We are vacationing in South Carolina this week. We went out to the ocean yesterday and of course the kids jumped right in. Within ten minutes they ran right back out - screaming. All three were stung by a jellyfish. The lifeguards used vinegar on the parts that got stung. This is the first time this has ever happened to us.
Jellyfish - 1, kids - 0
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wvbreamfisherman
Active Member
I got nailed in the Gulf of Mexico near Gulfport. Just a couple tendrils across my chest, but it was quite painful. A poultice of Adolf's meat tenderizer did a good job at killing the sting.
ponderosa
Active Member
How well/quickly did the vinegar work?
wvbreamfisherman
Active Member
Yeah, apparently the protease enzymes (from papaya) in the meat tenderizer break down the venom from the stings. This was a LONG time ago - around 1978, but I'd read that someplace, and we had the stuff in the kitchen of the motor home.
Don't know how official it is, but it seemed to work OK.
carmen
Active Member
Jellyfish are mean little buggers, I was hit years ago and we tried the vinegar trick too. It does work but for kids I think sometimes they get too hyped on getting stung and are over thinking the pain. You might want to keep some antihistamine pills handy too, just in case.
ppine
Forester
I just wrote an entry on Cappy's thread about wasps. We used Coca-cola to relieve jellyfish stings in Cheasapeake Bay. The carbonic acid neutralized the venom.
Greatoutdoors
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That stinks that all of the kids got stung! I am glad the lifeguard had vinegar on hand, but I would be curious to know if the Coca-Cola would work!
Laffeet
New Member
The best thing we have ever found for relieving jellyfish stings is Preparation H. It works faster and better than any of the remedies mentioned and believe me we've tried them all. An old-timer in Marathon told us about it and I always keep an extra tube when we go to the beach. It works good for bee stings, mosquito bites, and ant bites too.
ponderosa
Active Member
Laffeet, good to know. thanks.
I know how it feels. I have been stung in beaches in northern Spain, California and Florida. Yes, that many places. At first it really freaked me out, but now I just go get a beer. These have all been minor stings from small jellyfish but they do hurt. It's like a sharp knife cutting into your skin. Not fun!