Jellyfish In Pattaya Waters

[TCW]

After reading the General topic on jellyfish, I wonder have any board members been stung recently in Pattaya or Jomtien? Last weekend I saw some very large round jellyfish in the water, but I do not know if they even sting.Thank you.

[contemplating]

The jellyfish that are washed up on the beach are not the jellyfish in question, Box Jellyfish. As I understand it, all jellyfish sting, that is how they get their food, if they feed on zooplankton, or bigger prey, but some are relatively harmless, and others are Deadly.

I hope people will start to use the word "STING", not "bite". Jellyfish sting, bees sting, dogs and cats bite!! There is a big difference. If you were unfortunate to get bitten by a dog, would you go to the clinic and say you were stung by a dog? Jellyfish dont have teeth, so they dont bite.

And yes, I think I will add a bottle of vinegar to my beach kit.

[Basil B]

The jellyfish that are washed up on the beach are not the jellyfish in question, Box Jellyfish. As I understand it, all jellyfish sting, that is how they get their food, if they feed on zooplankton, or bigger prey, but some are relatively harmless, and others are Deadly.

I hope people will start to use the word "STING", not "bite". Jellyfish sting, bees sting, dogs and cats bite!! There is a big difference. If you were unfortunate to get bitten by a dog, would you go to the clinic and say you were stung by a dog? Jellyfish dont have teeth, so they dont bite.

And yes, I think I will add a bottle of vinegar to my beach kit.

And if you forget the vinegar, you can always pee on yourself or get a friend to

[soihok]

The big round jellyfish will sting quite severely.

My 5 year old daughter had a tangle with one, as well as a guy swimming.

We applied some lotion from a chemist across the road but the damage had been done. She got it across the back of her hand and it took ages to heal up. The wound was really deep.

She is now scarred for life.

The guy got it down the side of his body and across his chest, it was a very large area that had been affected, he was in real pain but decided to live with it instead of seeking medical attention, or vinegar, or even urine.

Ever tried to find vinegar on the beach in a hurry?

[johnlexo]

I have been swimming almost daily on the North end of Jomtien for the last 8 years. I have been stung quite a few times over the time. Unfortunately the last couple of years they seem to be on the increase. They used to be around mainly in April/May/June. Now there are several types all year round and I had a few bad encounters just the last couple of month. One of them bad enough to sting me through my swimming trunks. I feel especially sorry if these beasts hurt a child. Pain can be anywhere from mild to very, very painful. Studies show that all types of jellyfish are spreading fast around all waters of the world. I guess we will be swimming only in the pool soon. http://www.jellyfishfacts.net/dangerous-jellyfish.html

[sharecropper]

I have been swimming almost daily on the North end of Jomtien for the last 8 years. I have been stung quite a few times over the time. Unfortunately the last couple of years they seem to be on the increase. They used to be around mainly in April/May/June. Now there are several types all year round and I had a few bad encounters just the last couple of month. One of them bad enough to sting me through my swimming trunks. I feel especially sorry if these beasts hurt a child. Pain can be anywhere from mild to very, very painful. Studies show that all types of jellyfish are spreading fast around all waters of the world. I guess we will be swimming only in the pool soon. http://www.jellyfishfacts.net/dangerous-jellyfish.html

Sadly it seems stings at the beach are not just confined to the jet ski scammers.

Do you know what type of jellyfish stung you? Was it one of the big round ones?

[Rimmer]

There is a semi related topic running HERE

[TCW]

There is a semi related topic running HERE

Thank you. I did refer to that in my OP ("After reading the General topic on jellyfish... "), but perhaps I should have linked it, if I knew how.

Apologies.

[TCW]

The big round jellyfish will sting quite severely.

My 5 year old daughter had a tangle with one, as well as a guy swimming.

We applied some lotion from a chemist across the road but the damage had been done. She got it across the back of her hand and it took ages to heal up. The wound was really deep.

She is now scarred for life.

The guy got it down the side of his body and across his chest, it was a very large area that had been affected, he was in real pain but decided to live with it instead of seeking medical attention, or vinegar, or even urine.

Ever tried to find vinegar on the beach in a hurry?

I am sorry about your daughter. I had no idea the round ones were so harmful.

You say it was a "wound" and not a rash. I had no idea they could open up the skin. I have never seen they have tentacles, just floating or washed up, like big dinner plates.

Do they sting upon contact anywhere with their bodies, on top or underneath?

[FarangBuddha]

If going to the beach for a swim, probably should pack a small bottle of white vinegar along with the sun-screen with you...20 baht or so at any 7-11.

[tropo]

The big round jellyfish will sting quite severely.

My 5 year old daughter had a tangle with one, as well as a guy swimming.

We applied some lotion from a chemist across the road but the damage had been done. She got it across the back of her hand and it took ages to heal up. The wound was really deep.

She is now scarred for life.

The guy got it down the side of his body and across his chest, it was a very large area that had been affected, he was in real pain but decided to live with it instead of seeking medical attention, or vinegar, or even urine.

Ever tried to find vinegar on the beach in a hurry?

The toxins attack the nervous system so vinegar won't achieve much other than soothing the sting site. I've had many stings across the chest by blue bottles and it can really affect your breathing and cause pain in the chest muscles. Even the lesser toxic jellyfish can kill susceptible people if they have enough stings. If a person happens to be allergic to the toxin it wouldn't take much, but the problem is that if one allergic person died from a jellyfish sting it would give the general public the wrong idea and the media would talk up the dangers.

[tropo]

I am sorry about your daughter. I had no idea the round ones were so harmful.

There are many different species of "round ones". Many are totally harmless. They need an expert here to determine which species are hitting these beaches.

Edited November 24, 2010 by tropo

[FarangBuddha]

The big round jellyfish will sting quite severely.

My 5 year old daughter had a tangle with one, as well as a guy swimming.

We applied some lotion from a chemist across the road but the damage had been done. She got it across the back of her hand and it took ages to heal up. The wound was really deep.

She is now scarred for life.

The guy got it down the side of his body and across his chest, it was a very large area that had been affected, he was in real pain but decided to live with it instead of seeking medical attention, or vinegar, or even urine.

Ever tried to find vinegar on the beach in a hurry?

The toxins attack the nervous system so vinegar won't achieve much other than soothing the sting site. I've had many stings across the chest by blue bottles and it can really affect your breathing and cause pain in the chest muscles. Even the lesser toxic jellyfish can kill susceptible people if they have enough stings. If a person happens to be allergic to the toxin it wouldn't take much, but the problem is that if one allergic person died from a jellyfish sting it would give the general public the wrong idea and the media would talk up the dangers.

My understanding is that the vinegar (or urea/urine) is not to treat the symptoms of the venom; the vinegar (a component in it) neutralizes any remaining stinger cells present on the body therefore preventing them from activating/firing additional venom into the victim. Of course, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to treat the symptoms of the initial attack.

[soihok]

Sadly we failed to do that with our kid, I wish we had rather than mess about with the chemist.

I do wonder how the guy who got it across the side of his body is everytime I see my daughters scar. He must have swam right through it, his wound was really big and blistering , a good 10% of his upper torso.

Some girls he was with smothered him in some green mixture of sorts, didn't help with the pain though.

The jellyfish that my daughter touched was big, round, white with four purple circles close together on its ,er. head (?)

[Ohio]

All jellyfish have tentacles & venom therein, that is their method of acquiring food & defence.

The stinging caused by contact with them depends totally on the type & time of year

From the common Moon jellyfish to the Virulent Box of Oz they all have VENOM

Cortisonal ointment, vinegar etc only relieve the pain not the consequences of the venomous application of the tentacles. Even with tentacles ripped from the fish they still keep applying venom through the stinging.

In children the skin can be totally show a 'whipped' type of wound & in older adults can cause asphyxsia from mild to fatal.

Growing up on the Gold Coast of Queensland , I speak with first hand knowledge.

Be careful folks,if your heart , lungs etc aren't the best it doesn't take much to induce a collapse

[tropo]

My understanding is that the vinegar (or urea/urine) is not to treat the symptoms of the venom; the vinegar (a component in it) neutralizes any remaining stinger cells present on the body therefore preventing them from activating/firing additional venom into the victim. Of course, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to treat the symptoms of the initial attack.

It doesn't work like that. Once the stinger cells (nematocyst) hit the skin they discharge their toxin immediately. Vinegar merely helps to relieve the stinging on the skin surface.

Edited November 25, 2010 by tropo

[FarangBuddha]

My understanding is that the vinegar (or urea/urine) is not to treat the symptoms of the venom; the vinegar (a component in it) neutralizes any remaining stinger cells present on the body therefore preventing them from activating/firing additional venom into the victim. Of course, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to treat the symptoms of the initial attack.

It doesn't work like that. Once the stinger cells (nematocyst) hit the skin they discharge their toxin immediately. Vinegar merely helps to relieve the stinging on the skin surface.

Yes the stinger cells in the tentacles that have made direct contact with the skin surface will automatically discharge. However, there are cells all around the surface of the tentacle [top, sides, ends] that will have not yet made contact with the skin (and thus not yet discharged their nematocysts). Movement by the victim or even attempts to remove the tentacles may cause these additional areas to come in contact with the skin and thus discharge additional toxin/venom into the victim. Again, the vinegar will "de-activate" these additional discharges.

Edited November 25, 2010 by FarangBuddha

[tropo]

My understanding is that the vinegar (or urea/urine) is not to treat the symptoms of the venom; the vinegar (a component in it) neutralizes any remaining stinger cells present on the body therefore preventing them from activating/firing additional venom into the victim. Of course, medical attention should be sought as soon as possible to treat the symptoms of the initial attack.

It doesn't work like that. Once the stinger cells (nematocyst) hit the skin they discharge their toxin immediately. Vinegar merely helps to relieve the stinging on the skin surface.

Yes the stinger cells in the tentacles that have made direct contact with the skin surface will automatically discharge. However, there are cells all around the surface of the tentacle [top, sides, ends] that will have not yet made contact with the skin (and thus not yet discharged their nematocysts). Movement by the victim or even attempts to remove the tentacles may cause these additional areas to come in contact with the skin and thus discharge additional toxin/venom into the victim. Again, the vinegar will "de-activate" these additional discharges.

Interesting theory but I don't go along with it. Most jellyfish don't leave tentacles wrapped around the skin. They normally stay attached to the jellyfish and brush up against the skin when the person is swimming. If there are tentacles attached to the skin, they would be long gone before that person could get to the beach and find vinegar as they would instinctively brush them off in the water.

[BSJ]

There is a solution.

[soihok]

The wound my kid had has left a "whipped" liked scar, I,m happy that she didn't get it in the face

After seeing a large amount of Jellyfish in the water and on the sand at the beaches around Pattaya, my wife and I don't go in the sea there now, we certainly don't let the kids go in where we cannot see whats around them. Off to the simming pool when we want a swim.....far safer and cleaner.