Jellyfish in Manual Antonio
 

As I sit here scratching these horrible red welts I incurred a week ago in M.A., it occurred to me that I might warn folks that yes indeed there are jellyfish in the water there and while I don't want to be alarmist---it would be prudent to keep an eye out for them.

I got horribly stung around my ankles within minutes of going into the water at Playa M.A.(in the park.) My husband did manage to find a park ranger who could only say, "no problem, no problem" and who gestured to rub it with sand (which I did, and which turned out to be the WRONG thing to do.) Luckily a nice woman we ran into in the parking lot lent me some cortisone cream.

Anyway the pain subsided within an hour (and a few beers later) but it kinda dampened my enthusiasm for going in the water. And it did leave lovely red tentacle marks on my ankle and some on my wrist (from when I frantically tried to brush it away.) But then it was perfectly fine for a week..until now..when the horrible itching has begun!

There were plenty of people in the water and no one else at the time seemed to be stung, however a guy on the beach did come up to me to tell me he'd been stung the day before (and reassure me I wasn't going to die.) So, keep an eye out. This falls into the "wish I'd known this" before I went to Costa Rica category (just so that it would be in my consciousness to keep an eye out for them.)

I was stung once at Playa Manuel Antonio last year ..... Just me , no-one else .... It was just from floating tentacles . It certainly did burn and sting , I had afterbite which has some amonia in it . It worked . Worse comes to worse , someone needs to pee on it !! lol . I guess it`s not a huge problem there . It is not mentioned much , thank goodness .

We were also stung last week while at Playa Grande. There were sea lice as well & my daughter got a lot of bites from them. It really didn't keep them from swimming in the ocean though, they still managed to have a great time.

Got stung by sea lice when diving in San Salvardor, Bahamas a couple years ago. We used vinegar on the stings and that worked find. The only problem is then you walk around smelling like a salad. But it works.

Yep. We went on a snorkeling trip (the Iguana Tours sunset sailing tour) and several people, including me, felt a few jellyfish stings. It wasn't bad enough to ruin the fun, tho'.

well the worst part seems to be after the fact. Perhaps my reaction is an unusual one. The pain of the sting only lasted an hour, and then I was really fine for a week, but just yesterday it began inflamed and itching and its intense, like the worst case of poison ivy ever. Dermatologist said there's nothing really to do but use some cortisone creams (which don't seem to be doing anything) and take a benedryl, if I want, but I really don't like the way they make me feel.

This is worse than the chiggers I got last time I went to CR! I must be jinxed! (but I still love CR, of course ;-)

jczinn: I feel for you. Years ago when I was pregnant and in Jamaica on vacation I was out snorkeling and had what must have been an allergic reaction to a jelly fish. For about 12 hours I felt like I was jumping out of my skin, like all over my body were these sudden feelings of prickly pains and yet didn't see the bumps. I was so miserable. I just layed there with cold compresses. I have also had reactions to sea lice. I guess I am pretty sensitive to sea pests.

I am going to CR in June and before you even posted this I was wondering what I might encounter in the water.

I don't know if you would be into any alternative treatments for your itchy bumps but if so I would suggest you go to a health food store and buy a homeopathic remedy called Apis. It is by Boiron in a blue tube. You take a couple of these tablets (without water) and let them disolve. I would taken them every 2-3 hours at first. If this doesn't help there is another remedy that also works for jelly fish rashes. As a matter of fact my husband and I just were in Florida and this time he got the rash and itchiness and the Apis has helped him a lot. By the way, what is chiggers?

On my first trip to Costa Rica ,after coming out of the water I quickly developed an all over rash , very fine bumps , I nearly lost my marbles with the itching . I was the only one who had it . It literally had me wanting to scratch my skin off , intense itching . Perhaps it was sea lice ? I would never wish it on my worst enemy . ( has not happened since )

My sister found a sunscreen that has jelly fish repellant in it. It really works. Our crazy kids put it on and tested it out in a bay full of jellies. I cannot remember the name, but she ordered it online.

Sandy

The jellyfish (sea lice) repellent/sunscreen is call Safe Sea...We just returned yesterday from MA and had not problem with jellyfish.

Okay! What are sea lice?
I am going to CR in June, should I be scared?

Bree76...Didn't mean to scare you re sea lice. They are the larvae stage of jellyfish and common here in Palm Beach County from May-July. You can't see them, but they can cause an itchy rash at worst. I understand they are common in most tropical waters. Safe Sea does work as a sunsreen and repellent. It can be bought at surf shops or online. Don't worry about...just go and have a ball.