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Jellyfish stings can cause mild pain and tissue inflammation or extremely intense pain and severe inflammation. It can be very difficult to identify the type of jellyfish that created the sting unless you actually see it. Jellyfish with long tentacles tend to make long lash-like marks on the skin where the tentacles lay. The photos on this page were all emailed to me by BeachHunter visitors. If you have a photo(s) you would like to share, you can email them to me at beachhunter[at]beachhunter.net. Comments from scientists, health professionals, lifeguards, or anyone else with jellyfish experience or knowledge are always welcome. If you have a jellyfish story or information, please consider joining my forum http://www.beachhunter.net/forum and posting your story in the jellyfish section so everyone can benefit. Your story doesn't necessarily have to pertain to Florida, but I do prefer information that involves the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Coastal US, or the northern Caribbean. |
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Anna L. of South Carolina sent in the above photo to accompany her story below. While vacationing for the second time on Edisto Island I was stung by something in the water while swimming with my children and husband. My husband and little girl were in about waste deep water while my son and I were playing where the waves were breaking - about 2.5 feet deep. I was laying in the water with my hands holding up my body - head facing shore with my feet floating behind me when I felt the most excruciating sting ever. It felt like an electrical shock, took my breath away - literally - it was hard for me to speak. Instantly I jumped up - grabbed my 5 year old and pulled him up out of the water - knowing I could not let this thing get him. At the same time I yelled at my husband and daughter to get out of the water. I quickly looked over my children's bodies to make sure they had not been stung - they hadn't. Then I started to shake ... I couldn't help it - it was from the intense sting - I looked down at my legs and fell to the sand - my husband then pulled off one clear tentacle from my left leg - got stung a bit. My hands were shaking and the pain was very intense. We walked back to our beach house and I was in a great deal of pain for the next 3 to 4 hours. The pain came in waves - very reminiscent of labor contractions - very bizarre. My heart rate was elevated for several hours - and my breathing was a little different - I felt like I was not getting enough air - took deep breaths for awhile. I should have gone to the hospital - but didn't want to make the drive. I took 3 Benedryl and went to sleep. The next day was okay - but both legs and feet were starting to swell. By the end of the day I had kankles and I was most uncomfortable. The worst of it came at night with the most extreme itching I've ever experienced - I didn't sleep for 2 nights in a row and on the second night I was so uncomfortable I got up and sat in the shower with the water running (not hot)- only thing that would relieve it a bit - but I was miserable - crying. At one moment I thought death would be better than what I felt. The lymph nodes in both my legs near my groin were swollen and tender. It took several weeks for the discomfort and swelling to go away. I still have scars on both legs to this day from the sting. I didn't see the jelly that got me as the water in Edisto is not clear - quite murky. I'm just curious as to what species you think may have got me. I'm only thankful it stung me and not one of the children. This was not my first sting - but rather my 5th, once in Mexico, and all 4 other times in South Carolina. None of the previous stings had any lasting effects on me - just mild stinging and welps that faded in a matter of hours. Anna has additional photos of the stings on flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/16032925@N04/1736272798/in/photostream/ BeachHunter's note: Since Anna did not see the jellyfish that stung her, it is impossible to identify the type. Since it was not visible and the tentacles were clear, I rule out the likelihood that it was a man-of-war, since that animal has deep purple tentacles and has a float that is visible above the water. Since the sting was so severe, I suspect it may have been a box jelly. I have a photo and video of a box jellyfish on the main jellyfish page. |
