Tip for Today: Treating a Jellyfish Sting at Her Active Life

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Tip for Today: Treating a Jellyfish Sting

Posted July 16, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Lindsay Hutton

Section: Her Health, Her Motivation, tip for today

With summer comes trips to the beach. Trips to the beach mean lots of sun and swimming…and sometimes jellyfish stings. How can you take the pain out of a sting if you are unfortunate enough to encounter one of these nasty creatures? First, wash the area with water. Apply vinegar, rubbing alcohol, or baking soda. (Check with the lifeguards on duty if you don’t have any of these on hand.) If there are any tentacles embedded in the wound, remove them with tweezers. Reapply vinegar or cortisone cream as needed. Contact your doctor immediately if any of the following symptoms are present: nausea, vomiting, joint pain, headache, shortness of breath, or trouble walking.

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106 Responses to “Tip for Today: Treating a Jellyfish Sting” (Leave a reply)

Tom Lyons from Florida panhandle said:

You can also use meat tenderizer on jelly fish stings
July 16, 2008 at 04:38 PM
Kay Grimaldi from hawaii said:

For jellyfish and portuguese man-of-war stings, meat tenderizer works very well. I always carry a bottle with me for such emergencies.
July 16, 2008 at 07:03 PM
D. Malley from SC said:

My kids an I were stung several times over the years. I always carried a small plasitc container that contained equal parts baking soda and meat tenderizer. When the sting occured I added a little cold water (fresh, not salt) from our cooler and made a paste of it before applying it to the site of the sting. Remember that tentacles can still sting even if detached from the animal, so don’t remove them with your fingers.
July 17, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Fairings from Canada said:

Thanks a lot for giving this information, Malley
September 4, 2008 at 11:35 PM
teak furniture from Canada said:

meat tenderizer, i never knew about this until now. Thanks for the tip.
September 8, 2008 at 04:59 AM
Home Decorations said:

This tip surely will become handy for me especially that my kids loves the beach. Thanks!
September 9, 2008 at 12:32 AM
hieyeglasses said:

Our lifeguards always say that urine works great for jelly fish and sea urchin stings.
September 11, 2008 at 09:30 AM
San Antonio Lawyer said:

Thank you for this nice tip. This will surely be useful to a lot of people. Well done!
September 13, 2008 at 05:10 AM
mitch from garden furniture from canada said:

Thanks for the tips, I love the beach and this will really come out in handy for me.
September 19, 2008 at 03:13 AM
Honda Fairings said:

If you like to swim in the ocean then you should pay attention to this nice tips. Thanks
September 23, 2008 at 11:43 AM
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Thank you for the tips! Meat tenderizer works well too.

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I will make sure to carry vinegar and baking soda with me while going for a swim from now on. Thanks a lot for all the tips.

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March 5, 2009 at 09:23 PM
Ron Russell from brookhaven,MS said:

Jelly fish stings are painful, but the stingray---its really something else. My wife stepped on on a few years ago in FL and
she was in great pain. The owner of the motel where we were staying told her to put her foot in a tub of very hot water and that did the trick. So if you ever have the misfortune to step on one of the slipper things--hot water, very hot water is the solution.
March 11, 2009 at 05:40 PM
home theater installation said:

Reiterating on what hieyeglasses said, they did an episode on the sitcom friends about Monica getting stung by a jellyfish. It hurt so bad that Joey had to urinate on her leg to stop it from stinging so much. It sounded a little odd, so I looked it up and found it to be true.

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April 10, 2009 at 09:14 PM
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I was sting by a jellyfish its been 2 weeks i still have the red line across my leg and its bumpy and itching really baddly. What kind of cream can i use to have it go away?
June 11, 2009 at 04:05 PM
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I have tried several things myself but the only way to help it when there is blood coming out is to tie a wet shirt around it and keep it cold.
June 19, 2009 at 05:04 PM
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Useful idea to save against jellyfish sting.
June 23, 2009 at 06:42 AM
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July 24, 2009 at 03:40 AM
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Thanks for your post, very useful and informative for me.
July 27, 2009 at 02:55 AM
nasheed from Pakistan said:

i agree with you totally.
July 28, 2009 at 08:37 AM
Live Bingo said:

Stinger kits on Australian beaches contain acetic acid (vinegar). This causes the stinger cells in your skin to retract. It does not remove the poison already injected though. You should then rub the flattened PALM of your hand over the area to remove the stingers (the palm of your hand has thick skin that cannot as easily be penetrated by the stingers).
You can reduce the stinging using a topical antihistamine.
August 3, 2009 at 06:30 AM
Acai from USA said:

This might sound gross, but I’ve heard that urine can help jellyfish stings as well.
August 8, 2009 at 05:22 PM
cosmetic dentist from UK said:

Ouch is all I can say i know that people can die from these things
August 8, 2009 at 06:59 PM
Dentists Manchester from Manchester said:

I have been stung by a small jelly fish and it wast actually all that bad
August 8, 2009 at 07:01 PM
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thanks for the tips
August 8, 2009 at 07:02 PM
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August 9, 2009 at 01:20 PM
Dining Chair said:

Dig a deep hole in the sand,down to where it gets brown and cool or up to your elbows at sand right at the water and let them sit...it will take away pain almost immediantly.
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August 14, 2009 at 04:58 PM
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i would love to have a jellyfish. i will buy soon.
August 27, 2009 at 05:51 PM
Acai Berry said:

I hope to never get one of these stings. It is very painful from what I hear.
September 7, 2009 at 02:14 PM
Fusjon said:

My cousin got one of these really bad in Mexico and they literally had to drag her out of the water. Something I never want to experience.
September 13, 2009 at 04:45 PM
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September 25, 2009 at 01:30 AM
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I love Jelly Fish.
September 28, 2009 at 04:41 AM
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September 29, 2009 at 02:56 AM
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October 12, 2009 at 05:50 AM
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Thanks for giving the advice. I am thinking of spending my summer vacations on the beach. So this will be very helpful for me.
October 12, 2009 at 07:40 AM
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October 12, 2009 at 08:11 AM
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October 15, 2009 at 04:19 AM
Cellulite from US said:

Really whenever we went to beach we have to face this type of problem.Thanks for providing these tips know I think we can fully enjoy on beach .
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These tips will be great help for me .As we always went to beach during vacations.now we can fully enjoy without problem.
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October 20, 2009 at 02:42 AM
Sydney Computer Repairs from USA said:

Jellyfish is also known as jellies or sea jellies. They are free-swimming members of the ocean. Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea.
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This might sound gross, but I’ve heard that urine can help jellyfish stings
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Be careful because I know people who really get hurt.
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December 11, 2009 at 05:12 AM
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Before going to such outings we should make sure that we know each and every thing about that place.and after reaching there we should follow the rules because they are for our own safety.
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December 29, 2009 at 12:37 AM
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Jellyfish is one of the nasty creatures and we should keep safe from jellyfish sting.
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