Blue Bottles

junaid

Senior Member
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! 

 

blu1.jpg


 

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)
 

 

bluebottle121.gif
 

Calvin

Senior Member
Hey Junaid....

Thanx for all the great info.

These blue bottles can really be a menace !!!

 

Cheers

Calvin
 

junaid

Senior Member
yeah theres some truth that urine is an antibacterial solution which is a bit controversial now, but im sure almost everyones forefathers were using it in emergency to treat wounds and the like.  It possibly works in this case maybe mainly because its hot ,however its also acidic ( remember vinegar is also acidic)

 I didnt mention it in the article because didnt want people exposing themselves in public and quoting me...  But I think if the sting really painful  and you got no choice, you can  give it a try.
 

Mel G

Senior Member
Howzit guys, i was up at Cape Vidal a few weeks ago and there it was "ATTACK OF THE BLUE BOTTLE", there were literally thousands of them, and we were wading ito the water to get a deeper thow over the ledges, and all the guys got stung, i got stung between 6-8 times, legs, hands and arms....i thought i would be excruciating pain, but i just ignored it and it didnt effect me, same with the other guys that were with me...I was just wondering that maybe these blue bottles up the Zululand coast have lost their potency????Cos i remember being stung as a kid, at Salt Rock and the pain was crazy...About the pee thing, i remember my dad telling me that, and it did work, its got to do with the acidity of the pee, that soothes the stinging...but i'd rather take the pain than get any of my buddies to have a pee on me...:D
 

Bloodworm

New member
Hi

I've heard and tried "meat tenderiser" , rub it on the spot, it works. For the sting of a barbel, I use a condom, rub it on the spot, it works good. The "latex"/powder on the condom neutralize the poison. I once used a condom on a bluebottle sting, and it work well there 2. So keep some condoms in your box, I do.
 

jace

Senior Member
Hi

I think if you are married and your wife / girlfriend  finds the condom in your fishing tackle she is NEVER going to believe that you go fishing when you say you do

::H

Jace
 

Bloodworm

New member
LOL. You never know. No, there is another use for the condom. If the fishing is poor and the fish don't wanna bite, I add an extra hook and put the condom on the 2nd hook, so if the fish don't wanna bite, they must go and @#$* themselves.:D
 

the saint

New member
another good use for he condom is to put youh cell phone in it, works very well and now i always have a excuse for having them.

iv even went so far as to let my girlfriend pick the stuff up when she goes to the nurse:spite
 

Sidd

Senior Member
I just read this tip on treating blue bottles on another site ...


"OUR COMMENT OF THE MONTH I was very interested to read the article on blue bottles. I often travel and stay in Mozamambique and spend a lot of time there on the beach. I have two children aged 8 and 9.
We are often exposed to these bluebottles, and have some years ago learnt a trick or two from wise old ladies.
One of the best anti-sting lotions is Q20. A liberal spray of this lubricant on the affected area immediately stops the sting."

 

drewmill

Senior Member
one of the possible reasons the stings may not be as potent is that a lot of the times when they get inshore like that the tnticles get damaged from the rocks and sand banks when they are dragged across. a lot of these cells could have also fired off by the time they got to you.

another remedy is the plants in the area. i cant remember their ezact name but they have a very fleshy leaf and are creepers, rubbing lightly the sap from them can nutrelize the toxins.

dont know if i would like to be pissed on, not into "showers" of those sorts. as i say rather be pissed off than pissed on lol
 

Psy

Sealiner
Hey ouens...we use cigarettes...yes just take cigarettes and rub them on the stinging areas...sometimes your smokes go to waste but it beats the sting...dunno wot it does but it takes the STING!! outa there.
(I LEARNT THAT FROM THE JAPANESE)

Ciao
 

hms1

New member
hot water will do the trick, the hoter the better. that is why pee works so well. or you can use the triagle leeved plant that grows on the dunes behind you. rub the fluid on the burning spots.
 

On_Dad

Senior Member
From experience the "three cornered plant" is the fig tree. Grows prolifically on the sand dunes and has been the only resort for blue bottles stings for me. It works
 

snorre

New member
psy wrote:
Hey ouens...we use cigarettes...yes just take cigarettes and rub them on the stinging areas...sometimes your smokes go to waste but it beats the sting...dunno wot it does but it takes the STING!! outa there.
(I LEARNT THAT FROM THE JAPANESE)

Ciao



Ek wil dit glo.

die tabak plant beskik oor sekere medisinalee eienskappe.

Ek ont hou as 'n tjokker, het ek my voet gesny in die veld, nog al 'n diep sny, en het baie gebloei. My oupa het pyp tabak op die wond gesit dit het die bloed gestop en die wond laat toe trek.

Net versigtig wees want 'n mens weet nooit wat se bakterie op hedendaagse tabak kan wees nie.
 

Marthin

Sealiner
The best is the "suurvye", Hotnosvy plant growing on the dunes as mentioned above. Crunch a couple of the leaves together, and rub on the sting. No more pain within a couple of minutes.
 

Sailfish

Sealiner
Sunlight liquead skottelgoed opwasseep. Die lewensredders op Plett het dit altyd Desembermaande byderhand. Het gesien hou hulle n seuntjie behandel en sy trane het sommer dadelik gestop. Dink dis die suurlemoen extract daar binne.
 
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