A long-awaited vacation at sea can sometimes turn into an unpleasant memory, the fault of which is a meeting with a jellyfish.
A sea creature, consisting of 98% liquid, is difficult to see in the water, so contact with it often occurs through negligence and can have rather disastrous consequences for a person. Which jellyfish are poisonous?
Beware of the sea wasp
Especially dangerous meeting with the inhabitant of the Indian Ocean - jellyfish Chironex fleckeri (or sea wasp). An animal of small size lives in the waters of the northern coasts of Australia and the western coast of Thailand; inhabits quiet coves of sandy beaches and is most active in the summer months. The most poisonous jellyfish, the sea wasp, kills about 20 people every year.
The body of a jellyfish is almost transparent, with a slight bluish tint, which makes it rather difficult to see a nondescript creature in the water. The diameter of the dome is 30-40 cm, thin tentacles are covered with stinging cells withhighly toxic poison and are arranged in 4 bundles of 15 pieces. In a calm state, their length is 10-20 cm, when the sea wasp goes hunting, it increases to 3 meters. The poisonous jellyfish does not attack its prey first; frozen in one place, she waits for the prey floating by and stings her mercilessly several times.
Consequences of a meeting with a sea wasp
The burn of the inhabitant of the water depths, in addition to respiratory paralysis and instantly swollen, strongly baking lesions, paralyzes the work of the cardiac and nervous systems. Under the influence of pain shock or a heart attack, the victim may simply not swim to the shore. In the best case, a person will experience pain for several days, and slowly healing ulcers will remain at the site of the burn, subsequently turning into scars. It is believed that the patient's condition can be temporarily alleviated with the help of vinegar, which is required to lubricate the injured area. Beforehand, it is necessary to get rid of the remnants of the tentacles with great care, remembering their danger and ability to recover when they enter a humid environment. Then, cardiopulmonary and respiratory resuscitation should be applied to the victim. With the untimely introduction of an antidote - a specific therapeutic serum - death can occur within 5 minutes.
Irukandji - the danger of Pacific waters
A variety of poisonous jellyfish live in the Pacific Ocean, among which the Irukandji jellyfish poses a great danger to humans. Outwardly, it resembles a small (about 15-25 mm in diameter) transparent white bell; thin tentaclescovered with stinging cells that shoot at the victim not with a full portion of the poison, but with a dosed amount of it. That is why a light bite poisons the victim's body gradually and is not taken seriously by bathers.
The main symptoms of a burn occur 30-60 minutes after the injury and are accompanied by a chain of paralytic effects: profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, pulmonary edema, as well as severe pain in the head, abdomen, pelvis, back. In some cases, death is possible. As an immediate measure, treatment of the affected area with vinegar is required. Unfortunately, no rescue serum against such a Pacific jellyfish has been invented; the stung person undergoes a set of life support measures until the poison is completely released in a natural way.
About floating colonies of physalia
Poisonous jellyfish, photos of which demonstrate the deceptive beauty of these sea creatures, live in tropical waters off the coast of Spain, Italy, Thailand, and the Hawaiian Islands.
Residents and guests of these places should beware of physalia - floating colonies of marine organisms, very similar to jellyfish and called "Portuguese boats". The colony consists of several polyps, one of which is a balloon-like gas bubble.
Rising above the water, it allows the colony to easily cling toafloat. The remaining parts are tentacles 20 meters long with poisonous stinging cells at the ends. Their functions include obtaining food and dragging the victim to the center of the colony, where the latter is "processed" by other polyps. When it comes into contact with human skin, the toxic substance causes severe pain, fever, blistering, excessive sweating, damage to the nervous and circulatory systems, and general malaise.
Stung by a jellyfish: what to do?
Be sure to remove the remnants of tentacles from the skin and moisten the affected area with plenty of sea water when in contact with a marine organism. Fresh water cannot be used: this action releases the remainder of the poisonous substance from the surviving stinging cells. According to some experts, vinegar, which helps in contact with other jellyfish, may be useless in this case. Encounters with the "Portuguese boat" are much easier to avoid than with the sea wasp due to the bright color of its dome. In addition, marine organisms stay in large groups (more than a thousand individuals) and rarely approach the coast.
Poisonous jellyfish of the world: dagger
A tiny cross jellyfish poses a huge danger to humans, the hallmark of which is a brown-red cross inside a transparent yellowish-green dome, the diameter of which varies from 2.5 to 4.0 cm. Tentacles thickened at the ends due to accumulations of stinging cells, there are about 60 pieces; they can vary in size and reach half a meter when extended.
The poisonous cross jellyfish lives in the depths of the sea, mainly off the coast of Korea, Japan, China, and California. During the spawning period, it swims massively in shallow water, where it poses a great danger to bathers. For the presence of special suckers on the tentacles, the cross was nicknamed the "clinging jellyfish"; it is worth touching at least one tentacle, and the jellyfish rushes in the direction of the victim and tries to cling to it completely. The result of a person's contact with an inhabitant of the deep sea is a painful burn on the body, reddening of the skin at the site of the lesion and the appearance of blisters. These signs are accompanied by pain in the lumbar region, difficulty breathing, numbness of the limbs, nausea and intense thirst. The action of the poisonous substance lasts for 3-4 days.
Poisonous jellyfish cyanide
Not fatal, but very dangerous is the poison of the giant cyanide - the largest jellyfish in the world: its dome diameter reaches 2.5 meters, and the length of the tentacles is 37 meters. Hairy cyanide (as the sea creature is also called) prefers cold and moderately cold waters, is found in the northern seas of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic, off the coast of Australia, in the open waters of the seas of the Arctic.
Does not take root in warm water. The color of cyanide depends on its size: large individuals are characterized by brown, red and purple hues; small specimens are yellow-brown and orange. Numerous tentacles of the animal, also called the "lion's mane" for its similarity to the appearance of a lion, contain stinging cells with a strong poison. Its action can cause a painful rash and burning sensation, accompanied by allergic manifestations.
Tourist memo
When going on vacation to places where a meeting with a jellyfish is highly likely, it is recommended to follow the tips below:
- avoid meeting with a jellyfish, remembering that its tentacles can stretch for considerable distances;
- during scuba diving it is better not to touch anything with your hands;
- do not enter the water after a storm to avoid contact with scraps of tentacles.
If a poisonous jellyfish still got in the way, it is recommended:
- immediately rinse the wound with s alt water;
- treat the affected area with vinegar, alcohol or ammonia;
- carefully remove the remnants of the tentacles - this can be done with a mixture of sand and sea water, which you want to apply to the affected area, and then carefully scrape off with an improvised object (the back of a knife, a plastic card, etc., do not perform this action with your bare hands recommended).
Be sure to seek professional medical help, especially if you experience dizziness, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, shortness of breath.
