Northwest Dive Club

Had a great dive at Pt. Whitney today, at least up until the last 10 minutes...

There's been lots of jellyfish in the shallows of Hood Canal lately, and in poor vis I swam right into a mass of tentacles. Couldn't back out in time. Ouch.

Three hours later and my lips and cheeks are still stinging.

I once learned that vinegar was the best treatment for these kind of stings, and I might start carrying some in my kit. Have you tried it, or do you have another solution (pun, no piss jokes puh-lease) that works good for you? Beer helped a little, both medicinally and topically.

And another damn thing... this is weird... I've been getting what I call 'referred pain' all over, not just in the stung area. Every part of my body has these transient sting sensations that go away when I touch the area. Have you ever heard of that? It's a new one on me, so to speak, and really annoying. Make it go away!

Could you ID the suspects?
What else supposedly deactivates stings? Heat? Sauna/jacuzzi? Or would that just increase inflammation? Stay hydrated!
Is it like stinging nettles (the land kind)? Or worse?
If it's anything like sunburn then a light dose of vitamin I[buprofen] helps(?)

My wife has successfully used vinegar for stings in the Sea of Cortez. I have also heard that Adolph's meat tenderizer works, but have not tried it. Treatment needs to be early.

You might have hit a Lions Mane... They are the worst. Vinegar works well, we keep some with us.

60south wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:33 pm And another damn thing... this is weird... I've been getting what I call 'referred pain' all over, not just in the stung area. Every part of my body has these transient sting sensations that go away when I touch the area. Have you ever heard of that? It's a new one on me, so to speak, and really annoying. Make it go away!

Oof, that sucks. It sounds like you might have been having an allergic reaction (obligatory not a doctor!). It might be beneficial to keep OTC allergy meds in your kit as well.

I absolutely disagree with vinegar, doesn't work, at all. Nada, nope, useless. Even DAN agrees. They have pulled their recommendation for it.
Now obviously this is a one time personal experience, and like bee stings, you're experience may vary.

In terms of @60south experience I would look VERY carefully at what the new recommendations are. I have not looked. I just checked DAN after vinegar failed me and found the recommendation had been pulled. At that time (6-8 years ago) they did not have a new recommendation for Lion's Mane sting.

If I were you I'd maybe consider carrying some fast acting Benadryl, or maybe even an epipen (expensive due to assholes in the pharmaceutical industry). You sound like you may be having a 'shot over the bow' about a VERY bad next reaction. FWIW, you do NOT have an anaphylactic reaction to the 1st exposure of an allergen. You don't have antibodies.....yet. THAT 1st exposure stimulates the antibody production. 2nd exposure....can be really really bad.
I'm not saying it will happen, but your symptoms are awfully worrisome.

Penopolypants wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:57 amIt might be beneficial to keep OTC allergy meds in your kit as well.

fmerkel wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:29 pmIf I were you I'd maybe consider carrying some fast acting Benadryl

Thanks for the input. Can't get an epipen without a prescription. I do keep Benadryl strips, the kind that dissolve under the tongue, in my first aid kit. I'll keep that in mind if this happens again.

Addendum: If I get stung again I'm thumbing the dive immediately, just in case.

Yes, the longer you wait, the worse it gets. We've manned up before stings, and usually the worse for it.

and sorry Fritz, from DAN
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Washout. After liberal use of household white vinegar and removal of any visible tentacles, filaments or debris, wash the area with seawater or saline solution. Avoid rubbing and avoid the use of fresh water as these can stimulate nematocyst discharge.

Symptomatic treatment. Treatment usually consists of painkillers, anti-inflammatory medications and topical anesthetics.
Temperature. May help reduce pain. Immerse the affected area in hot water (113 °F / 45 °C) for 30 to 90 minutes (repeat as necessary). Local application of cold (if a hot water or hot pack are not available) can also provide pain reduction. Reports indicate that the application of heat may provide more effective pain relief than the use of cold, but cold packs should not be refused or avoided on this basis.
Test the water yourself prior to exposing it to the injured person. Envenomations may alter pain tolerance and in some cases may enable exposure to water hot enough to scald.

I wouldn't be freaked about about future anaphylaxis. It is totally unpredictable and this doesn't sound to me like an allergic reaction. It sounds more to me like possible systemic venom (neurotoxin) absorption, for which I know of no good treatment other than minimizing exposure/absorption. If itching/swelling occurs, an antihistamine like diphenhydramine (a.k.a "Benadryl") might help, though if you have to drive back home, you might try a nonsedating one like cetirizine.

Just out of curiosity, do you know what kind of jellyfish it probably was? I.e., lion's mane, or something I need to start being more wary of? I think I need to start packing vinegar for dives.

coldfinger wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 12:24 pm Just out of curiosity, do you know what kind of jellyfish it probably was? I.e., lion's mane, or something I need to start being more wary of? I think I need to start packing vinegar for dives.

Thanks. No, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) I never saw the bell of the jellyfish, just the spaghetti of tentacles as I swam into them. There's a lot of large lion's manes jellies in Hood Canal, so I'm going with that. Another data point in favor of a FFM, maybe.

What kinda freaks me out is the number of kids swimming in the area at the same time. Yeow! That would be a bad family outing if they tangled with one of those monsters.

Hope you feel better!

The only thing that worked for me when I got stung was a very very hot wash rag...
It knocked the sting out immediately and gave me relief...
so get a wash rag wet nuke it in the microwave for 45 seconds with the hot compress on your face where you got stung...