Anyone been stung by a jellyfish?

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Last one was off Molokini and it got me from my wrist to my elbow. It stings fairly good and left a rash that burned. I used meat tenderizer and vinegar would have worked as well. It was fine in about 15 minutes.

Several guys offered to pee on me too and they didn't even know me.
 
But it was never life threatening or anything like that. Many times I ended up with welts on exposed parts of my body. I would wind up using a full body wetsuit in 30 degree water to avoid these difficult to spot creatures.
In BC I always kept my eyes peeled for the Cyanea species of jellyfish. Those guys are big!
 
There is tremendous variance in the "stinginess" of jellies. Those great big moon jellies can hardly sting at all, and only in the tenderest of places, while a "stinging (sea) nettle" can raise a welt, feel like a hot poker and cause nausea, dizziness or in severe cases even shock. Some sea wasps in the Pacific can kill - and the ones in the Caribbean can make you wish you were dead. The Portugese Man-o-war (a hydroid rather than a "true" jellyfish) is somewhere between the sea nettle and the sea wasp.
The worst I've personally ever felt was a sea nettle across the lip, which I could feel from the top of my head to my toes. I don't recommend it.
When there are jellies in the water it's wise to wear at least a skin and keep your eyes peeled - as others have said, most aren't much beyond a mild irritant, but there are a few that can really get your attention.
There are several pictured in Humann's "Reef Creature Identification" with short remarks on which will pop you, but the most common bad one along the northern Gulf coast - that stinging nettle - isn't in there. There's a fair picture of the Pacific version (sea nettle) in Edmonds' "Dangerous Marine Creatures" - it's a medium sized jellyfish - some 4 to 8 inches across the bell with purplish innards and long tentacles - I've see 'em trailing over ten feet...
Rick
 
How well does vinegar work? Are there any other treatments, besides urine.
 
There aren't any that really dangerous unless you do something stupid.

Way back in the dark ages I managed to get a man-o-war inside my wetsuit during a swim through breaking seas. Even that was OK with the help of an excellent dive buddy, but just.

The only REALLY NASTY things in the Atantic are bristleworms!

FT
 
When I got stung, years ago, I thought it was a floating ant colony, if you've ever seen one. Felt like big fire ants having a field day on my leg. Meat tenderizer helped out. A week later a scorpion stung me right on top of one of the more severe welts.:wacko:
 
>>Had one across the lips...just a little one...but it was a mild burning sensation and my lip showed signs of redness and slight swelling.<<

I had this too as I was about to descend on a nite dive. . .I couldn't eat spicy stuff for about 2 weeks afterwards and even beer hurt it
:(
 
FredT once bubbled...

The only REALLY NASTY things in the Atantic are bristleworms!

FT

I have heard about the bristleworms. What about the scorpion fish? I heard those will send you to the hospital in a hurry.

As for the jellyfish, I have gotten stung by man-o-wars. Years ago I was waiting for the boat to arrive back at the dock for the next round of snorkelers. When it did arrive, a person was carried off on a stretcher. Something about a man-o-war wrapping around his neck constricting his breathing...
 
I've been stung by fire coral, jelly fish, hydroids, man-o-war and bristle worms.

The only thing in the ocean I fear is a brisle worm. I had serious doubts I would survive that encounter. FredT's experience was even worse than mine.
 
I was stung once by a Man-of-War off little Cayman. A flotilla of them was passing our boat. I waited on the platform until I thought they were far enough away, but I guess I didn't realize just how long their tenacles were. When I hit the water, I looked up at the distant jelly and followed his tenacles right back into my legs. :wacko: I waited for the pain but only felt a mild stinging, itching sensation. The tenacle was sticky and wraped around my ankle. It left a welt and itched for about 3 days. I heard stories about the Man-of-War and braced for some intense pain and was ready to abort the dive---but nothing really happened. I continued with the dive.

Barracuda2
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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