Very good friends of ours just returned yesterday from our place on Bonaire-one was badly stung by jellyfish right in front of our house and ended up in hospital on IV steroids-the hospital was out of the fast-acting kind. He is ok now but had a very very serious reaction. In searching the web I found a product called Safe Sea-anyone have positive experiences with it-does it really work to protect the skin? Is vinegar the best immediate first aid? I understand it works for the box jellies but not Portuguese Man-of-war. True? Also learning that in the period 10 days after a full moon we should look out for these dangerous jellies-is this a bad year or should we watch out every month for them? Can they sting thru a full wetsuit? thanks.

Sorry about your friend.
The most sure fire thing is a wetsuit. Believe it or not but a pair of panty hose is thick enough to prevent jellyfish sting....now mind you I think a nylon skin is a little more in style but you use what you have. I always dive in at least a skin for that reason. They work great for sunburn too. I get a loose tentacle sting every other year or so on my face, which is the only thing exposed. Hurts like the dickens but it goes away in 15 minutes or so. There is a big debate on what is the best treatment for stings but I do know freshwater is a no no. I just keep on diving and ignore it.

Dennis,
Safe Sea helps protect against sea lice. It's advertised to protect against most jellyfish by deactivating the stinging mechanism. I haven't tried it for jellyfish. Sometimes the jellyfish are around @ night in late Sept.
From Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine, April 2004 issue: "Treatment of jellyfish stings: Swish the wound in salt water. Neutralize any remaining stingers by rinsing with vinegar. Remove any remaining tentacles with tweezers. Shave the area with shaving cream and a razor or use mud paste and clamshell. Rinse with vinegar again. Apply hydrocortisone cream. Keep the affected area immobile. Some stings can be very toxic, even fatal. Watch for severe systems like unresponsiveness, cardiac arrest, nausea, swelling or trouble breathing that require immediate medical care."
I've seen a couple of bad reactions - not in Bonaire.

We just returned from Cozumel, and I bought Safe Sea before we left, as I always get reactions to the thimble jellyfish larvae. I had read the article on Undercurrent and had great hopes for this product.

It did not help in the slightest, despite faithful use. I ended up on prednisone because of the severity of the allergic reaction.

--cat

Jelly Sting info.
If you search on "jellyfish sting" with the BT
search engine you will find more info.

Bud

BTW, are thimble jellies a problem around Bonaire, does anyone know? If so, when are they present? In Cozumel and Caymans, it's from mid-April until end of July or so. Has anyone suffered from "sea itch" while diving in Bonaire? Thanks!

--Cat

Dennis,

Can you provide any more info on the specifics of the severe jelly sting? Date, time, species, location, what did it look like?

Thx.
Bud Gillan

Hi Bud-our friend was stung in shallow water in front of our condo in Hato-close to where Jake used to live-it was evening, he did not wear a wetsuit and it was within that critical 8-10 days after the full moon a couple of months ago. He reports red streaks on forearm, intense pain, respiratory distress and felt he was "losing control" of the arm. They rushed him to hospital and he was put on IV meds which apparently worked. He left weak but OK. They reported medical care to be excellent(his wife is a nurse.) That's all I know-hope this helps others avoid problems.

Dennis,

Thanks for the details. Serious stings are rare on Bonaire but they happen. IDing the actual jelly is also very helpful. Over the years I have seem several box jellies, particularly Carybdea (sea wasp Genus). As mentioned earlier we are hunting down what is probably a new species of jelly with 4 banded tentacles we are affectionately called the "Banded Bonaire Box Jelly". There have been 3 sightings in the past 2 years and a 4th ten years earlier.

Thanks for your help. BT is adding to real-time science investigations.

Bud