Stinging Jelly Fish in July?

[Divingnthedark]

Hey, Can someone tell me if it's true that there are alot of stinging jelly fish in Cozumel during July? My husband and I have never been there during July and are plannning to bring our 12 yearold son along. I was advised by a friend that there is an increase in stinging jellies in Coz during the summer and to make sure we at least wear dive skins. Well I never go diving without at least a 3.2mm suit (I like to stay warm) and have diveskins but I plan to do some snorkeling with my son and need to know if I should buy him a skin to prevent stings? Any help here would be appreciated :06:
Thanks, Loretta

 

[ggunn]

Hey, Can someone tell me if it's true that there are alot of stinging jelly fish in Cozumel during July? My husband and I have never been there during July and are plannning to bring our 12 yearold son along. I was advised by a friend that there is an increase in stinging jellies in Coz during the summer and to make sure we at least wear dive skins. Well I never go diving without at least a 3.2mm suit (I like to stay warm) and have diveskins but I plan to do some snorkeling with my son and need to know if I should buy him a skin to prevent stings? Any help here would be appreciated :06:
Thanks, Loretta

I have seen large patches of thimble jellies out on the southern reefs in the summertime. They can sting, I hear, but I've backrolled in through hordes of them and have never (knock wood) been stung. YMMV, of course. I have virtually never (for some reason) seen them close in into shore.

That said, the disadvantage one would have in snorkeling vs. diving around them is that the surface cannot be avoided. The good news is that thimbles are dark red and easily seen from a distance.

Anyway, a skin certainly couldn't hurt, but I've never found one to be necessary for snorkeling Coz in the summer, and I've done it a lot.

 

[Christi]

I imagine that you are referring to the brown thimble jellies Gordon referenced. Springtime is actually the season for them, in fact, we surfaced in a patch of them today at San Francisco reef. They are more of an annoyance than anything, but I do recommend full exposure protection, even if just a skin. A hood of some sort also helps. They leave small red welts that last 30 minutes to an hour, IF you get "stung" by one. A little vinegar or meat tenderizer will take the minor sting out. They are usually gone by mid to late June. They are easy to see as you surface, so one trick is to use your octopus as you surface to blow them away.

They are nothing to be overly concerned about.

 

[DiverMo]

I don't know if it is the species that you guys are talking about, but I was stung Mon, April 28, week and a half ago. Sunday, the day before, there were jellyfish EVERYWHERE while snorkeling. I mean, my sons and I must have seen somewhere around 100 - 150 or more. You couldn't go 10 feet without seeing one. But we just swam through them and kept snorkeling. Monday, saw maybe two or three, but one must have washed on my back with a wave and got me on the back of the shoulder. Not knowing what to do, first we tried to rub it off with a cloth (bad), then rinsed it with cold, freshwater (very, very bad). Memo, from Aldora Divers, came and got me and took me to see Dr. Piccolo. After some vinegar and an intravenous injection, all was better. Now, I don't know if this is a common time for them or not, but just wanted to let you know that it could happen anytime, and this was definitely significantly worse than a minor sting. I'm kind of a hard learner, so went diving and snorkeling again the next day, without protection. BUT, it would have been smarter to wear a skin or something. Also, Memo at the dive shop has some lotion that is supposed to help prevent stings in the case of contact with a jellyfish. BUT, if you have any worries at all, wear a suit!

 

[archman]

When referring to thimble jellies, one must be clear if it's the larval or adult stage. The larval stage tends to peak in late spring in the northwest Caribbean, and it's those pinhead-sized suckers that are responsible for the bulk of human complaints. The adults don't live long, and are sorta "wussies" in the stinging line. Here's a decent weblink... scroll down to the section on sea lice.
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cach...20readings.DOC+thimble+jelly+life+cycle&hl=en

I have the best luck avoiding sea lice by NOT wearing a wetsuit or rashguard. The larvae get trapped in your garments and can sting the pee out of you! I've seen dozens of "rashguard rashes" caused by these nasties, and it ain't pretty.

You can't see the larval stage from the water, so visual evasion's out. For divers ascending into a patch, best thing to do is get them out of the water as fast as you can. Don't leave them loitering on the surface. For snorkelers, have them "swish" water through their swimsuits before they leave the water. It'll flush out a lot of the critters that have gotten trapped in the clothing fibers.

 

[Divingnthedark]

Sounds like we may not have a problem....but will wear exposure protection anyway THANKS :dazzler1:

 

[ch0ppersrule]

Hey, Can someone tell me if it's true that there are alot of stinging jelly fish in Cozumel during July? My husband and I have never been there during July and are plannning to bring our 12 yearold son along. I was advised by a friend that there is an increase in stinging jellies in Coz during the summer and to make sure we at least wear dive skins. Well I never go diving without at least a 3.2mm suit (I like to stay warm) and have diveskins but I plan to do some snorkeling with my son and need to know if I should buy him a skin to prevent stings? Any help here would be appreciated :06:
Thanks, Loretta

a

Loretta,

My hubby and I went to Coz last July and didn't have any problems with the jellies, as a matter of fact we didn't even see any. We are going back this July also. We are staying at the Occ. Grand. We will be there July 1-11 and we are bringing our 12 yr. old daughter. She gave up diving last year after seeing her first shark. I wear a full skin in Coz just incase I forget how to dive and hit the fire coral.(JK) Seen it happen and glad it wasn't me. The water temp is really nice, and I dive Hawaii year round.
Melissa

 

[Divingnthedark]

Melissa we will be there on those exact dates! My son saw his first shark when he was 4 years old, in the FL. Keys, I pointed out a small nurse shark to him. He heard me say shark and when I looked up he was already climbing back on the boat!!! We recently had a laugh over this... Hope you have a super trip! PM me if you think you might want to get together. Have you heard the humpbacks yet this year? Im envious :06:
Thanks for the update on the water temp too...
Loretta

a

Loretta,

My hubby and I went to Coz last July and didn't have any problems with the jellies, as a matter of fact we didn't even see any. We are going back this July also. We are staying at the Occ. Grand. We will be there July 1-11 and we are bringing our 12 yr. old daughter. She gave up diving last year after seeing her first shark. I wear a full skin in Coz just incase I forget how to dive and hit the fire coral.(JK) Seen it happen and glad it wasn't me. The water temp is really nice, and I dive Hawaii year round.
Melissa