Unless you're a firm believer of Teeka Tan's Safe Sea suntan lotion, there are various ways to treat jellyfish stings:- Ice
- Vinegar
- Aluminum sulfate
- Meat tenderizer
- Baking soda
- Hot water
As scientists like to prove (and disprove) theories we can finally thank researchers at Western Australia's Busselton Hospital for setting the record straight: hot water relieves 88 percent of the pain from a sting. Anything else is "incomplete and temporary."
If you get stung on the beach (or near the boat), find yourself a pot of water at 113 degrees F and pour it on. Four to ten minutes later your pain and inflammation should subside.
So where do you find 100+ degree water on short notice?
1. Local application of extreme heat will speedily take care of most marine toxins including venom injected by lionfish, scorpionfish, devilfish, waspfish and the like. In absence of very hot water a hair dryer at full power and kept very close to the offended spot is a good substitute - but then again, you'd need to have a power outlet close by! Always be careful anyway with such stuff - sometimes people get hurt more by the "cure" than by the original problem.
Posted at 8:50AM on Jan 4th 2007 by Andrea Ferrari