visible in the wound. Antibiotics may help prevent infection. <BR>There is a gel called &quot;After Sting&quot; that is sold commercially to relieve the pain of jelly fish stings. <BR>

When I was a kid, we used to occasionally get stung in the chesapeake bay, and used meat tenderizer (containing papain, an enzyme). This always seemed to work w/jellyfish.<BR><BR>Andrea

yes, meat tenderizer works graet. Just get a small container of it and bring it with you.

For Sea Urchin barbs - after removal (as directed by previous posters), direct application of a freshly sliced Aloe Vera plant to the area seems to help a lot with pain and swelling - we saw this done in Jamaica some years ago and it really seemed to help the sufferer. Note: this was an actual freshly cut PLANT not some store bought cream.

Jelly fish, called Portugese Man O War<BR>can frequently be seen floating at top the water in Bermuda during the spring. On the beach there is a sign stating if stung to urinate on the sting immediatlely. Yes its ammonia, very handy. Also during one of &quot;The Survivor&quot; episodes a tribe member stepped on a sea urchin. Yup, the human ammonia was used ASAP!