Large Jelly Fish Off Naiharn Beach

[hackerthai]

Swimming at Naiharn I came inches from a Huge jellyfish about the size of a basket ball. it had many small fish feeding off it. I also had many small stings hit my body from something in the water i could not see that day.

I don't know a thing about jelly fish but would this thing damage me if I swam head first into it?

Could the Russian man who drowned in Kata recently have hit one of these?

What should I carry in my car to pour on a sting if I do hit one?

Thank you,

[seaeagle]

It would be great is someone could possitively identify this, but in the meantime, carry a bottle of vinegar when you visit the beach for a swim. Pour vinegar over stings, then seek proper assistance.

[LivinLOS]

Many years we get a non stinging influx of pinkish jellys..

Even tho I know in my mind they dont sting, when theres 100's of them in the water and your bumping into them as you swim it still freaks me out, cant seem to get my head to overcome the sensation.

[KarenBravo]

If you are stung really, really badly and you don't have any vinegar, urine will do (I'm not kidding).

[g00dgirl]

These small stings you describe, that already happened 2, 3 years ago at Nai Harn beach, no idea what it is but its uncomfortable enough for me to prefer the swimming pool over the beach now.

[paulfromphuket]

If it was a brownish purple then it would be a portugease man of war and would give you a nasty but not fatal sting, and basket ball size is a small one, they are more prevelent in april may I think but some are around all year.

the other tingleing one is micoscopic and not harmful just anoying and is found everywhere.

More worrying are the reports of box jellies which can be fatal and we still have little data on when and where they are turning up.

Viniger or pee is the first thing to apply and definatley not water which would re ignight the sting

[ScubaBuddha]

Hard to say what kind of Jellyfish it is without seeing it. The important thing is it's not a box jelly. Those are the real dangerous buggers. One of the most, if not the most venomous creatures on earth, seen occasionally in Thai waters.

Box Jelly

There's hundreds of species of jellyfish. Some sting, some don't. Some species form mating groups a few days after a full moon, which would be now, and that's often when we see them showing up dead on the beaches. On Saturday, the day they guy mysteriously died on Kata Beach, I saw some of the large jelly's similar to what you describe dead on the beach about 200m from where the Russian guy came out of the water, not that I think that's what killed him. I am sure they will consider that. The inflamed, reddened sting sites would be fairly obvious on the skin even to the lay rescuer.

As noted above, vinegar will help prevent any more nematocysts from firing, (literally microscopic venom filled harpoons) but doesn't stop the pain from the venom that has already been injected. Make sure you remove any bits of tentacle left using some kind of barrier, and not your bare fingers. Sea water works too. Since it is from the environment jellyfish are normally in, saltwater tends to reduce the rate at which the nematocycts fire. The posts above which advocate urinating on jellyfish stings is incorrect. As is the recommendation to not use water. In the case of salt water jelly's, sea water is OK, fresh water is not. A sudden drastic environment change such as fresh water or urine will cause them to fire more. It's vinagar or water from the environment the jelly came from or nothing at all. Cold and hot packs can also be applied if the victim says it reduces the pain.

So yes, swimming head first into it can be problematic, if it's a poisonous type. Some people can go into anphalaxis if they get enough of the venom in their bloodstream. Others may have a heightened allergy to the venom in which case it will take less of for them to go into shock.

A few weeks ago I filmed this, a group of 15 or so jelly's coming in with the tide under Sarasin bridge. I haven't been able to identify them yet, but they were easily as big as a basketball.

There are microscopic and nearly microscopic relatives to jelly's that can sting, such as seasquirts and the comb jelly, (not actually part of the jelly "cnidarian" phylum) and along with bits of tentacles that have fallen off of jellys, these are what sting you when you don't see anything in the water. Jelly's can sting long after they are dead.

I find it interesting that jellyfish are very close relatives of anemones and coral. It's often said that an anemone is just a jelly fish attached to a rock.

Edited December 14, 2009 by ScubaBuddha

[LivinLOS]

The ones in your video are the kind of non stinging ones (tho very large exmples) which sometimes come in a influx of them.

Took me a good long while to brave up the courage to 'test' if they stung or not..

[klfopera]

Thank you for this info. 1. i saw and even touched by accident two of the big babies you filed at patong Beach within the last few weeks. But they did not sting. 2. i have been trying to understand what the invisible pin prick critters are for ten years. Most people aren't especially effected by them but they can bother me for 3-4 days and require a skin cream to reduce inflammation.

[Valentine]

Thank you for this info. 1. i saw and even touched by accident two of the big babies you filed at patong Beach within the last few weeks. But they did not sting. 2. i have been trying to understand what the invisible pin prick critters are for ten years. Most people aren't especially effected by them but they can bother me for 3-4 days and require a skin cream to reduce inflammation.

I started noticing the "invisible" ones at Patong many years ago & I suppose for most people, myself included, they just produce a bit of a tingling sensation. However, one of my daughters suffers a similar effect as you as they can produce quite large welts on her body which take several days to disappear.

[geeky]

If you are stung really, really badly and you don't have any vinegar, urine will do (I'm not kidding).

true, it's the ammoniac in your pee that does the trick ...

[stevenl]

Thank you for this info. 1. i saw and even touched by accident two of the big babies you filed at patong Beach within the last few weeks. But they did not sting. 2. i have been trying to understand what the invisible pin prick critters are for ten years. Most people aren't especially effected by them but they can bother me for 3-4 days and require a skin cream to reduce inflammation.

the invisible stingers are sealice.

[Peterocket]

the invisible stingers are sealice.

Thanks for that, I had never heard of them before.

[ScubaBuddha]

If you are stung really, really badly and you don't have any vinegar, urine will do (I'm not kidding).

true, it's the ammoniac in your pee that does the trick ...

Urban legend. Not advised. Will further activate nymatocysts.

[Atmos]

. . .

A few weeks ago I filmed this, a group of 15 or so jelly's coming in with the tide under Sarasin bridge. I haven't been able to identify them yet, but they were easily as big as a basketball.

Perfect, that's the one; got out of the water at Nai Harn a couple of hours ago, trying to describe 'my' jellyfish to Nok; pinkish colour, about 35-40cm across and similar 'height' if that makes sense. Only saw the one, about 60-80m offshore, but it did upset my relaxed 'two length of the beach' swim, after that every shadow was a possible sighting (like swimming after watching Jaws the first time!).

So they're harmless? Wasnt game to try.

I saw more large jellied objects once on the beach. But that's another thread altogether.

[Big Guy]

I was out in phang nga bay today and saw 30-40 of these jellyfish in different places.

[Jdietz]

I find it interesting that jellyfish are very close relatives of anemones and coral. It's often said that an anemone is just a jelly fish attached to a rock.

Closer than you'd think even:

[Old Croc]

The trick to treating pain of a jellyfish sting is to remove the nematocysts without triggering them to inject venom. Pressure triggers them, as well as fresh water and some chemicals.

Here's how:

1.Remove any tentacles

Use sand or a towel to remove the tentacles without touching them. Touching them with your bare hands will result in additional stings.

2.Rinse away the sting area to remove nematocysts

Here's where opinions differ. Ammonia, vinegar, vodka, denatured alcohol, water, urine and many other substances have all been touted as the cure for jellyfish stings.

Researchers in Australia, home of the deadliest species of box jellyfish, have spent years studying jellyfish stings. One thing is certain: nothing works for sure. Vinegar (5% acetic acid) has been shown to be the best rinse for box jellyfish. It neutralizes unfired nematocysts so they can't inject venom. When vinegar is not available, most research suggests using sea water to rinse away the remaining nematocysts. Fresh water is no good -- it triggers nematocysts to inject venom.

A word of caution about vinegar: Studies suggest that vinegar actually worsens the pain of Portuguese Man of War, bluebottle, and other Physalia stings. These creatures are dangerous look-alikes to jellyfish. Vinegar has been shown to cause nearly 30% of Physalia nematocysts to fire.

Which brings us to urine. Urine consists of water and waste products of the body's blood stream, which includes ammonia -- the reason for its legendary use. Depending on the person -- and whether he or she is dehydrated, diabetic, on a protein diet, or dealing with myriad other conditions -- urine may or may not be about as good as fresh water. In fact, urine contains so much fresh water that stranded folks can drink their own urine to survive (don't worry, I'm cringing at the idea, too). Since we know fresh water will often make nematocysts fire, the logical conclusion is that urine will do the same thing.

Urine has about a 50/50 track record on the Internet. Many anonymous bloggers sing the praises of this readily available wonder tonic, but research just hasn't supported the claims. Others tell stories of urine not working at all. I've yet to read any supposed first-hand claims that urine made the pain of a jellyfish sting worse.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Old Croc