StingMate - takes the sting out of jellyfish encounters.
It the world of advertising hype and product-pushing, it’s nice to see a company step up and be honest about the limitations of its product, to work to improve the product line, and to have the customer’s best interest in mind, rather than being a slave to the bottom line.
FirstAidMates, the makers of StingMate have, to me, set themselves apart from the crowd. I recently received an email from Ron Adley, VP of Sales and Marketing for StingMate, that addressed the effectiveness of StingMate in treating stings from the infamous Portuguese Man-Of-War jellyfish (Physalia).
It was a long and slightly technical email, but the purpose of it was to convey to users of the product that although this vinegar/menthol gel-based product is highly effective on “all other sting, itch, sea wasp” injuries, its effectiveness specifically against the Man-Of-War stings appears not to be 100%.
There have long been indications from anecdotal reports that vinegar-based remedies may not be effective against Man-Of-War stings. Field use results of StingMate seem to indicate that it is only judged helpful in about 40% of cases for treating Man-Of-War stings.
Portuguese Man-of-War on the beach. Photo contributed by Sarah K. Obrien.
StingMate is used by many Fire/Rescue/Lifeguard Units and beach and diving communities. The company collects data from the users as to the effectiveness of its product and uses that data to improve its product and educate the public.
Available research data suggest the best approach to Man-Of-War stings may be to remove any remaining tentacles with gloves or tweezers, rinse with sea water or salt water, and apply ice or heat, whichever is most comfortable, then seek treatment from a doctor.
Also in Ron’s email was information on the results of a “triple blind, random, clinically observed study in Austraila on Man-of-War sting wounds verified on 96 randomly selected patients.” The study tested hot water immersion vs. ice packs in relieving the pain of Man-Of-War stings. The study showed that while the hot water immersion resulted in more initial pain, hot water treatment resulted in less pain after 20 minutes with less radiating pain occurring than with ice pack treatment. The conclusion drawn was that “immersion in water at 45 degrees Celsius [113 degrees Fahrenheit] for 20 minutes is an effective and practical treatment for pain from bluebottle [Man-Of-War] stings.”
StingMate gets my respect for honesty, research, product improvement, and for making user feedback the cornerstone of its business model.
Note: I have no financial interest in this product. I do own the product, but have not (thankfully) had a chance to use it yet.
