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First Aid: Jelly Fish Sting

by Wade Meredith on January 10th, 2007

Don’t urinate on it! This is gross and doesn’t help. It may actually make the pain worse, because the drastic change in outside saline and PH conditions may cause the cnidocyte (microscopic jelly fish stingers stuck to you) to “fire” again.

Don’t rinse with freshwater. This has the same effect as the above, erm, “treatment.”

Do rinse with saltwater. 5 percent acetic acid or vinegar will also usually work. This will deactivate the cnidocyte.

Do have a shave. Once you’ve deactivated the little stingers you can shave off the tentacles with a razor or even any handy straight edge. Just coat them in sand and seawater or shaving cream and then scrape them away.

What you can expect: most jelly fish stings are painful for a maximum of 24 hours with peak pain 5 minutes after the sting. Keep in mind this is for almost all stings. More serious stings should be handled by a professional first aid provider.

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POSTED IN: First Aid, How To, Swim, Treatment