stingertale

Mods please delete

I can't see anything in TV forum rules to suggest that this post/thread be deleted unless oldoldgit posted something untoward that has been wiped and replaced with these words (??)

If its because the thread is a few months old and has just been restarted then fine, I'll start another thread as I believe this is an issue worthy of discussion. Isn't that what a forum is all about?

Thanks for your thoughts about my son who is a tough little fellow no doubt.

I'm interested to hear any other stories about serious jellyfish stings in Thailand if anyone out there has one.

While I'm not wanting to be alarmist or over-dramatic, this is a raw topic for me and there's very little info on the subject out there. I think it's vital that a real picture of the issue be drawn to inform and potentially save those people especially with innocent children unaware of any danger.

Ours will most definitely not be the last near-fatal box jellyfish attack in Thailand.

Kan Win provides good advice if stung though massive envenomation like that experienced by my son almost always results in an excrutiating death. Before anything such as applying vinegar follow basic First Aid checking vital signs and commence CPR, etc if necessary then apply vinegar or warmed sea-water to neutralize the millions of stinging cells injected or about to be injected from each attached tenticle. Once doused (30 seconds) carefully remove tenticles. Morning glory paste acts as an anelgesic to minimize pain.

Unlike Australia, there appears to be no 'season' in Thailand and sightings/attacks have occured throughout the gulf and Andaman Sea coastal areas over every month. After 20 years of swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and whatever in SEAsian waters I will never go to the beach without a bottle of vinegar (THB15) next to my sunscreen again and I will ensure that while looking like complete dorks my family will only enter the water in stinger suits (quickly peeled off when back on the sand and note that one of the things that may well have saved my son was the lycra shirt he was wearing that protected his chest from direct envenomation). I don't know what the odds of a sting are but like putting on a seatbelt, helmet or life jacket, I'm not prepared to put my family or myself at risk again.

Sorry to hear about your son. Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

I think applying vinegar maybe a good start as the person checking vital signs/performing CPR doesn't want to be stung and rendered incapable of offering assistance.

About the only time I get in the sea is when diving and then I go for the full cover up. But even with hood, mask , wet suit , gloves and booties I still get stung around the mouth.

Cheers

Vinegar is the way to go though first thing of course is to get the victim out of the water - something I did and got stung on the ankles as a result. I was in agony but luckily my wife was there to help as I was hobbling about and struggled to carry him. Before we got anywhere near a bottle of a vinegar we had to save his life as the poison works instantly.

I am sorry to hear about your son's experience but very glad to know that he made a full recovery.

I was stung by a Portuguese Man-o-war years ago and the pain was excruiating. I panicked and started flapping around in the water and as a result recieved stings on my arms, torso and legs. After freaking out for a while over the pain, a friendly neighbour gave me a stong antihistime pill which knocked me out for a few hours and I was fine afterwards. The itching continued for about a week and the scars took about 4 months to fade.

Not an experience I would like to repeat.

Searching thru the threads of this site it's interesting to see the number of refs concerning jellyfish and the understandable ignorance associated with their existence and habits etc - even the experts know little in the scheme of things. There are loads of different types of jellies in the tropics - just last week 700 people on the Gold Coast were stung by blue-bottle jellies and an 11 yo girl survived a box jelly attack near Cairns. Thailand has its fair share and while most are harmless or inflict only minor pain, there are those like your man-o-war and the box jellyfish or sea wasp that are killers.

Also their venom can continue to kill skin cells for some time after the attack and serious secondary infection is common.

Dark alleys in some places at night are to be avoided because of the chance albeit remote of a mugging, seat belts in cars because of the potential of an accident, safety procedures on planes in case you crash, helmet on a bicycle, long clothes and DEET in case of malaria or dengue fever; dangers are everywhere and while there's no point being paranoid be careful and take the right precautions because you just never know.

The threat of a serious jellyfish sting is very real in all Thai coastal waters any time of year. Like being aware that snakes live in the jungle and can bite and kill - we saw a deadly Malayan Krait on Koh Mak for example (such a little island and so beautiful!) - it should be common knowledge amongst all visitors so that they understand the dangers and take the right precautions.

I live in Australia and we have all manner of nasty on our doorstep but we learn from a young age to treat them with respect, steer clear and obey the signs!!

It's been a while since this thread was first posted and there has been a lot of banter so perhaps no-one will read my contribution but I have an update on the jellyfish situation in Thailand that I suggest anyone entering the sea particularly with children should note.

30th December 2007 at Koh Mak (south of Koh Chang) my 4yo son "died" on the beach in his mother's arms with his face blue and no sign of breathing or heartbeat. He had just been stung seconds prior by a box jellyfish. By some miracle his heart spluttered and after a many slow-motion seconds of nothing he came back to life. He is now fine, after 3 days in Bangkok-Trat Hospital with severe scarring to his legs.

The funny guys with the one liners may well joke (and much of it is indeed funny) but the issue of box jellyfish in Thailand is more serious than many people would like you to believe.

Firstly some facts. The box jellyfish or chironex fleckeri is a predator with nerves and sensing organs providing direction - though yes it drifts with the current and wind. This creature is regarded as the most venomous on earth - sea or land - with enough toxin in one 3m body to kill 60 people!

Kan Win provides good advice if stung though massive envenomation like that experienced by my son almost always results in an excrutiating death. Before anything such as applying vinegar follow basic First Aid checking vital signs and commence CPR, etc if necessary then apply vinegar or warmed sea-water to neutralize the millions of stinging cells injected or about to be injected from each attached tenticle. Once doused (30 seconds) carefully remove tenticles. Morning glory paste acts as an anelgesic to minimize pain.

Yes, in northern Australia along coastal areas - the Great Barrier Reef no less which is one of the country's prime tourist destinations -beaches are out of bounds between May and November though usually only July is completely box jellyfish (or stinger) free. All beaches are clearly signed (obviously not much hope of that in Thailand) with vinegar kept in containers on the beach (ditto) and some areas have stinger nets to allow limited swimming and if swimming most people wear full body lycra suits. All paramedics and med clinics carry anti-venom. Cairns, Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation, Magnetic Island, etc etc...no swimming in the sea!!

Interestingly but not surprisingly enough, no-one warned us of the potential danger (of which there are so many - cone shells, sea snakes, lion/stone fish, crazed speedboat drivers, etc etc) though after the fact anecdotal evidence started arriving about other recent victims and other jellyfish sightings including another serious incident with a child a year earlier at the same tiny island (though no-one had a cone shell or sea snake story) suggesting that maybe this is more than a bit of a problem and perhaps there should be a sign somewhere even if only where the hotel meets the beach - though unfortunately it doesn't fit the image of paradise and there's no point panicking the patrons if only the odd bod gets killed, right?

My son was lucky and he's got the scars and advice from Australia if not the world's leading marine biology expert in box jellyfish, a senior toxicologist at the Royal Children's Hospital (Melbourne) also specializing in the area and a RCH cardiologist to prove it.

Unlike Australia, there appears to be no 'season' in Thailand and sightings/attacks have occured throughout the gulf and Andaman Sea coastal areas over every month. After 20 years of swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and whatever in SEAsian waters I will never go to the beach without a bottle of vinegar (THB15) next to my sunscreen again and I will ensure that while looking like complete dorks my family will only enter the water in stinger suits (quickly peeled off when back on the sand and note that one of the things that may well have saved my son was the lycra shirt he was wearing that protected his chest from direct envenomation). I don't know what the odds of a sting are but like putting on a seatbelt, helmet or life jacket, I'm not prepared to put my family or myself at risk again.