Comments on: Man-O-War Stings Man on Sand Key Beach

By: beachhunter

beachhunter — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:01:56 +0000

Sorry you got stung Olivia. Where were you? In Florida? On Sand Key? The general belief is that vinegar may not be as effective on Man-of-War stings as it is on other jellyfish stings, as you noted. It may make it worse, which you can testify to. The most important thing seems to be to get the tentacles off as quickly as possible by rinsing with salt water and by scraping them off with a credit card or other edged object. Some have suggested picking them off with your fingertips, which apparently are not as sensitive to the sting. Others suggest grabbing a handful of sand and using that to scrape off the tentacles. Using fresh water to rinse is not a good idea, since the change in salinity makes the remaining tentacles sting more.

Afterwards, either heat or cold may help. Try both. Don’t hesitate to see your doctor right away if you are not feeling well or if your continue to be uncomfortable.

By: Olivia

Olivia — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:09:16 +0000

I got stung yesterday by one, and went to the doctor, but at the time they all thought it was a jellyfish sting, but once I left we looked it up on the internet (the sting on my arm changed the way it looked then it did at the hospital) and we found out that they never should of put vinegar on it, because the vinegar bursts other tentacles from the manowar and continues to inject venom. I was telling them the vinegar was making it worse, but they never thought of it as a manowar. but my sting looks really strange it’s purple where the stingers hit me. it looks like my blood went down to where the stingers hit me, and it’s very tender.

By: beachhunter

beachhunter — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:16:37 +0000

Yes, Tiffany, that sounds fairly normal. Each person reacts a bit differently to jellyfish stings and physical symptoms like skin lesions vary a lot from person to person. Some people also experience delayed skin eruptions that can occur two weeks or more after the original sting appears to have healed. If you are concerned, why not have your child’s pediatrician have a look at it?

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:38:30 +0000

We were recently on a family vacation in Gulf Shores Alabama. My 10 year old was stung by what I think was a manowar. The pain was terrible. It wrapped around his waist with whelps. Now, 6 days later it looks like burned or scabbed over skin. Is this normal?

By: beachhunter

beachhunter — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:13:25 +0000

That does look painful Becky. I’m glad you went to the doctor for treatment. Everyone reacts differently to jellyfish venom and you sure had a strong reaction. Thanks for sharing that info with us.

By: Becky Mirando

Becky Mirando — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:42:37 +0000

Boy it sure got worse before it got better! I think it’s on the mend now. I went to the doctor 8/3 and she put me on steroids, antibiotics & 2 different antihistamines. I also had to soak the stings with vinegar and use Caladryl and aloe. Different things work at different times. Each day it goes down a little. Starting to peel.. Check it out at http://mirandomania.blogspot.com/2009/08/looks-feels-little-better-today.html

By: beachhunter

beachhunter — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:24:12 +0000

I’d say you’re doing the right thing with the Benadryl. Have you tried putting ice on it or heat? Some people feel better with ice, and others prefer heat. Some ibuprofen would be a good idea too. If it keeps up, see a doctor, who might be able to give you something stronger. I often have people tell me that after a few days or even after 2 weeks when they think their jellyfish sting is all better, it flares up again.

By: Becky Mirando

Becky Mirando — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:29:50 +0000

I was stung 7/27 by something in the water at Flagler Beach. It hurt so bad and was increasing by the micro-second! I was holding my 3 year old and on the shore side of a sandbar. I felt the pain on my leg and it felt like it was everywhere around me so I tossed my 3 yr old then immediately grabbed him back up in fear that he would get stung. (He thought this was a cool game.) I reached down with my left arm and pushed whatever it was away with the top part of my left arm near the wrist. I never saw it and the pain subsided after a few hours. It looked so much better until I woke up this morning (ALMOST A WEEK LATER) and it’s swollen more than it ever was and ITCHING like CRAZY!!! Cortizone didn’t help at all. I just took 2 Benadryl. I have to go back to work tomorrow. Areas on my left leg & left arm that had completely gone away are back worse than right after it happened. Any advise?

By: laura jean 2

laura jean 2 — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:24:54 +0000

heading to clearwater with the family next week. thanks for the information.

By: beachhunter

beachhunter — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:12:46 +0000

Thanks for chiming in Rob. Glad to hear that vinegar works for you. Perhaps you’ve built up a resistance as well? Every year I get dozens of emails from folks, usually from coastal Alabama and northwest Florida, who have been stung by a Physalia. They send photos of terrible raised welts that often itch for weeks after the initial pain goes away.

You are of course correct when you say that Physalia is not a jellyfish, but a symbiotic colony of organisms referred to as a siphonophore. Another colonial hydrozoa often referred to as a “jellyfish” are the blue buttons (Porpita porpita) and the By-the-wind sailor (Vellela vellela). These are chondrophores. They are really beautiful but we hardly ever see them down here on the Florida Gulf coast peninsula.

We’ve had an unusually windy winter and spring, so I’ve gotten more reports than usual of beached “jellies.”