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[taxexile]

lets just have a jellyfish forum

[percy2]

taxexile, on 2008-08-26 15:34:27, said:

lets just have a jellyfish forum

[BigBikeBKK]

BEENTHEREDONETHAT, on 2008-08-26 15:33:57, said:

Right now there are heaps of them off Cha Am, the fishermen are scooping them up with nets, must be catching 1,000's from the look of it.

Heaps of pantyhose? So that's where they come from. Kinda like a sea sponge, huh?
I hope the fisherman can get good prices at market.

[klikster]

Samuian, on 2008-08-26 15:08:51, said:

And the "Pak Boong Talay" (Beach-Sea Morning Glory) seems to be a local remedy... but don't know exactly how to apply/ make use of it..

The way the locals showed me, it's used more to prevent stings and "sea lice" than as a treatment.  They crush the leaves by rolling it between their palms then wipe it on the body .. especially around they eyes and face.

[tonybuxton2]

The large jelly fish only give a mild sting. Put a little ammonia on it for relief. However some people are allergic to jellyfish stings and can get very ill from them. The very small Portuguese man-o-war is terrible. It is iridescent blue with long tentacles. The pain is very severe so you must get medical treatment, usually anti histamine injections. Fortunately quite rare but I have seen the odd one washed up on the beach. Frankly I don't like swimming when there are a lot of jelly fish about. I prefer my pool

fisherd3, on 2006-06-02 18:41:03, said:

swbailey, on 2006-06-02 16:18:52, said:

To regular visitors/residents to the beaches of Hua Hin.

Hi
I have browsed the forum to look for facts about Jellyfish. Its all very ancedotal and there is nothing about treating stings.

It would appear that you could spot Jellyfish all year round, but they only come near shore during rainy season, or times when it rains in dry season. Is this true.
Are there different types - stingers and non-stingers.
What should one have ready in the hotel or apartment if you are stung by a jellyfish. No point going out to buy the vinegar if you have already been stung.

If you were to swim in the sea every day for 1 hour what are the percentage chance of been stung during the rainy season. (and same question during the dry season).

What are the dangers of not treating a jellyfish sting. Ive read stories of scars. Are they true.
What are the dangers for a child of 2 years been stung by a jellyfish.

Have they ever considered nets in certain areas of Hua Hin.

Ive seen mention that Sai Noi is the nicest beach without jet-ski and jellyfish. Is this true. Where is Sai Noi (sorry if I have now advertised Sai Noi), but I dont think circulation of this topic will be huge.

Thank you to anyone who takes time to add a few facts about jellyfish.

Blamamber.

I have lived in Jamaica where Jelly fish appeared for a couple of months every year, so yes they are or can be seasonal, and yes there are very many different types of Jelly fish, and the first thing to do is to identify the level of danger the local type offers, as some are indeed very deadly like the box jelly fish in Northern Queensland you would be very foolish indeed to swim in the sea at times when they are about, because you are most likely a dead man if you get stung by one of those.

Others do not hurt too much , in Jamaica there was one about the size of a dinner plate and about 3" thick that did not have very long tentacles and kind of pulsated, that did not sting too badly the locals said they had been 'scratched' by it when they got stung, then there was also what they called the portugese man of war that tended to be very small a bit like an ice cream cone with sometimes quite long tentacles coming out the end. This one was a nightmare and I speak from experience of being stung on two occasions by it.

The skin reddens up and has small blisters presumebaly where the tentacles deposited the poison, in such a way that it does get into the body, this process is greatly enhanced if you scratch the afflicted area, but as you have a great compulsion to do so you probably will and assist the flow of the venom into the blood stream. It takes about an hour or more for the venom to start affecting you big time spreading from the bite site but, when it does it is extremely unpleasant and it is easy to think you could  die in the near future ( I am sure some people do!)  as the venom seems to visit each organ one by one and you can feel them being affected and you wonder when it will stop, all this time you really want to scratch the bite site and feel delirious and very hot and cold and itchy all over, all this last 2-3 hrs and then you start to come down and if it happenned on your morning swim by the afternoon you more or less feel back to normal.

I guess you're reaction will be governed by your fitness and personal reaction to the venom.

It is true that vinegar is supposed to cause the deposited venom to be washed from the skin it also true that in emergency urine has the same effect. I don't think it will altogether stop the process I described above but it may alleviate it, like you say you don't usually have vinegar to hand.

There are antidotes to jelly fish stings and the local hospital in an afflicted area should keep it in stock, so you could check this position in your area and maybe campaign for some if not available , if it is available the first thing you should do on being stung is go to hospital and get an injection.

Some jelly fish even small ones can have very long (6 feet or more) tentacles and it is possible to get wrapped up in them and be very badly stung indeed.

I used to swim a long way every morning, and you could not see these men of war all the time, they kind of fade in and out of view with the angle of the light in the water and some were very small about the size of a small pear, so I would not bank on avoiding them.

If they are about I  would always now swim with a long sleeve T shirt on as you tend to swim into them shoulder/arm first.

I do however believe that avoiding being bitten when they are expected by not swimming is the sensible answer.

My ten bobs worth

[limbos]

For box jelly fish, vinegar is the best solution, before seeing a doctor/physician.

DAN's "Diver Alert" magazine has an update an article in the May/June 2008 issue called; "Sting Update" with the surprise recommendation not to use vinegar on jellyfish stings other than the Indo-Pacific Box Jelly*.

Current suggestions for jellyfish stings include...

1-Flush with sea water, not fresh water;
2-Soak in hot water or hot shower around 113F/45C for 30 to 90 minutes ASAP;
3-Remove any remaining tentacles with tweezers;
4-Shave with shaving cream and razor or scrape with credit card;
5-Apply hydrocortisone cream or ointment;
6-Monitor for reaction or infection;
And more, you also carry antihistamine tablets and include those in your personal treatment and suggestions.

There was a special note on Men-of-War: No vinegar! It actually causes those nematocytes to discharge.

*The one exception given is for the Chironex fleckeri of Box Jelly found in some waters between Australia and Asia. This one is probably the most deadly animal for its size other than man, but if you survive long enough to get back on the boat - do use vinegar on that wound.

[Foreverford]

limbos, on 2008-11-03 20:39:02, said:

For box jelly fish, vinegar is the best solution, before seeing a doctor/physician.

DAN's "Diver Alert" magazine has an update an article in the May/June 2008 issue called; "Sting Update" with the surprise recommendation not to use vinegar on jellyfish stings other than the Indo-Pacific Box Jelly*.

Current suggestions for jellyfish stings include...

1-Flush with sea water, not fresh water;
2-Soak in hot water or hot shower around 113F/45C for 30 to 90 minutes ASAP;
3-Remove any remaining tentacles with tweezers;
4-Shave with shaving cream and razor or scrape with credit card;
5-Apply hydrocortisone cream or ointment;
6-Monitor for reaction or infection;
And more, you also carry antihistamine tablets and include those in your personal treatment and suggestions.

There was a special note on Men-of-War: No vinegar! It actually causes those nematocytes to discharge.

*The one exception given is for the Chironex fleckeri of Box Jelly found in some waters between Australia and Asia. This one is probably the most deadly animal for its size other than man, but if you survive long enough to get back on the boat - do use vinegar on that wound.

Been stung twice in 5 years and don't swim if there is any wind on the water (you can swim and create a perimeter to enjoy an early morning swim when it isn't obvious JF time). 1st sting I didn't do too much and it didn't heal very well with a small (gone now) scar on my wrist. talked to my friend a doctor and he had similar suggestions from above. First get wet sand and rub on area to remove the stingers off the body (at a few hundred yards from the beach a quick dive can start this process immediately). Urinate on it directly or into something you can pour on the area (your hand will work) get vinegar on it asap. Now one of the keys to this is to treat the wound as you would a burn. I've seen people with mosquito bites that look as if they have leprosy, ugly huge deep wounds. YOu got to keep the area dry (yes this is the hot huimid tropics and that takes abunch of discipline and lifestyle change) forget swimming in the ocean or swimming pool for a while.  I did all this the second time and the wound was nothing like the first and responded well to the treatment no scarring at all. As the above post stated treat for reaction and infection. People die from bee stings but with box jellies there is a good chance of possible death for anyone I'm not sure these types have migrated up from Australia but have supposedly heard of some found in the Phuket area. If you know you are in P Man of War waters and know that is what got you "Diver's Alert" info is the one exception to the rule. Always swim with googles and fully clothed or wetsuited.

[stingertale]

To get the latest facts on treating jellyfish stings in Thailand follow this link

http://www.thaivisa....=...t&p=2664851
The bottom line is forget all this stuff about scraping tentacles with cards, urinating on stings, morning glory paste when it comes to immediate treatment to stop the stinging, the only thing to use is VINEGAR.

Have some handy when you're next at the beach or on a boat.

[duister74]

Hi All,

at the moment all I can do is confirm a very similar occurance. I was Kite surfing  in Chantaburi. As the wind died down a bit I went just for a swim in the waves. In water about 80 cm deep only I felt a quick sharp sting just at the lower part of my chest.  It really hurt enough to get me walk out of the water right away. At first I didn't see anything but after a few minutes a light pink color started showing. A triangular shape only the size of guitar plectrum. It doesn't cover the whole area but looks more like a small tattoo of a bunch of grapes on my chest.  But it really hurt! I didn't think much of it and though it kept stinging I went on with my business. Over the next few days I noticed the pink color turning more red and the wound developing like it was a burning wound. Small pieces of the skin let go and brown crust appeared very lightly over the middle of the area where a tentacle must have touched. Now I'm 8 days into it and there is a yellow area on my wound. Almost like puss wants to come out but since my wound is very little it just shows a white/yellowish color on the surface. I also notice my wound now became 3 dimensional and a little piece of my skin gone.

I must also say that I had a sudden event of diarrhea for only the 2nd day after I got stung. Now I can't confirm if this was to to with the jellyfish sting or something bad in the food I ate that weekend.  I can be sure I've not had diarrhea for at least 6 months so I found it quite surprising.

I've never had anything like this, I'm definitely back in my Lycra pants and shirts now! 8 days in the wound still itches and is sensitive to touch. I'm going to buy a bottle of vinegar and put is as standard with my toilet bag and 1 bottle with my kite surfing gear. I guess I'm lucky it covers only such a small area.

Joost

[DaamNaam]

As a diver for a living i can tell you the only thing to do is cover-up. Prevention is better than cure (and all that jazz).
Rash vests / leggings (rashies) are available everywhere (Lotus, Big C, etc..)and are a must for kids.
Otherwise take a bottle of vinegar down the beach with you, apply ASAP to the burning area, usually does the job.

Be safe..

Cheers.

Edited by DaamNaam, 2009-08-24 17:25:09.

[yabaaaa]

great totally conflicting advice, use vinegar dont use vinegar?????

[Mrjlh]

You can try gleaning info from these two web pages.  Pretty much matches all the different responses so far.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish

http://www.emedicine.....ngs Treatment

Vinegar came up as the most widely accepted "first aid" remedy, except for use on the Portuguese Man-o-war.  Box jelly's are now showing up in Phuket (Markham ?? Bay) and they are the most dangerous.  They a very small and cause a lot of damage.

[zigistar]

i am living in Petchaburi and altough some parts of the year we got jellyfish around here its now way worst since they built those ugly looking dams to hold the waves taking sand from the beach.So its not only an ugly sight it also atract so many jellyfish because there is simply not much current anymore in those arias....i used to go there many times but thats over for me,i simply not gone take the risk.....

[brd]

swbailey.
thank you for your report.
A simple recommendation when a jellyfish sting any one just use your own urine or any one else as the ammoniac cool down the pain
and of course it is unpleasant but a smart trick tested in real life thousand times successfully.
Do no expect to know season or not when they are it is a question of tides as well.
Cheers
PS : You know why now why so many Hotels need beach front swimming pools.

[JemJem]

Let me have this confirmed. The rainy season is the riskiest time of the year for Thailand regarding getting stung by jellyfish.....and, the Hua Hin area is quite a risky area. Correct ? I guess I will NOT swim if/when I go to Hua Hin soon.

Another question...how is the situation regarding jellyfish in Koh Lanta ? Anyone here have any idea ?

Cheers,

Jem

[supaprik]

Not that I have used this but....my sister lives in far North Queensland Aust and ALWAYS takes a mixture of 95% pure white vinegar mixed with 5% hydrogen peroxide, she swears by this and says..that if anyone is touched by a jelly they use this concoction and supposedly it does 2 things, 1.the vinegar removes any attached tentacles which continue to inject venom and 2. the peroxide mildly burns out the stingers from the skin pores and thus minimizes the effects. Myself these days i stick to swimming pools or freeze my nuts of at Melbourne beaches

[phillies]

For the last few weeks I have been getting these little stings that are not painful but annoying when going in the ocean. Today it was too much and after 10 minutes left the water. Does any one know exactly what is in the water, some kind of microscopic lice or what ??

[Ciocco]

phillies, on 2011-07-17 20:46:53, said:

For the last few weeks I have been getting these little stings that are not painful but annoying when going in the ocean. Today it was too much and after 10 minutes left the water. Does any one know exactly what is in the water, some kind of microscopic lice or what ??

Could be "plancton" in the water.
Sometime during scubadiving i felt the same, always in waters with lot of plancton...

[andyinasia]

My experience with jellyfish is that pee, vinegar and other substances with a little bit of ammonia in it will help will help initially, you can also use a knife to scrape the surface of the affected area, this should help remove some of the tentacles left by the jellyfish. but my advice is to go to the hospital immediately. they have experience with jellyfish and will clean it properly so you avoid further complications or that the "burns" get worse.
by the way a fisherman told me that when it is cloudy or it has been raining the chances for the jellyfish coming up to the surface is bigger.

[kutjebu]

Box Jelly [Chironex fleckeri and 20 near relatives] is found off the shores of Northern Australia, PNG, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This marine animal has a boxy bell head the size of a basket ball and three metre tentacles that can kill a man in a couple of minutes, though there are recent reports of much smaller Box jellies that are just as deadly.
I paddle every day with my sea kayak at sea in Cha-am.In the dry season I see almost every week box jelly fish.Last year a woman died here on the beach in Cha-am.
Like ow in the raining season I see every day hundreds of them.When you like to swim for an hour at sea,your chance to get bitten is almost 100%.
The best time is from April to August,like this year.I swum almost every day about half an hour without problems.

[Ijustwannateach]

The jellyfish that I've seen in the oceans around Hua Hin are pretty easy to spot and are obviously there when in season (there're swarms of 'em, often as large as dinner plates, and usually a kind of medium brown with white speckles).  I saw a victim of one of these once, and it wasn't minor- there was a half-dinner-plate-sized red, inflamed scar on his side, and he confirmed that the first few hours were very, very painful.

I think the only good thing that can be said is that if they're there, you'll probably notice them.  Though one caution might be that they may only show up during one kind of tide, in which case you could get caught unawares while swimming...

[Schtroumpf]

I tried to swim in the sea in Bang Saphan and Ban krut (south of Huan Hin) and almost immediately I started to be itching to the point that I had to get out of the water after few minutes.
I noticed that there are a lot of jellyfishes in the water and on the beach.
I wonder if the itch does not come from baby jellyfishes or jellyfish larvas.
I am not sure that a lycra will help because it was itching even under my swimsuit (ouch..).or maybe a zentai lycra that make you look like an allien.
Also I have concerns about the presence of the deathly jellyfish that have been reportted in the Andaman sea
thaiboxjellyfish  dot     blogspot  dot  com
Has interesting info and also a link to a thai government jellyfish awarness document in thai (can be usefull to show when hit by a jellyfish and communication is a problem )

I was planning to go next to koh tao, will I find the same problem over there?

[docspinoff]

i walk along Hua Hin beach nearly every day and there seems to be jelly fish washed up every 100 meters why is this are they dead? if so why have they died?
some times there is 3 or so in the same spot .some very small but other bigger then dinner plates ,do they all sting ?

[hhfarang]

I think they probably just get caught left on the beach when the tide goes out or by wave action, and yes they all sting as far as I know but some have stronger poison that other types.