Monday, August 15, 2011

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 94: Use vinegar for jellyfish stings

The weather Saturday was gorgeous - a perfect beach day.

The creatures living in and around the beach, though, were not. I already mentioned the incident with the seagulls. I finally left the beach when I was stung by a jellyfish.

For all my time down the shore, I don't think they'd ever gotten me before. I could tell right away - a pin point burning on my back. I got out of the water and immediately applied pressure with my towel. It wasn't TOO bad, but it hurt. After about five minutes, the pain and itch went away. I guess it just tapped me.

If you do get stung, go to a lifeguard. In Ocean City, they were spraying jellyfish stings with plain old vinegar which, according to the New York Times, deactivates the "venomous nematocysts that jellyfish release." I was in Strathmere, so no lifeguard to spray me. But my sting was so mild I didn't need it.

And no, urine doesn't work. That's gross.

Of course, not all jellyfish stings are alike. Read here for more information.

Thanks to reader John Tomlinson for giving a heads up as to what Ocean City lifeguards were doing on Saturday.

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1 comment:

sjbuddha said...

I believe that urine "may" work, depending on the acidity level (i.e., what you've been eating/drinking). Similar to using vinegar. Definitely not guaranteed to work, but humorous nonetheless...