How to treat a Black Sea jellyfish bite. What to do if you are bitten by a jellyfish. Stung by a jellyfish: symptoms

A jellyfish sting is quite painful. He can ruin a long-awaited vacation by appearing human skin burn, allergic reaction or causing anaphylactic shock. Before going to the sea, people are interested in how to avoid a jellyfish sting.

Be careful in water:

• do not swim close to jellyfish;
• try to swim less during storms. At this time, there are many fragments of tentacles off the coast, which are still dangerous;
• When swimming with a mask, do not touch anything on the bottom, even when wearing gloves.

What is the danger of jellyfish?

Jellyfish can only be found in salt water. They are the oldest inhabitants of our planet and live in all seas and oceans. Their body is 98% water. Most often it resembles a jelly-like umbrella that moves thanks to muscle contractions. Tentacles grow along its edges. Their number and characteristics depend on the type of jellyfish. Tentacles are weapons. They contain poison. With its help, the creature hunts and can cause serious harm to humans.

The world's oceans contain extremely dangerous jellyfish. The Sea Wasp is considered the most poisonous. It can easily be found off the coast of Australia in the shallow waters of the Bolshoi barrier reef. Having stung, the jellyfish releases a toxic poison that causes heart paralysis. If the serum is not administered in time, the affected person dies.

When vacationing in Hawaii or Japan, you need to be careful. In the water you can stumble upon the Portuguese Man of War. This jellyfish has thin tentacles. Its venom is most dangerous for children and the elderly. A jellyfish sting of this type is not excluded.

Jellyfish of the Black Sea

The bite of a jellyfish living in the Black Sea does not pose a mortal threat, but can cause great trouble. Three species of family members live here:

• cornermouth;
• aurelia;
• mnemiopsis.

Everyone who has rested on a mountain at least once knows what a corner looks like. Black Sea coast. This is a large jellyfish with a cap 50 cm in diameter and massive long processes. The predator lives near the shore and hunts tiny crustaceans and fry. It is most annoying to vacationers in July and August. Cornerot venom causes skin redness and burns.

Aurelia is medium sized. Her umbrella reaches a diameter of no more than 40 cm. She cannot cause damage to an adult. If jellyfish venom gets into the mucous membrane of the eyes or onto the delicate skin of a child, irritation and redness begins.

Mnemiopsis is a small jellyfish that does not have tentacles or venom. It has the property of glowing in night water. The homeland of jellyfish is the coast of America. It got into the Black Sea by accident and quickly multiplied, causing harm by eating the eggs of small fish.

What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish?

If contact with the tentacles does occur, it is worse. There is a high probability of a jellyfish sting, and everyone should know what to do in such a situation. No need to panic. Remove the victim from the water. During bathing, the pain is not felt much, and the person does not pay attention to it. Meanwhile, the poison continues to penetrate inside, producing a nerve-paralytic effect. As a result, seizures may occur, especially in young children.

• Place the patient in the shade, try to clean the stung area from remnants of tentacles and poison.
• Transparent particles of jellyfish are difficult to notice on the skin. Even if it seems that the body is absolutely clean, wipe it with a dry cloth or sand, otherwise the poison will continue to enter the blood, poisoning it with toxins.
• Afterwards the burn must be washed sea ​​water. Do not use fresh liquid. It increases irritation and the effect of poison.

The consequences after a bite can be serious. In people with allergies, older people with heart disease, and children, the pain sometimes spreads throughout the body and causes shock, accompanied by difficulty breathing.

It is necessary to provide assistance as quickly as possible in case of a jellyfish sting. The venom of Black Sea specimens most often causes an allergic rash, red painful spots and blisters. Nausea and vomiting are less common. They are provoked by extensive contact, when several burns appear on the body at once.

First aid

When the bite is thoroughly washed with salt water, the poison that has been absorbed into the skin should be neutralized. Perfect for this lemon juice. It is easy to get it on the beach by buying citrus in the nearest cafe. Cut the fruit in half and pour the juice over the affected area.

• Useful instead of lemon baking soda. Dilute 1 tsp. solution in a glass of fresh water and apply a cotton swab to the burn.
• To remove toxins accumulated in upper layers skin, it is recommended to use apple cider vinegar as a lotion. Soak a clean cloth in the liquid and apply it to the sore spot for 5 minutes.

If the burn is very painful, first aid may consist of cold lotions. Take ice from the freezer and place it in plastic bag. Tie tightly and apply to the wound. Be sure to make sure that fresh water does not leak out of the bag and come into contact with the jellyfish sting.

To reduce swelling and prevent an allergic reaction, you can take an antihistamine as prescribed by your doctor. Do not swim or go out in the sun on this day. Rest in a cool room, drink more clean water, juice or compote.

What to do next?

Timely assistance can prevent the unpleasant consequences of toxin poisoning. If the burn is deep, it takes several weeks to heal. You can speed up recovery using available means.

A paste of salt and soda neutralizes poison well.

• Measure out fine salt and baking soda in equal quantities.
• Dilute the mixture with water to form a thick paste.
• Apply a thick layer to reddened skin.
• Wait until it is completely dry and gently clean with a cloth.
• The wound must be smeared against a jellyfish sting once a day for 3 days.

Regular flour quickly heals blisters after a jellyfish burn.

• Mix it with fine salt in a ratio of 5:1.
• Pour in a spoonful of water and knead into a stiff dough.
• Form a cake, place it on the skin and secure with a band-aid.
• Wear the bandage for at least 2 hours.
• Treatment is recommended until the symptoms of inflammation disappear.

Carrots contain valuable substances that trigger the skin regeneration process and help after burns. If there are no other means at hand, grate the peeled vegetable on a fine grater, put the pulp on a bandage and bring it to the jellyfish sting. Walk like this for several hours. Do compresses 2 times a day until improvement is noticeable.

If the venom from the tentacles has affected the mucous membrane of the eyes or other delicate places, do not self-medicate. Wash the burn and see a doctor immediately. He will explain how to treat a bite and prescribe the necessary medications. Lifeguards are required to be on duty on crowded beaches. Contact them. They will help you call ambulance and will tell you what to do while waiting for specialists.

Do not forget that a person’s reaction to poison is individual. In some people, contact with the tentacles results in mild redness, which goes away without any treatment. Others experience a severe allergic reaction, causing blisters and rashes. Be extremely careful on the beach, especially when holidaying abroad.

If a jellyfish burn does not go away for a long time and when you press on it you feel pain, do not hesitate to go to the hospital. Adequate treatment will help avoid complications. They are often caused by the bite of even Black Sea jellyfish.

A burn or jellyfish sting is a common occurrence while swimming. It is necessary to know the basic symptoms and first aid measures.

Jellyfish sting

Jellyfish are invertebrate inhabitants of the seas and oceans. They often live in surface waters, but can go down to a depth of 3 km. They have tentacles with nematocysts - special capsules containing stinging threads and toxins.

Highlight the most dangerous species jellyfish:

• Portuguese man-of-war, or physalia. It lives in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Pacific and Indian oceans. The burn is usually not painful, but then the symptoms increase.
• Irukandji. The bite is almost invisible, the size of the jellyfish is small. But the burn occurs with severe intoxication, known as “Irukandji syndrome.”
• Box jellyfish. Lives in tropical seas, the dome is rectangular in shape, surrounded by tentacles.
• Sea wasp. It is extremely poisonous, lives in shallow water, and moves at high speed. It can be found in Oceania and Indonesia.

The Cornerot jellyfish lives in the Black Sea - with a dome-shaped body and tentacles, and has a purple border. Her burns are dangerous for children and elderly, weakened people, and pregnant women.

Not only live jellyfish in water are poisonous, but also dead ones - those thrown onto land or their tentacles. They can sting too. You should not pick them up or throw them at someone, this will lead to a burn to the body. What to do if you are bitten by a jellyfish?

Symptoms

A burn after contact with a jellyfish manifests itself in different ways. Symptoms depend on the type of marine creature, the area of ​​contact, the age and health of the person bitten. Most often, a burn manifests itself with the following symptoms:

• Redness of the skin (hyperemia).
• Rash at the site of contact.
• Formation of blisters.
• Bruising.
• Severe itching, burning.
• Pain. It can be sharp or dull, tingling, cutting, shooting.
• Intoxication, which is mistakenly associated with food or drug poisoning.

Manifestations of intoxication that occur after a poisonous jellyfish sting are called Irukandji syndrome. These include:

• weakness;
• dizziness;
• increased heart rate;
• changes in blood pressure;
• headache and muscle pain;
• abdominal discomfort;
• nausea, vomiting;
• backache;
• shortness of breath;
• fever.

In severe intoxication, pulmonary edema, heart failure and death occur. If you are allergic to jellyfish venom, complications occur even with a minor burn. Their signs:

• Fainting or hypertensive crisis.
• Breathing disorders - difficult, wheezing exhalation.
• Choking due to bronchospasm or laryngeal edema.
• Cramps.
• Visual impairment.

When bitten, first aid is important. It will prevent the spread of the burn, the development of complications, and in case of allergies, it will restore impaired vital functions.

First aid

The health and life of a person, as well as the prognosis for recovery, depend on the timely actions of rescuers. If a jellyfish stings, first aid includes the following measures:

1. The victim must be carried out or brought ashore.
2. Parts of the jellyfish – the tentacles – should be removed from the body. Do not touch them with your hands, as this will cause a burn. You can use gloves, cloth, clothing or shoes, or, in extreme cases, sea sand. This will protect the rescuer.
3. Wash the burn area with vinegar. It is recommended to take it to the beach if there is a lot of life in the sea poisonous jellyfish. In the absence of vinegar it will do sea ​​water. The skin should be washed thoroughly.
4. Cover the skin with a bandage, especially if there are blisters.

For severe burns, widespread rashes, and symptoms of intoxication, you need to consult a doctor to select the optimal therapy. For minor injuries, you can use antiallergic ointments or tablets if the stinging jellyfish is known. If the species is unknown, even with a small burn you should consult a doctor.

When providing first aid, do not remove the jellyfish tentacles. with bare hands, wash the bite area fresh water or alcohol, rub the victim’s skin. For quick pain relief, it is recommended to apply ice wrapped in a cloth or heating pad to the burn. Upon contact with physalia, the toxin is neutralized by washing the skin hot water(45 degrees).

Drug treatment

To treat a stung person, local and systemic therapy is used. The first includes ointments - antihistamines or corticosteroids. The second involves pills and injections.

The basis of treatment is antiallergic drugs. They reduce itching and pain, relieve inflammation, and eliminate rashes. For minor burns, use antihistamine ointments - Psilo-balm, Fenistil gel. For more severe cases, they resort to hormonal external agents. These are the following ointments:

• Hydrocortisone;
• Prednisolone;
• Laticort;
• Sinaflan.

Laticort is a strong corticosteroid drug; it is not applied to the face and is not used to treat small children.

If local treatment is not enough, tablets and injections are used. Tablets (or in the form of syrups) antihistamines for jellyfish burns are:

• Suprastin;
• Diazolin;
• Claritin;
• Cetrin;
• Erius;
• Loratadine;
• Eden.

Antiallergic drugs can be administered intramuscularly or intravenously to reduce unpleasant symptoms - for example, Tavegil. The previously popular Diphenhydramine is rarely used as an antihistamine due to side effects– drowsiness, dry mouth. It is mainly used by emergency doctors.

Hormone injections are performed only by a doctor - in case of severe skin damage or the development of Irukandji syndrome. These are fast-acting drugs, but with a lot of side effects.

For pain relief and lowering body temperature, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used - Nurofen, Rapidol, Panadol, Efferalgan, Nimesil, Analgin, Solpadeine. Children can be given medications based on paracetamol and ibuprofen.

If box jellyfish are common in the sea or ocean, local medical institutions usually have a ready-made antitoxin for their venom, which is administered to victims.

If a burn provokes anaphylaxis and shock, the life of the victim depends on first aid.

Help with anaphylactic shock

Shock after a jellyfish sting is manifested by the following symptoms:

• Severe weakness.
• Moisture of the skin.
• A drop in blood pressure.
• Pre-fainting or loss of consciousness.
• Difficulty breathing, whistling, suffocation.

If such signs appear after swimming in the sea, you should suspect a jellyfish sting. The victim should be laid down, remove the wetsuit, goggles, mask (if any), and call a doctor.

For anaphylactic shock, the only effective remedy is epinephrine (adrenaline). It is available in the form of a syringe pen (Epipen), which makes it easy to select the desired dose and administer the drug in any conditions, even through clothing. If a person has multiple allergies or swims in places where poisonous jellyfish live, an EpiPen should be in the first aid kit. But its cost is high.

In case of anaphylactic shock, the doctor administers adrenaline, dexamethasone and injectable antihistamines to prevent secondary anaphylaxis.

Prevention

Preventing jellyfish burns means avoiding encounters with them. Parents should pay especially close attention to young children, as their bites are the most severe. If you know that poisonous jellyfish are common in the sea or ocean, you need to wear a thick wetsuit and take vinegar to the beach to treat burns.

It is important to remember that not only live jellyfish are dangerous, but also their parts. You can’t pick them up or pick them up. Children should be taught this too. In case of a burn, you should consult a doctor to prevent complications.

Tourists love to relax on the seas and oceans, but few people care about finding out in advance all the subtleties of an “encounter” with jellyfish in the water. Therefore, a considerable number of vacationers sooner or later experience what a jellyfish sting is. And before your trip, it’s better to ask in advance what to do if this sea creature stings you. After all, the consequences can be the most unpredictable, and they depend on the species. Some leave only painful marks after a bite, while others are fraught with serious injuries. What are the symptoms of burns, how to provide first aid and how to properly treat jellyfish stings. Let's figure it out.

A jellyfish sting is the most painful of painful things, similar to a burn from hot oil. The degree of discomfort after contact with this marine inhabitant may vary, depending on which of them the “meeting” took place. The advantage is that not all of them sting, only ten percent, and even if disturbed, they themselves do not attack. Poisonous stinging threads are necessary for protection from enemies and catching prey, and they can only sting a person if they are touched, then the jellyfish automatically shoot out thin threads. As a result, the victim receives severe burns and sharp, severe pain.

Symptoms of a jellyfish sting (depending on the variety), in addition to pain, are accompanied by redness, rash, scarring, numbness and muscle spasms. Cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even loss of consciousness may also occur. If there was contact with one of the most dangerous species, the consequences can be severe, such as dizziness, delirium, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing and fainting. What does a jellyfish sting look like? Damaged skin turns red, becomes covered with spots and blisters (sometimes scars), “flashes” and itches, and appearance very similar to a fire burn.

First aid for a victim of a jellyfish sting

What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish? It is important to note here that a lot depends on correctly provided first aid; this will help avoid unpleasant consequences. And if you are stung by a jellyfish, and there is no medical center nearby, then you need to do the following:

• Inspect the affected area, clean it of any remaining threads with a cloth soaked in salt water, but do not touch it with your hands, otherwise you will receive equally severe burns;
• If you have a first aid kit on hand (and you should always have one on vacation), then make a compress with hydrogen peroxide, ammonia or chlorhexidine;
• If you don’t have a first aid kit, you can make a compress with cologne or ice; even just a bottle of cold drink will do - the cold will relieve itching and pain;
• Gently lubricate the stung area with any special means, for example, tetracycline ointment, Fenistil or Bepanten gel, or aloe vera cream;
• Take Citramon (relieves the allergic reaction) and No-Spa (relieves spasms and muscle pain), and continue to smear the burn with an anti-inflammatory drug;
• Take a comfortable, relaxed position (necessarily in the shade, without sunlight), try to move as little as possible and drink more fluids. If you are stung by a jellyfish, vinegar will also help relieve the pain and itching from the burn if you have it on hand.

Voltaren and Mederma ointments, which effectively eliminate traces of a jellyfish sting, will help to completely cure the burn. After their use, no scars remain.

Treatment of jellyfish burn with folk remedies

What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish, if there are no medicines? In this case, they will come to the rescue folk remedies. Perfectly soothes the skin sea ​​buckthorn oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and goose fat. These few recipes will also help.

• Tomato. This vegetable cut into rings will quickly relieve inflammation if you place the circles tightly on the affected area of ​​the skin. Lemon works the same way.
• Salt and soda. If you mix kitchen salt and baking soda with water, apply it to the wounded area and let it dry, the itching and pain will quickly go away.
• Egg white. In order to relieve redness and soothe the skin, you need to beat the egg white into a thick foam (as for dessert) and apply to the stung area.
• Carrot. This vegetable has the property of relieving burning sensation; you just need to grate it on a fine grater, then apply the resulting puree to the affected area of ​​the skin.
• Flour. To heal blisters, mix flour with salt and roll out the dough into a flat cake, which should be applied to the burn until the skin heals.

You can also regularly wipe the stung area with alcohol using a cotton pad. But this should be done carefully, without pressing or rubbing. In the absence of alcohol, vodka, cologne, ammonia, or any other alcohol-containing product can help.

What not to do if you have a jellyfish burn

What is strictly forbidden to do after it stings? Please note that many of these actions are carried out by most people unknowingly. And therefore, the consequences after a jellyfish sting are the most dire. So, you can't:

• Rinsing the stung area with running water is fraught with complications;
• Smear the wound after a jellyfish bite with iodine, brilliant green and vegetable oil;
• A person stung by this sea creature should not drink alcohol;
• Scratch the affected area of ​​skin so as not to injure it further;
• It is forbidden to sunbathe until the stung area has completely healed;
• Do not leave the burn open - the wound should be protected from the sun, dirt and dust.

And remember that it is strictly forbidden to touch the bite site with unprotected hands.

Preventive measures against jellyfish stings

In order for your vacation to remain in your memory as a joyful event, unmarred by a jellyfish sting, it is important to adhere to simple rules prevention. And in order to protect yourself as much as possible from meeting this beautiful, but dangerous marine life, you need to know the following nuances:

• You cannot enter the sea and ocean after a storm, when they are washed ashore;
• When a jellyfish approaches, it is important to remain calm so as not to frighten it;
• Do not swim close to jellyfish - many species have very long tentacles;
• You should not even touch a severed tentacle - it can also sting;
• You should not make allowances for size; small ones are the most dangerous.

When coming to the beach, carefully look around to see if there are warning signs and signs “Beware of jellyfish!” nearby. In such places you should swim as carefully as possible, and it is better not to tempt fate and find a safer place to relax.

Known varieties of jellyfish

These marine inhabitants are considered one of the oldest organisms on the planet. Jellyfish are very interesting creatures that never cease to amaze scientists with scientific point vision. For example, they are 95% water and have up to a couple of hundred tentacles that can sting even when dead for a month after death. In total, there are about 350 species on earth, although oceanologists are sure that there are many more. Let's look at eight of the most poisonous and dangerous jellyfish living in our seas.

1. Physalia. Inhabitant of the Quiet and Indian Ocean, has a medium size, pale pink dome color and purple tentacles. The burn of this type is very painful, the poison can cause convulsions, dizziness and difficulty breathing. This is one of the most common species found in humans.

2. Aurelia. Resident of Black and Sea of ​​Azov, although it is found in almost all warm seas. It is quite large, with a dome diameter reaching 40 cm.
Another name is the eared jellyfish, it has a blue dome and thin tentacles. Distinctive feature– stings painlessly, although its bite causes a severe burn.

3. Pelagia. Most often found in the Pacific Ocean, the individual is small in size and has a very beautiful pink-blue color, although shades can vary from beige colour to lilac tones. This jellyfish can emit light underwater when it comes into contact with any object. The poison causes severe burns and even shock.

4. Cyanea. Or a hairy jellyfish. Lives in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, floats mainly on the surface of the water. The size of the dome is 60 cm in diameter, in some individuals it can reach two meters, and the length of the tentacles is more than 35 centimeters. The color is yellow-red, sometimes brown. It stings not painfully, but with a burn.

5. Sea wasp. This species lives in the shallow waters of Australia and Indonesia. Thanks to its pale blue color, it is perfectly camouflaged in water, and this is its danger. This is the most poisonous species, capable of killing a person in three minutes. The size of the dome is 40 cm, the tentacles are 15 cm, it burns instantly and is very painful.

6. Cornerot. An inhabitant of coastal waters, most often found in the Azov and Okhotsk Seas. These are large individuals, dangerous and poisonous, with an amazingly beautiful color - white with a blue or purple border. This jellyfish bites only if you touch it; the burn is not severe, but painful.

7. Chrysaora. Or sea nettle. This name is not accidental; the bite of this jellyfish really looks like a nettle burn. Lives in tropical seas, has a bright yellow-red dome and a long trail of thin pale blue tentacles. The bite of this species is very dangerous, capable of causing necrosis and cardiac arrest.

8. Cross. Inhabitant of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, the least poisonous of all dangerous jellyfish species. Swims in shallow water, has miniature sizes and a transparent color. The dome is about 35 ml, around the circumference of which there are 60 thinnest tentacles. The bite of the cross is noticeable, but safe for humans.

Types of jellyfish

About 200 species of jellyfish live in the waters of the world's oceans. Most of them prefer salt water, but there are also individuals that live in fresh water. There are few poisonous jellyfish, but they still exist, including in the Black Sea, which is considered relatively safe.

Even after death, the jellyfish continues to sting for another month.

Jellyfish have poison in their tentacles. There are stinging cells - microcapsules with a thread twisted in a spiral, coated with a toxic substance. Upon contact with a person, the thread straightens and injects poison under the skin.

After the attack, it is destroyed, and its fragments remain in the victim’s body, continuing to release the toxin.

Here are the most dangerous types of poisonous jellyfish:

Cyanea lion's mane- lives in the North Atlantic and off the coast of Australia. The dome can reach 60 centimeters in diameter, and there is giant species, in a volume exceeding two meters. Cyanea stings painlessly, but the bite often causes a severe allergic reaction, accompanied by tissue swelling, pain, nausea and vomiting.

Chrysaora or “sea nettle” is a resident of the Mediterranean Sea, coastal waters of Canada, Mexico, and India. Its bite causes severe pain and a red rash. Fortunately, chrysaora toxin is not life threatening.

Physalia or " Portuguese man of war» found by vacationers in Spain, Italy and Thailand. Its bite is painless, but the venom can cause convulsions, breathing problems and dizziness.

Pelagia nocturnal - this jellyfish can be found off the coast of Sicily and in the Red Sea. It stings painfully, the toxin causes burning, inflammation, rashes and blisters.

The "sea wasp" is the most dangerous representative of marine fauna. Its poison can kill in just three minutes. One individual contains a volume of toxin that would be enough to kill 60 adults. You can meet the sea wasp in the waters of Australia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Irukandji is a tiny, but no less dangerous jellyfish. It is difficult to notice in the water, because the width of its dome does not exceed 2.5 cm. The bite of Irukandji is painless and, most often, not fatal, but can cause serious health consequences if you do not consult a doctor in time.

Two types of jellyfish live in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas: Aurelia (“eared jellyfish”) and Kornerot. Aurelia can leave small burns on the skin, but if the poison gets on the mucous membrane, the pain and inflammation can be severe and not go away within 3-4 days.

Cornerot is easily recognized by the purple rim on the dome. Jellyfish venom leaves mild burns.

What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish

In most cases, jellyfish stings do not threaten human life. The exception is the venom of the sea wasp - after contact with it, a person must urgently be administered a special serum.

The first thing to do is limit the amount of toxin entering the body. To do this, you need to wash the bite site with salt water and remove fragments of tentacles using clean sand, tweezers, a credit card (you can use it to scrape cells off the surface), and a hard terry towel.

Treat your skin with chlorhexidine or hydrogen peroxide - this will speed up the removal of toxins and healing of wounds.

After treatment, rinse your skin again with salt water. If swelling, burning or itching occurs, take antihistamines and apply anti-inflammatory gel or an ice compress to the burn.

In the absence of antihistamine ointment, the skin is treated with shaving cream or foam - in them the poison dissolves faster and is washed off from the surface. Menthol reduces sensitivity and reduces irritation.

Drink more water and avoid sunlight.

If your condition worsens or allergy symptoms appear, consult your doctor.

What not to do

Do not touch the bite site with your hands - this will cause the poison to spread and you will get a new burn.

Under no circumstances should you wash the bite area with fresh water! In unsalted water, the stinging cells are instantly destroyed, sharply injecting the remaining poison under the skin.

Mixed reviews cause lotions of vinegar and alcohol. This often leads to an acceleration of the spread of poison throughout the body, especially when bitten by not very dangerous jellyfish, such as the Black Sea Aurelia and Kornerot.

Contrary to popular belief, you should not treat a bite site with urine! The liquid may be unsterile and contain insufficient salts, which will cause the infection to spread and worsen the condition.

Cornerot jellyfish lives in the Black Sea

Trip to Black and Mediterranean Sea, and beach holiday V warm countries With tropical climate, may be overshadowed by an unexpected meeting with marine life- jellyfish. Their bites can be very painful, sometimes even fatal. And although out of more than a thousand species of jellyfish, only a small part causes death, every vacationer should know what to do after a jellyfish bite.

Symptoms after a jellyfish sting depend on the type of animal and the strength of the poison. In any case, a jellyfish sting has unpleasant consequences - it manifests itself in itching, redness, swelling, and scars on the skin.

For a tourist, a jellyfish sting can result in serious trouble.

IN severe cases in the bitten person:

• nausea or vomiting appears,
• numbness of the affected area of ​​the body,
• muscle spasms, cramps,
• pain in the body and chest increases;
• breathing becomes difficult
• Coma may develop, resulting in death.

If the pain does not go away, and the unpleasant symptoms only intensify, you should urgently see a doctor. This is especially true for young children, people in poor health or the elderly.

If a jellyfish stings your face, or the poison gets into your eyes, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Bite marks have different type, different configurations and depths. The photo shows what a scyphoid jellyfish bite looks like.

Scars on the skin - the consequences of an encounter with a scyphoid jellyfish

First aid

The strength of the poison depends on the type of coelenterate animal. Black Sea jellyfish stings can be painful, especially if the lesion is extensive, but not fatal.

Tropical representatives can cause fatal burns. The stings of the jellyfish found in Vietnam can be very strong and fatal.

The proposed instructions give a clear description of what to do if you are stung by a jellyfish.

Going to sea ​​holiday, ask your tour operator what dangers may await you in the water, what is best to take with you in your first aid kit, how to behave if you are stung by a jellyfish, and where to go for medical help.

You can't do this

If you are stung by a jellyfish, it is prohibited:

• rub the affected area. In this case, you can injure the skin and increase the release of toxic substances from stinging cells;
• touch the burn site with unprotected hands to avoid getting a burn on your hands;
• Rinse the stung area with fresh water. Fresh water will cause cell destruction and this will only increase the pain, so it is better to use sea water. The exception is if the poison gets into the eyes;
• rub your eyes with poison-contaminated hands;
• sunbathe in the sun until the burn goes away.

You should not drink alcoholic beverages - alcohol enhances the effect of the poison.

How to protect yourself from jellyfish stings

Basic safety rules when meeting jellyfish:

• Pay attention to warning signs posted on the beach.

Sign "Caution! Jellyfish!

• It is not recommended to swim in places large cluster animals. For diving you need protective equipment - a wetsuit, mask, fins, gloves.
• The size of a jellyfish is not the main indicator of its toxicity. Small specimens: box jellyfish or sea wasp can cause fatal burns.
  

  Some representatives of coelenterates have thin and hardly noticeable tentacles in the water. They stretch several meters from the body.

• If you see a jellyfish swimming by, you shouldn’t tempt fate and try to catch it by its tentacles.
• Even severed tentacles are fraught with danger - they can sting.
• It is not recommended to go into the sea after a storm - in muddy water Jellyfish and fragments of tentacles are hard to see.
• The body of a jellyfish is not a ball. There is no need to throw jellyfish - the poison of the tentacles can get into your eyes and cause a burn. Jellyfish washed ashore are also not a reason for football match. You won’t be able to play, but you can grab the burn with your bare feet.

The basic rule of diving: look, take pictures, but don’t touch, especially if your hands are not protected by gloves. The venom of some jellyfish is particularly toxic and can be fatal.

Such a game with the Cornerot jellyfish can cause severe burns to a child

The video in this article reminds us that burns from jellyfish venom can pose a threat not only to health, but also to life.

Questions and answers: what a tourist needs to know about jellyfish

Medusa Aurelia - inhabitant of the Black Sea

The mirror-like surface of the ocean or sea is deceptive. Beneath it hide amazing translucent creatures - magnificent swimmers and fierce hunters. And despite the fact that the main food source of these amazing creatures– fish, crustaceans, eggs, plankton, and people are not included in their diet, an encounter with jellyfish can be very painful.

When going on vacation to the sea, you should familiarize yourself with the flora and fauna of the new area, not only on land, but also at sea, in order to avoid encounters with dangerous representatives of nature. You should always have a minimum first aid kit with you for first aid, and now you know what to do if you are stung by a jellyfish.