Hollywood, MD – Should you decide to go swimming in the Chesapeake Bay this summer you will be happy to know the chances are extremely slim that you will get devoured by a shark. However, your chances of being stung by a sea nettle, a species of jellyfish, are far better.
Sea nettles, as any marine science expert will tell you, are carnivorous. However, their diet includes crustaceans, minnows, bay anchovy eggs and worms. The creatures are like nature’s stun-gun.
According to the online scuba magazine Leisure Pro’s Aqua Views, “the tentacles of sea nettles contain stinging cells that are used to paralyze their prey. When the nettle touches its victim, the prey becomes attached to the tentacle, and the jellyfish moves the food into its mouth, an opening at the center of its body that is linked to a gastrovascular cavity that digests the meal.
The sting of the sea nettle is what inflicts the harm on human swimmers. While the sting is rarely fatal it is not pleasant. It usually results in a painful rash. “A sting from one of these nettles is not enough to kill a human (besides death by allergic reaction), but they can be quite severe. Due to their stinging defense mechanism, these jellyfish do not have many predators,” Aqua Views stated.
In addition to the skin rash, other sea nettle sting symptoms could also include—increased respiratory mucus production, increased nasal mucus production, muscle cramps and breathing problems, information posted on NJ Patch.
So, how do you treat a sea nettle sting? According to experts, the Mayo Clinic recommends a three-step process. First, wash off the sting area immediately with seawater to remove any remaining tentacles. Secondly, remove leftover stingers by applying shaving cream or a paste of seawater and baking soda or sea water and talcum powder to the sting area. Scrape the application off when it dries. The Mayo Clinic recommends stung swimmers “relieve the pain, and itching with ice and over-the-counter skin creams, such as calamine lotion. Rinsing or soaking the sting area with hot water may also help.”
The clinic advises the stung not to use vinegar to treat a sea nettle sting.
Urine luck
Finally, there’s an urban myth that human urine can ease the pain of a jellyfish sting. It seems this myth has its origins from an episode of the 1990s TV sitcom “Friends.” One of the main characters was stung by a jellyfish and advised to use urine on the sting to ease the pain. The web site Scientific American essentially said ‘hold your fire (or urine)’ this cure doesn’t work. “Urine can actually aggravate the jellyfish’s stingers into releasing more venom,” Scientific American stated. The online publication quoted now retired University of Maryland Medical Center dermatologist Dr. Joseph Burnett, who declared “urine is worthless.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com