Just pee on it!

[ifall 0]

So the recent threads about urinating in the shower got me thinking of something. A few years back I was swimming in the ocean and as I was coming back to the shore a jellyfish brushed my leg. That sh*t stings!! And the stinging lasts a while.

So one of the locals told me to "just pee on it!" and that should help subside the stinging. Now I've heard of that before but thought it was myth or the locals just messing with tourists. Anyone ever try it though and does it really work?

[BillyVance 34]

Can't hurt any worse to try that. I dunno if it does work, but I have heard that soaking your feet in your own piss cures it of the athletes foot fungus.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Shepp 0]

Urine? No. Vinegar? Yes. Vinegar will deactivate any remaining nematocysts (stinging cells) on your skin or fragment of a tentacle stuck to your skin. Urinating on the nematocysts will not deactivate them - on the contrary, it will probably stimulate them enough to make them fire their barbs, injecting even more venom.

edit to add: if you get stung by a Portuguese Man O' War, you're just fucked - even vinegar won't help you there!

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

[ifall 0]

Thanks. That was interesting. I'll have to pack some vinegar for my trip to Florida in a week. BTW, I didn't pee on the sting 'cause I thought it was a myth. Glad I didn't now.

I've heard what a sting from the Man 'O War can do to you and it is not pretty.

[Shepp 0]

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...for my trip to Florida in a week.

Which beaches ya gonna hit?

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

[BillyVance 34]

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Thanks. That was interesting. I'll have to pack some vinegar for my trip to Florida in a week. BTW, I didn't pee on the sting 'cause I thought it was a myth. Glad I didn't now.

I've heard what a sting from the Man 'O War can do to you and it is not pretty.

It sure as hell aint! Been there done it. Hurts like a motherfucker. After a particularly bad encounter as a kid, I went waterskiing several years later along the gulf coast (didn't want to but dad drove the boat around Ft Morgan from Mobile Bay) I noticed we were going through man-o-war infested waters. I didn't dare fall in the water and stayed right between the wakes. I did spy some of the bastards before passing them and took aim at them with my ski blade stabilizer, and I was on one ski. Cut open quite a few of them!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[ifall 0]

I'll be going to Fort Myers.

[yamtx73 0]

You'll find the beaches down in Bonita and Naples to be much nicer than the one at Fort Myers due to the Caloosahatchee River emptying into the Gulf and mucking up the water.

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[ifall 0]

Cool thanks! My g/f lives in Ft. Myers but we were talking about getting a hotel on/near the beach so I will bring up that option.

[yamtx73 0]

No motels/hotels on the beach in Bonita, there is 1 in Naples... the main difference is water clarity... when you get down around Naples (about a 45 minute drive on US 41) the water is very clean/clear as opposed to the murky water around Fort Myers (I've lived in Fort Myers for about 10 years now). There are a couple small keys between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita that have pretty decent beaches as well. Haven't had much of a problem with jelly fish, but remember to do the 'sting ray shuffle"..

Rays tend to burrow under the sand and it's very easy to step on one and learn it's there when it nails you with it's stinger... good way to ruin a vacation!

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[ifall 0]

It would be much nicer to be able to see where I am stepping. Done the shuffle before cause thats a big fear of mine. Getting a barb in the calf is not my idea of fun.

[SpeedRacer 1]

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Thanks. That was interesting. I'll have to pack some vinegar for my trip to Florida in a week. BTW, I didn't pee on the sting 'cause I thought it was a myth. Glad I didn't now.

I've heard what a sting from the Man 'O War can do to you and it is not pretty.

It sure as hell aint! Been there done it. Hurts like a motherfucker. After a particularly bad encounter as a kid, I went waterskiing several years later along the gulf coast (didn't want to but dad drove the boat around Ft Morgan from Mobile Bay) I noticed we were going through man-o-war infested waters. I didn't dare fall in the water and stayed right between the wakes. I did spy some of the bastards before passing them and took aim at them with my ski blade stabilizer, and I was on one ski. Cut open quite a few of them!

Not sure if that would kill them or just make more of them.

A Portuguese Man o' War is not a single organism, but a colony of organisms.

Speed Racer
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[BillyVance 34]

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Thanks. That was interesting. I'll have to pack some vinegar for my trip to Florida in a week. BTW, I didn't pee on the sting 'cause I thought it was a myth. Glad I didn't now.

I've heard what a sting from the Man 'O War can do to you and it is not pretty.

It sure as hell aint! Been there done it. Hurts like a motherfucker. After a particularly bad encounter as a kid, I went waterskiing several years later along the gulf coast (didn't want to but dad drove the boat around Ft Morgan from Mobile Bay) I noticed we were going through man-o-war infested waters. I didn't dare fall in the water and stayed right between the wakes. I did spy some of the bastards before passing them and took aim at them with my ski blade stabilizer, and I was on one ski. Cut open quite a few of them!

Not sure if that would kill them or just make more of them.

A Portuguese Man o' War is not a single organism, but a colony of organisms.

Colony? Isn't a Man o' War those bluish air bags with tentacles? I popped the bags when I skied over them.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[alexbitt 0]

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I'll be going to Fort Myers.

stop by the Ocean Deck in Daytona for a bite to eat if you have time. it's a nice part of beach to check out on the way! and we gots real good bartenders, too

[ltdiver 3]

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So the recent threads about urinating in the shower got me thinking of something. A few years back I was swimming in the ocean and as I was coming back to the shore a jellyfish brushed my leg. That sh*t stings!! And the stinging lasts a while.

So one of the locals told me to "just pee on it!" and that should help subside the stinging. Now I've heard of that before but thought it was myth or the locals just messing with tourists. Anyone ever try it though and does it really work?

Maybe they're remembering this episode of "Friends"...: http://www.friends-tv.org/zz401.html

Hee Hee Hee....

But here's the real fact: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-urinating&ref=rss

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[ltdiver 3]

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So the recent threads about urinating in the shower got me thinking of something.

And now to debunk another myth....

Do baseball players pee on their hands? Ewwwww!

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[riddler 0]

Since you're visiting, here's what you do:

1. Go to any dive shop and ask for a few packets of Wipe-Away, or equivalent. They come in individually wrapped tear-open packets, and are easy to carry with you to the beach. They contain a moist towlette with a chemical that neutralizes the protein of the sting. They cost a few dollars and work great.

2. Divers Alert Network recommends hot water soaking. If you can stand hot water above 114 degrees, it will break down the enzyme that causes the sting. I have yet to try this, but I doubt many people will want to pour boiling water on a sting.

3. Vinegar helps with A lot of types of stings, but this is more of an option for locals that live close to the beach, because most people don't carry around a bottle of vinegar to the beach.

4. If you are allergy to bee stings, then stay as far away from jellyfish as you can. I guarantee you will have the same hystamine reaction to a jellyfish sting. If you are allergic, bring your Epi-pen to the beach.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[MrFreefall383 0]

Know someone who did it, and it works. It has something to do with the acidity in urine, it neutralizes the venom from a jellyfish sting.

"If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

[Squeak 17]

Vinegar DOES NOT make it stop hurting it merely renders remaining stingers inactive


Box jellyfish or sea wasp (Chironex fleckeri)
Domestic vinegar (never methylated spirit or alcohol) should be poured liberally over the adhering tentacles as soon as possible. Tentacular material may then be removed. Artificial respiration and cardiac massage may be required. Try and get the patient transported to an appropriate medical facility as soon as possible.

A box jellyfish antivenom is available and is recommended for all but minor stings. Specific indications include cardiorespiratory arrest or cardiac arrythmias, difficulty with breathing, speech or swallowing, severe pain, extensive skin lesions, or skin lesions in cosmetically important areas such as face, neck, hands and forearms. In hospital, intravenous antivenom should be administered promptly if it has not already been given or if the patient remains symptomatic. Assisted ventilation and narcotic analgesia may be required. Early administration of antivenom may result in reduced pain and decreased scarring secondary to dermatonecrosis.

Chiropsalmus quadrigata
Box jellyfish antivenom has been shown experimentally to neutralize Chiropsalmus venom, but clinical experience is lacking.

Irukandji (Carukia barnesi)
First aid consists of analgesia and reassurance. The role of vinegar to inactivate undischarged nematocysts remains uncertain as initial work provied inconclusive. Irukandji sting victims frequently require hospitalization for analgesia and sometimes intravenous antihypertensive therapy; alpha-blocking agents such as phentolamine have been used for this purpose. Cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac failure may also require treatment, including inotropic support. No definitive treatment is currently available for Irukandji syndrome.

Bluebottle or Portuguese man-o'-war (Physalia sp.)
First aid consists of removal of the tentacles, preferably with forceps. Vinegar is not recommended. Analgesia may be required, although most stings respond to ice packs and/or topical anaesthetic agents.

Other types of jellyfish
Vinegar is suitable for most other types of stings. Local pain is usually best treated with ice packs. Analgesia may be required

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Broke 0]

Ever see the movie Surfs Up

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[ifall 0]

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Vinegar DOES NOT make it stop hurting it merely renders remaining stingers inactive

The stinging and pain I could take it was the itching for quite a long time afterwards that really bothered me. I didn't have to remove tentacles it looked more like a long red patch of skin with a bunch of pin pricks in that red patch.

There was another person a little while after my little sting who had multiple stings all over her body and she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I talked to one of the EMTs who were there to ask if I should go to the ER and they just said to keep an eye on certain reactions that I may have. They thought since it had been about a half an hour after my small sting incident that I should be ok and that it would just be uncomfortable.

Thanks for all the interesting and informative replies! And I DID think of the Friends episode when a couple of the locals told me to pee on it.

[riddler 0]

As a side note, diving students of mine always ask me about sharks. "What is the chance a shark will bite me? What's the best way to stab a shark that's attacking me?" etc. I tell them that jellyfish are, by far, the sea animal that have killed the most humans. Wetsuits are great ocean gear - keep you floating, prevent cuts, scrapes, stings, and especially sunburns, plus you look like a cool surfer dude (or dudette).

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[ifall 0]

You know, that reminds me of back on my 18th birthday I was in Long Beach, NC. and there was a tropical storm a ways out at sea so it was kicking up some waves on the beach. So the youth group I was with and I were body surfing and as we were going out against the waves something bumped/rubbed up against me. I just thought it was a fish but from the looks in the eyes of the group that I was with it was something else. Ends up a shark that (they say) was about 6-8 ft. had passed between myself and the group and that was what rubbed against me. Guess it was checking out the buffet. I learned how to run on top of water that day.

[skydemon2 0]

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I learned how to run on top of water that day

I bet the pastor and youth group thought it was the second coming.....

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone!

I like to start my day off with a little Ray of Soulshine™!!

[riddler 0]

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Ends up a shark that (they say) was about 6-8 ft. had passed between myself and the group and that was what rubbed against me. Guess it was checking out the buffet.Shocked

If you spend any significant time with sharks, you will get bumped. It's just a friendly way of saying "if I give you a love bite, will you fight back?". The "love bite" is just another way of saying "you look friendly, does this hurt?"

If you bump them back, they'll get the hint that it's not worth it. I've seen a few people get the "love bite" and whack the sharks back. They're not going to try to eat you unless you're halfway dead. They even bump each other - it's great fun hanging with the gang and acting tough

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD