Marine Bites Stings and Cuts
Marine Bites, Stings
and Cuts
How to Handle Nautical Nuisances If you love to swim, snorkel or scuba dive in the ocean, you need a little knowledge of the habits of marine life in your area and of what to do in an emergency if you should get stung, bitten or cut, says Constance Nichols, M.D., an emergency physician and associate residency director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Amherst.
"Sea stingers," such as jellyfish or sea anemones, defend themselves by discharging venom from tiny poisonous cells, called nematocysts, which are found on the ends of their tentacles or spines, explains Saralyn R. Williams, M.D., a toxicologist and emergency physician at the San Diego Regional Poison Center.
"You can get stung just by brushing against portions of tentacles that have broken off and are floating in the water," says Dr. Williams. You'll experience severe burning and pain and develop red streaks, spots or blisters where the tentacles touched your skin.
ACT, DON'T PANIC
Scary as some of these nautical encounters may be, women doctors say that if you handle them quickly and properly, you can keep pain and injury to a minimum.
Wash in saltwater. If you've been stung by a jellyfish or any other stinging creature, wash off remaining pieces of tentacles by taking a dip in the ocean, suggests Dr. Williams. Just look out for more jellyfish before entering the water.
The sooner you get the tentacles off your skin, the less damage they will do.
Stay out of the pool. Don't rinse with fresh water or jump in a swimming pool, because fresh water shocks the venom cells into discharging more venom.
What Women Doctors Do
Took Lifeguard's Advice May R. Berenbaum, Ph.D. While on vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii, May R. Berenbaum, Ph.D., head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, waded into the tropical blue waters off Waikiki Beach for a swim. Five minutes later, she was hit with jellyfish tentacles floating in the water. She emerged from the water in pain, a line of blistery red bumps on her skin. The lifeguard on the beach told Dr. Berenbaum to cover the sting with a paste made from rubbing alcohol and unseasoned meat tenderizer. "I thought that he was kidding--you know, 'Oh, here's a tourist from the mainland. Let's have a joke on her,'" she says. "But he convinced me that he was serious." So she bought the necessary ingredients at a nearby store and applied the paste to her skin. "It was amazing. Within 15 minutes, the sting didn't hurt anymore." Later, back at the university, Dr. Berenbaum researched this remedy and found that meat tenderizer is indeed a good remedy for jellyfish stings. "An ingredient in the tenderizer--an enzyme called papain--quickly breaks down proteins in jellyfish venom, so that the sting is not as painful," she explains. The rubbing alcohol minimizes the chance of infection and helps make a paste out of the powdered meat tenderizer. "It worked for me," she says.
|
Vanquish the pain with vinegar. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which inactivates the stinging nematocysts on tentacles, so they stop hurting you, explains Dr. Williams. (To find vinegar in a hurry, try the nearest beachside or boardwalk french-fry stand.)
Vinegar is an effective remedy for sea urchin cuts. "If you step on or brush against a sea urchin, and its spines break off in your skin, vinegar will help dissolve the spines, so they are easier to remove," says May R. Berenbaum, Ph.D., head of the Department of Entomology at the Uni versity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Remove jellyfish tentacles. Wearing rubber surgical gloves if possible, remove any large jellyfish tentacles left in your skin with tweezers, says Dr. Nichols. If small tentacles remain in your skin, "shave" them off by applying shaving cream and scraping gently with a clean dull knife or the edge of a credit card with the direction of the tentacle, not against it, suggests Dr. Williams. Whatever you do, don't pinch, rub or squeeze the tentacle pieces in your effort to remove them. Harsh handling will cause them to discharge more venom into your skin. If you can't remove all of the tentacles, get help from a doctor.
When To See A Doctor
As with bee stings, some people can have potentially fatal allergic reactions to the venom in marine animals. If you experience an outbreak of hives, difficulty breathing, nausea or redness and swelling spreading over your body away from the sting site, you need to get to a hospital immediately. Also seek help if you are having trouble removing tentacles from your skin, or if you can't tolerate the pain of a sting. Stingray wounds are usually deep, jagged and contaminated with debris, not to mention extremely painful. So if you're struck by one of these winged sea creatures, you must seek medical attention, says Constance Nichols, M.D., an emergency physician and associate residency director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Amherst. It's also a good idea to see a physician if you have a cut, wound or sting that punctures your skin. "You run the risk of getting an infection from bacteria that is in seawater, and you also risk getting tetanus," says Saralyn R. Williams, M.D., a toxicologist and emergency physician at the San Diego Regional Poison Center. You need to make sure that the wound is properly cleaned and irrigated and that all debris is removed. While you're at it, have your tetanus shot updated.
|
Hold still. Lie still and rest the stung area for about an hour, so that the venom won't spread to other parts of your body, says Dr. Nichols.
Treat coral cuts with care. If you feel a stinging sensation after scraping against coral, try applying vinegar and/or meat tenderizer--although some people might find the meat tenderizer aggravating to their skin--and gently scraping away any remaining coral or debris, suggests Dr. Williams. If you're cut, gently clean away any debris and coral with soap and water and apply an antibacterial ointment to the coral cut. "These tend to get infected easily, because of organisms in the water, so they have to be well-cleaned," says Dr. Williams.
