Effective First Aid for Jellyfish Stings: A Comprehensive Guide

Knowing how to treat jellyfish stings will save you a lot pain and agony when you're out fishing or swimming in the ocean. This "one size fits all" approach has been tried and is quite effective.

Things You'll Need

• aloe vera gel or lotion
• vinegar
• three small plastic bottles
• ammonia and water

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Instructions

• 1

  Avoid contact when possible. Simply put, this means stay away from floating blue bags (Portuguese man of war or Bluebottles) and any jellyfish with long tentacles. Unfortunately, the ones that sting are harder to spot than those that do not, such as a Cabbage Head. Wearing clothing in the water will reduce contact, but it is harder to remove stingers from clothing.

• 2

  Act quickly while still in salt water. The sting is felt instantly. Get a hand full of sand and rub the area as quickly as possible. Keep your fingers together and repeat the process several times after the area no longer feels slimy. Get ashore as quickly as possible. Do not rinse the sting with fresh water, unless it is a man of war sting, which has a different type of venom.

• 3

  Treat with a "1-2-3" kit. Prepare and keep this kit handy, it will keep indefinitely. Get 3 small plastic bottles (Used spice containers are ideal). Label the bottles with the appropriate number and apply in that order. Bottle 1 has vinegar. Apply and wait 10 seconds ( do not use vinegar for man of war stings, it will make it worse). Bottle 2 has 1 part sudsing ammonia to 4 parts water. Apply and wait 10 seconds. Bottle 3 has aloe vera gel or lotion. (There are packets made to treat these stings, but the only active ingredient is aloe vera.) Bottles 1 and 2 are needed to neutralize the ongoing reaction. The aloe vera simply soothes the pain and speeds up the healing process.