Nothing can ruin a dive faster than a jellyfish sting. Spend enough time in the water and you are going to get stung regardless of the precautions you take but with a little preparation you get minimize the chance of getting stung. If you do get stung, the information you will find in this article will help you end the pain quickly, making a jellyfish stings almost a non-event.

Jellyfish Myths

All jellyfish will sting you: This is absolutely not true. The Comb jelly has no tentacles or stinging cells, only four strands of disco lights. They will not, can not, sting you. They are bioluminescent and make cool flashes of a greenish light when your boat runs over them at night. The rest of the jellyfish, moon jellies, sea nettles, etc. will sting the crap out of you so be wary of them.

Jellyfish are strong swimmers just waiting to hunt you down: Jellyfish are drifters. They have virtually no ability to propel themselves along in the water, other than up and down in the water column. You will never find a jellyfish swimming against the current. You always see them undulating and think this constant motion must be what brings them into contact with you. This means the jellyfish is most often just sitting there in the water waiting for you to bump into it rather than the other way around.

Moving around a lot will keep you form getting stung: I've heard some people claim the best way to prevent a sting is to keep moving. Depending on the person giving this advice it is either because the movement scares the jellyfish away or because you move so fast when you are swimming the jellyfish can't keep up.

When you move you create little eddies and currents that can actually draw a jellyfish to you hence the claim, by some, that the jellyfish was following them. If you ever think you are being followed by a jellyfish just stop moving and get out of the way. The jellyfish will drift on by without a passing glance.

Netting jellyfish and removing them from the water will decrease the chance of a sting: Do you know how many jellyfish are out there? It is impossible to remove all the jellyfish from the water. You may get rid of the ones in your direct vicinity but there will be new ones along any minute as the tide or the currents continue to push them along. Jellyfish are fragile creatures. When you net one portions of the tentacles, the things that sting you, break off and are virtually invisible in the water. If you can't see it you can't avoid it. This means you may be increasing your chances of a sting just by messing with them.

Rubbing sand on the sting will make it better: Don't do it, don't do i, don't do it! This is, without a doubt the worst thing you can do for a jellyfish sting. Not only will you make the sting worse, you break the skin and greatly increase the risk of infection. Sure, it may stop stinging for a little while but that is only because you have sanded yourself and overridden the pain cause by the jellyfish sting. If you still want to do it I have an old Black & Decker belt sander that will make a much quicker job of it.

Jellyfish Truths

Jellyfish live in the ocean and are always there so get used to it. Sometimes there are more jellyfish and sometimes there are less. They can be on the surface, on the bottom or anywhere in between. At certain times of the year they may be more prevalent than others. On the gulf coast we experience at least two jellyfish swarms each year. The rest of the time you rarely see them. If you are uncertain as to the jellyfish conditions in your area, talk to your local dive shop. They should be able to tell you current jellyfish conditions and will likely have any special gear you need to help keep you unstung.

Preventing jellyfish stings: If jellyfish are present you need to wear appropriate environmental protection to minimize the risk of a sting. If the water is warm enough and there are no other environmental factors to consider, a dive skin, along with a jellyfish hood and gloves, may be all you need to keep the jellyfish at bay. If the water is cold or there are other environmental issues wear a wet suit and you will be almost completely oblivious to the jellyfish you encounter.

I say almost because it doesn't matter how well your wet suit fits or how completely you cover yourself, the insidious little jellyfish will find the one place you leave uncovered. Most often this is your upper lip, between the mask and your regulator and the area around your mouth. This is a painful place to get stung and a difficult place to cover. You can go to the expense of a full face mask or helmet but that may be a little expensive and require some additional training. A simpler solution is to coat the area with petroleum jelly (vaseline) prior to the dive.

How a jellyfish stings: To treat a jellyfish sting you need to understand how the jellyfish stings you in the first place. Jellyfish tentacles are made up of individual stinging cells called nematocysts. Each of these nematocysts is an independent, self contained, stinging mechanism consisting of a tiny hypodermic harpoon that is activated by touch. If you touch the cell the harpoon fires and injects a protein based venom.

What to do when you do get stung: If you are going to dive with jellyfish you need to go ahead and plan on treating the inevitable sting. It is going to happen sooner or later. Fortunately there are a multitude of sting remedies out there and the steps to treating a jellyfish sting are very simple. If you are stung you should;

1. Carefully remove the jellyfish and any visible portions of tentacles that remain on your skin
2. Wash the area of the sting by pouring or washing water over the area of the sting to remove any stinging cells that may remain on your skin
3. Apply a sting remedy to neutralize the poison (see remedy list below)

Remedies for jellyfish stings: The list of remedies for jellyfish stings is almost endless. Every time I talk to someone about treating a jellyfish sting I get a new one. You need something that will neutralize the protein based venom that is used by the jellyfish. Without causing any unfired nematocystes remaining on the skin to fire and release their venom.

First, remember the one that does not work, rubbing sand on the sting. If you avoid that one you almost can't go wrong.

1. Hot water, as hot as you can stand, is probably the best remedy but this is rarely available on a dive site
2. A commercial preparation like Sting Stop or Sting Away
3. Vinegar
4. Ammonia (this can be kind of hard on clothing and other things)
5. Bleach
6. Tobacco paste
7. Toothpaste (haven't tried this one)
8. Alcohol (externally)
9. Urine ( haven't tried this one either as I have yet to find a dive buddy I want to pee on me)
10. Send an email and add the next remedy to the list
11. Take an antihistamine to help control any allergic reaction
12. If the sting is severe or the victim has a special sensitivity to the venom, seek medical treatment