By now the news has gone around the world about
the French 5 year old boy who died on
Koh Phangan's Bottle beach after being stung by a box jelly fish. It's terrible sad news but I do hope that this will be a wake up call to the General Managers of hotels around Koh Samui and Koh Phangan and the local authorities, to put up warning signs and vinegar stations on the beaches around the islands.
A Thai work group, with whom I met in 2010, have immediately come down to visit the islands and help with dealing with the issue and hopefully they can convince local authorities on how to proceed with prevention and raise awareness.
Over the last few years I have on a regular base written about box jelly fish, and
this post from 2012 has been the most popular and most visited post on my blog. More than double the amount of visits compared to my 2nd popular blog post. On my dive blog, I have also made various posts about box jelly fish,
please visit here to read more.
It's not about 'scare mongering' but awareness can go a long way and hopefully help prevent situations with such a tragic outcome. Stinger suits and vinegar go a long way. Although the use of vinegar is under discussion at the moment, it's still the recommended way of action for immediate on the spot treatment.
Box jelly fish treatment flow chart
IN CASE OF A BOX JELLYFISH STING:
1. Begin CPR if required and call for medical assistance
2. Immediately pour vinegar over sting area for at least 30 seconds
3. After using the vinegar, place cold packs or ice on the wound to ease the pain and reduce skin damage
4. Seek medical attention
OTHER JELLYFISH SPECIES:
Bluebottle (with single main tentacle)- Remove tentacles, immerse sting area in hot water or apply cold pack*, do NOT use vinegar
All others - Remove tentacles, apply cold pack to sting area
the morning glory plant found along the coast throughout the tropics is at best a mild analgesic and not recommended.
once the vinegar has done its job and the threat of envenomation ceased, the pain can last a few hours and can be managed locally with ice packs.
once the pain has subsided there is a risk of infection so the sting should be treated much like a burn.
depending on the approach you want to take, cortisone based cream, vitamin e cream, calendula, pawpaw etc could all be good in keeping the wound clean, avoiding secondary infection and aiding healing of the scarring.
The vinegar will not stop the the venom already in the wound but will immobilize any other stingers and prevent them from discharging. Try to rub the remaining tentacles off your body with a credit card like object, not with your fingers!
Any reports from box jelly fish sightings in Thailand or the South East Asian region can be reported to DAN Asia Pacific who are keen to collect information about these stings in Thailand. Please contact John Lippmann through their
website.
Camille
