Ignore Everything We Told You Last Week And Do What We Tell You Now. The Advice On Jellyfish Stings Changes Again!

What is the correct first aid treatment for jellyfish stings? Finding this out can be a confusing experience. Just typing “first aid for jellyfish stings” into a web browser throws up a wealth of information, the majority of which is utter bull crap, or at least we thought it was. We were confident, you see, that we knew exactly how to treat a jellyfish sting and having added shaving cream and various condiments to our first aid kit, we were pretty certain that we had covered all the bases and were prepared for anything the gelatinous little buggers could throw at us. What we weren’t expecting however was for everything we thought was right, to be proved wrong, and vice versa. Yet that is exactly what has happened and it’s not just us who’ve got it all wrong. Thanks to the work of some white-coated brainiacs in Hawaii and Ireland, some very authoritative sites including the British National Health Service and Diver Alert Network are going to have to revise their advice too.

The problem is all to do with Portuguese man-of-war. Ah you might say, but a man-of-war is not technically a jellyfish so those brainiacs are barking up the wrong tree all ready. Technically you’d’ be right. A Portuguese man-of-war is a Siphonophore not a jellyfish. However in this instance it makes no difference as Portuguese man-of-war belong to a family called Cnidarians, which include Jellyfish, Hydrae, Anemones and Corals. The tentacles of these Cnidarians contain tiny capsules called Cnidae or nematocysts and it is these toxin-firing structures that cause all the pain and suffering to unwary humans.

The advice that the most authoritative websites give on treating Portuguese man-of-war stings was not to douse the stings with vinegar or alcohol as this made more nematocysts fire and consequently things got worse for the victim. On the other hand, if you knew that the critter that stung you was a notorious Box Jellyfish, then the advice was to drown the affected areas in so much vinegar that the whole place smelt like a Sarsons factory. Confused? Why wouldn’t you be? But things get worse. Some sites suggest that you use baking soda, alcohol, or lemon juice and the myth of urinating on the affected area still persists in places. The British National Health Service (an authoritative organisation, you’d all agree) suggested that the area should be treated with shaving foam and then remaining nematocysts/tentacles scrapped from the skin using a credit card. If shaving foam wasn’t at hand then rinsing with seawater was a good substitute before you got to work with your American Express Card.

Now however Dr Angel Yanagihara of the University of Hawaii and Dr Tom Doyle of the University of Galway, Ireland and their colleagues have put these treatments to the test. Their findings, published in the Journal Toxins, revealed that almost of all the suggested treatments were utter codswallop and the only effective treatment was in fact vinegar. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a sting from a Portuguese man-of-war, a Box Jelly or a Mauve stinger, the best first aid is to rinse with vinegar to remove any residual stingers or bits of tentacle left on the skin and then immerse in 45°C (113°F) hot water or apply a hot pack for 45 minutes.

As for the use of shaving foam, Yanagihara, Doyle et al, found that shaving cream didn’t inhibit the nematocysts from firing and the use of credit card “shaving” produced further firing due to pressure. Doyle himself explained that “this is Quite a u-turn for me” as he helped write the current Irish protocols almost ten years ago, which unfortunately recommend the worst possible combination of steps: seawater rinsing followed by ice pack treatment. "In the coming weeks, I look forward to meeting with members of the Jellyfish Advisory Group to discuss our new findings and how we can revise the current protocols." He said.

Anyone Bring The Chips?

Now before any of you get too clever and start asking silly questions such as what type of vinegar should we use? And is distilled as good as malt? What about white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar or that stuff the French call wine – Beaujolais isn’t it? That’s vinegar most of the time isn’t it?

The simple fact is that vinegar, any sort of vinegar will do. As long as it’s not diluted – which means straight from the bottle chaps. The research also pointed out that use of ice packs should be discontinued and only vinegar followed by heat immersion or the application of hot packs are effective.

Now we know that some of you sharp-eyed types out there might have spotted the name Yanagihara and thought to themselves, “hang on”. “Isn’t that the same Dr Yanagihara founder and principal of Alatalab Solutions, LLC, manufacturer of Sting No More®products”? And you’d be right, she is one in the same. But before you start concocting conspiracy theories about the contents of Sting No More products and the possibility Dr Yanagihara might be the secret owner of a large vinegar manufacturing plant, let us be clear that Yanagihara has already declared a potential conflict of interest as the inventor for USPTO applications PCT/US2012/000095 and PCT/US2015/037974. A.A.Y. and as the founder and principal of Alatalab Solutions, LLC, manufacturer of Sting No More®products. The University stated: management of this disclosed potential conflict of interest was achieved under an approved University of Hawaii Conflict of Interest (COI) plan. All aspects of the COI plan were followed while conducting this research study and in the independent analysis of data. No other member of the group declared a conflict of interest. No. We have no idea what all that means either but we suppose that no one at the University thought there was a problem so why should any of us?

Anyway, Yanagihara et al have already started studying the next stinging jellies on their list. As they've examined two of the three main classes of dangerous stingers, they have their sights set on the last remaining class: true jellyfish (class Schyphozoa). Again collaborating with Doyle, they are working on evidence-based first aid measures for lion's mane (Cyanea capillata), one of largest jellyfish in the world. Which means of course that all this advice might change in the near future. But then there are few things in life you can depend on other than the fact that you are born, you will pay tax and you will die. Oh and that scientists will be adamant about their findings right up to the point they’re contradicted. Until then however we will be revising our advice on our snorkelling hazards page to take account of this research and look forward to revising it again in the near future.

Also Cleans Horse's Hooves

Oh one last thing. The best advice for jellyfish stings is – don’t get stung in the first place. If the area you are snorkelling in is known for jellyfish, wear a full wetsuit including a hood and gloves 

Those of you who’d like to read the full research paper can find it here. 

Return To Jellyfish Bay

Isles of Scilly 2016 - Part One

 

Arrghhh me hearties! Tis time to slap on the eye-patch and unpack ye snorkel see. Weigh anchor we cry. Brace the mainsail and raise the Jolly Roger. Tis to the Scilly Isles we head in search of fun, frolics and snorkelling plunder.

Okay, enough of the Long John Silver stuff. In September last year, following stories of large numbers of Mauve Stinger jellyfish being reported in the seas around South West Britain, we were drawn to the waters of the Scilly Isles. Undaunted by the fact that, as their name implies, they come equipped with a painful sting we hoped to get up close and personal with these stunning gelatinous critters. And, at Pelistry Bay, on the Island of St Mary's are hopes were more than met. The previous winters unusually strong storms had driven vast clouds of the Mauve Stingers food source towards the Scilly Isles and the Jellyfish had naturally followed. What we found when we arrived was that the waters around this bay of silver white sand virtually pulsed with Mauve Stingers along with dozens of Compass, Crystal and Moon Jellyfish.

Now, with the hope that the waters were a little warmer, we returned to Pelistry Bay to see if any of the Atlantic Ocean invaders remained as well as seeing what other, more native species, might lurk in the forests of kelp.

The Bay can be reached by foot from the capital, Hugh Town, although it will take some time and if you are carrying cameras, wetsuits, masks, snorkels and several flasks of warming tea (the waters can be cold around here) or are not as fit as you think you are then there is nothing easier than making the journey in an electric golf cart. These can be hired on a daily basis from The Scilly Cart Company for around £40. So loading up the bright yellow carts with our equipment, we strapped on our seat belts, slammed the pedal to the metal and hurtled off up the road at the staggering speed of 5 mph. Yep, golf carts are not that fast and you are going to be overtaken by cars, lorries, bikes and the odd elderly jogger. You are not going to look very cool either. It is, after all, a bright yellow golf cart that makes a horrendous beeping noise when reversing and doesn't cope that well with any of the hills on the island but they are still great fun to weave around the country lanes on. Anyway, looking cool isn't everything, just ask anyone who has a PADI badge sewn onto their clothing.

Blue Jellyfish

Finding a spot to park the N.Y.C cab coloured carts, we followed the rocky path down to the Bay. Pelistry is regarded as the best beach on the island so tends to attract the crowd. Although, this is the Isles of Scilly we're are talking about and a crowd down here is anything more than two people so it never gets that busy. When we arrived, there was a man with a dog strolling along the beach and that was it.

A very dull person, who has lots of diving badges, once told us that the temperature of the waters around Britain are always two months behind the air temperature. So if you went for a dip on a warm June day, the sea temperature would be that of a freezing cold morning in April. This is of course turns out to be utter pig swill! Last September the water temperature was akin to walking into a freezer even though, if the theory was right, it should have been like diving into a hot tub, as July 2015 was very warm. This year, a dip into the sea in July should have been the same as walking around on a cold day in May. It wasn't. It was in fact warmer than last year. Of course when we say it was warmer than last year that doesn't mean it was in fact warm. It's simply that last year the water was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. This year the brass monkey would be shivering it's heart out and look decidedly blue, but it's metallic gonads would still be attached – just.

A Wrasse darts through the kelp

So, making a mental note not to pay any attention to dull men in pubs ever again we kitted up and took the plunge. No matter where we have been in the world, there is nothing to compare to the other worldly sensation you get when you snorkel through the kelp and seaweed forests of the Scilly Isles. It really does feel like you are exploring an alien jungle. In places the seaweed completely carpets the ocean bed making it appear that the sea floor is moving back and forth as the fronds are caught in the tidal current. Something that can be a little disorientating if you are prone to the old Mal De Mare. In other parts, the kelps rise up from the ocean floor to form an impenetrable underwater maze that drives the snorkeller one way and then another.

The kelp may have seemed alien but the real aliens we were after were no where to be seen. Our attention wavered somewhat. We loitered a while watching prawns dancing beneath an overhang, we followed various wrasse as they darted in and out of the kelp and then we came across a small blue jellyfish. But that seemed to be that, the shoals of jellyfish we had seen last September had clearly moved on. Just as we were considering calling it a day, a cry went up. Actually it was a more of a loud burble as one of our clan spotted something large and spherical in the murky distance. There, happily drifting through the sunken forest was a huge compass jellyfish, it's tentacles and oral arms trailing a good metre and a half from the bell. Perhaps it had been here for a while, a grown up version of a smaller specimen we had seen last year or perhaps it was a newcomer. Whatever, it put the icing on the cake of our first forage back in the bay. Cameras snapped and film rolled (metaphorically) as we drifted with the gelatinous giant for a while before cold and hunger took hold. 

That Huge Compass Jellyfish

We emerged to find the beach was now full of families sitting on towels, men comparing dogs and a bizarre convoy of jogging pensioners was snaking along the shore. Alright, there was one family and that man with the dog had met a friend but that convoy of pensioners was real - we swear. De-kitted and several mugs of hot tea later it was back to the nippy carts. Time to hit the pub and start talking like a pirate again.

Tis true me hearties! In these far flung parts ye 'ave to speak like old Blackbeard 'imself or the locals won't understand a word ye say. This is Cornwall after all and the language down here is as different to English as Latin is to Swahili. Mines a jar of frothy swill ye scurvy swab and make it quick damn ya eyes....

More pictures and video will be posted on our flickr and youtube pages over the next few weeks so check back again.

Cold Water, Strong Currents And Swarms Of Mauve Stingers – Perfect!

The Scilly Isles are situated some twenty-eight miles southwest of Cornwall. The tiny archipelago is made up of five inhabited islands and numerous other uninhabited islands and rocky islets – around 140 in total. The large numbers of ships that have been wrecked on the islands rocky shores make the Scilly Isles a wreck divers dream but the islands have a lot to offer the more daring snorkeller as well. One particular event caught our eye some time ago and made heading for the islands a must. In January this year the local Wildlife Trust reported a large influx of jellyfish around the Islands, particularly the Pelagia Noctiluca or Mauve Stinger. Growing up to 10cm across the bell, these jellies (as their name suggests) carry a painful, but fortunately not fatal, sting. Although it is not unusual for deep water jellyfish to occasionally find their way into the local waters, the appearance of so many at one time is rare and is believed to have been caused by winter storms pushing the organisms that the jellyfish feed on towards the islands. The jellyfish have followed this food source and ended up in the shallow waters around Scilly. 

Mauve Stingers

Given the fact that the influx was reported in January and we weren’t able to travel until September you might think that the opportunity had passed, however we kept a close eye on events and the monthly reports continued unabated and when we arrived on St Mary’s Island, the waters were still brimming with the gelatinous beggars. After a quick perusal of the island's coastline, looking for the best and easiest location to get in and out of the water, we headed for Pelistry Bay on the more remote eastern shore of St Mary’s. Pelistry Bay is accessible by footpath from the main road. A sign at the entrance to the beach warns of strong currents and being September, the water was cold – very cold. The beach is pure white sand and for the snorkeller, sand means poor visibility particularly in the winter months with the large Atlantic swell and strong wave action. Still we suited up, primed the cameras and headed into the seas chilling embrace. Visibility was compromised but we were not disappointed, the sea was virtually awash with Mauve Stingers along with Compass Jellyfish, Moon Jellies and Comb Jellyfish (Sea Gooseberry).

 

Comb Jelly (Sea Gooseberry)

Crystal Jellyfish

Compass Jellyfish

Forty-five minutes later we emerged cold and shivering but happy. To see so many different types of Jellyfish in one single location is something we never expected. A quick dry off and several shots of warming tea from the thermos we headed off to the Carn Vean Cafe, (situated on a hill by the bay) for a welcome serving of Cornwall’s famous steak pasties. Simply perfect....

The fate of many a Jelly