Blue Bottles
Jellyfish is one of the most ancient organisms on earth. They have been here over 600 million years.The Bluebottle or Portuguese Man-of-war inhabits (and at times infests), with seasonal variation, the warmer seas of the world.
Each bluebottle is actually a small colony of creatures that all perform different, complementary roles. The nematocysts or stinging cells are the ones which stings and releases the toxin.
When the wind blows onshore, they can appear at beaches in large numbers.
Remedies have been advocated eg rubbing sand on a sting, which pushes the venom deeper into the skin and makes it worse.
Ice, which does decrease the swelling and inflammation but doesn't destroy the toxin; vinegar, which as a weak acid has a mild effect on neutralising the toxin but doesn't work that well.
If I got stung should I treat it with vinegar?
Vinegar is known to be highly effective if you get stung by Box jellyfish.
This is because it inhibits the firing mechanism of the stinging cells within the tentacles that remained attached to the skin.
However, it does not necessary work on other types of jellyfish! The same vinegar activates the stinging cells of the Blue Bottle jellyfish.
The current recommended treatment is to put the sting in hot water, preferably in a shower, as hot as you can stand for at least fifteen minutes. The heat denatures the toxins. Anti-histamines can relieve the itch.
With a bad sting, the venom can cause nausea and joint pain. If it gets into the lymphatic system, it can cause excruciating pain in the lymph nodes eg in the groin if stung on the leg. This doesn't usually last more than an hour or two and simple analgesics like panadol are usually effective. This pain can be almost overwhelming.
Did you know? The blue bottles tentacles can range up to 10 metres in length!
When the trigger is activated the cell "fires" - the shaft of the cnidocyst penetrates the target and the hollow thread is everted into the target organism body. This discharge is one of the fastest biological processes, takes no more than a few microseconds.
The following is what happens when the stinging cell is triggered when it comes into contact with you, resulting in piercing and injecting toxin through the skin. There are thousands of cells all along the tentacles (stringy part)
Jellyfish is one of the most ancient organisms on earth. They have been here over 600 million years.The Bluebottle or Portuguese Man-of-war inhabits (and at times infests), with seasonal variation, the warmer seas of the world.
Each bluebottle is actually a small colony of creatures that all perform different, complementary roles. The nematocysts or stinging cells are the ones which stings and releases the toxin.
When the wind blows onshore, they can appear at beaches in large numbers.
Remedies have been advocated eg rubbing sand on a sting, which pushes the venom deeper into the skin and makes it worse.
Ice, which does decrease the swelling and inflammation but doesn't destroy the toxin; vinegar, which as a weak acid has a mild effect on neutralising the toxin but doesn't work that well.
If I got stung should I treat it with vinegar?
Vinegar is known to be highly effective if you get stung by Box jellyfish.
This is because it inhibits the firing mechanism of the stinging cells within the tentacles that remained attached to the skin.
However, it does not necessary work on other types of jellyfish! The same vinegar activates the stinging cells of the Blue Bottle jellyfish.
The current recommended treatment is to put the sting in hot water, preferably in a shower, as hot as you can stand for at least fifteen minutes. The heat denatures the toxins. Anti-histamines can relieve the itch.
With a bad sting, the venom can cause nausea and joint pain. If it gets into the lymphatic system, it can cause excruciating pain in the lymph nodes eg in the groin if stung on the leg. This doesn't usually last more than an hour or two and simple analgesics like panadol are usually effective. This pain can be almost overwhelming.
Did you know? The blue bottles tentacles can range up to 10 metres in length!
When the trigger is activated the cell "fires" - the shaft of the cnidocyst penetrates the target and the hollow thread is everted into the target organism body. This discharge is one of the fastest biological processes, takes no more than a few microseconds.
The following is what happens when the stinging cell is triggered when it comes into contact with you, resulting in piercing and injecting toxin through the skin. There are thousands of cells all along the tentacles (stringy part)