In early February 2000, bluebottles hit the beaches of Sydney in plague proportions. And the email horror stories started arriving at RealSurf. So, we did the logical thing. We asked folks for their favourite bluebottle sting treatments.
We've divided these into two categories: the official and the folk. Official recommendations come from either medical professionals or from the Surf Life Saving movement. And the folk category overlaps the official and encompasses everything else.
If you'd like to add your comments to this page, please email them to us at surfhealth@realsurf.com.
OFFICIAL BLUEBOTTLE TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
The
Medico:
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 gas filled body is one single animal- the float. Half of them
have sails oriented one way and half at ninety degrees- so they sail in
different directions and spread out further. Smaller organisms are responsible
for reproduction and the most evil ones, the nematocysts, make up the
small tentacles on the float and the long tentacle (up to ten metres long).
These tentacles carry the venom and cause the stings. They are actually
used to paralyse and trap small fish, which these wretched creatures eat
to survive. When the wind blows onshore, they can appear at beaches in
large numbers, stinging local heroes and kooks indiscriminately.
As a doctor in Accident and Emergency in a hospital close to the beach, I see loads of bluey stings in summer. Over the years, various 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; and Stingose, which according to one text I consulted is pretty useless.
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. I've tried it myself and reckon it works pretty well, but by the time you get to the shower you will probably already have a few welts. Ice is good for these, scratching is bad and moisturiser (or hydrocortisone cream) is soothing. Anti-histamines can largely relieve the itch eg Telfast, which you can buy at the chemist (follow the directions.) At night a sedating antihistamine like Phenergan can help you sleep and 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 panadeine or panadol are usually effective. This pain can be almost overwhelming.
Lastly, although I have never seen a case, anaphyllaxis can occur ie system shut down due to severe allergic reaction- low blood pressure, rapid pulse and breathing difficulty. This requires emergency treatment in hospital or from the ambos with hydrocortisone, antihistamines and sometimes adrenaline(or epinephrine if you are from Don's homeland)…every minute is crucial when this occurs. Breathing trouble is more likely in asthmatics, children and people known to be allergic to blue-bottle venom. Any sign of chest tightness or breathing trouble is a good reason to get to hospital immediately. There have been recorded cases of death from Portuguese Man-of-war stings, though as far I am aware, there have been none in Australia.
It's hard to say anything positive about these hateful creatures, but when the nor'easter is howling on your one afternoon off for the month and you have to paddle out anyway, wear a long rashy or a steamer or be prepared to suffer. They are after all only trying to catch some fish…
-Dr Sam
Sources
1. Dangerous Marine Creatures Dr Carl Edmonds Copyright
1989 Reed Books Pty. Ltd.
2. Venomous Creatures of Australia Dr Struan K Sutherland Copyright 1995
Oxford University Press
3. The ER
4. Thousands of hours in the water
Official
SLSA treatment:
Remove all stingers
Ice
Stingose
Previous years Vinegar (not something you normally have at the beach).
- Roger
The best remedy for blueys is the following:
1. Wash off in fresh water as soon as possible.
2. Then apply an ice pack or ice to the affected areas.
You can get the ice from any surf club as the above is the trained method
for the Bronze Medallion.
-Jason Z.
REALSURF VISITORS' FAVOURITE BLUEBOTTLE TREATMENTS
Vinegar for
the sting. Ti Tree Oil later for the bite & itch.
-P.Bailey
After washing
the area stung by blue bottles with cold water all you can do is place
some ice (placed in a bag of course) on the stung area. The ice numbs
the pain and hopefully stops you from scratching the area.
-T. Hutcheson
I am highly
allergic to the bloody things. The only thing that I find significantly
reduces the swelling is ice, applied as soon as possible after the bite
(pressing the affected area against the inside of a freezer also offers
some relief - depending on where you are stung!. Methylated spirits and
tea tree also take the sting out of the "bite".
-Josh
Stingoes
doesn't really work at all. The best solution is just to apply an ice
pack, or a cool wet cloth to the affected area as this will both sooth
the wound and reduce swelling. There are various creams you can buy at
the chemist, but I always find that for really wicked stings which sometimes
cause intense itches and even headaches, some antihistamines work pretty
well.
-gio
The tried
and tested remedy is vinegar. If you don't happen to carry some around,
stop by the local lunchbar.
-Paul C.
I've heard
a variety of things over the years - from vinegar, to saliva, to Stingose,
to a bizarre but rather effective cream made up especially by a pharmacist
at Kirra on the Gold Coast.
I think all of them were effective (the saliva may have merely been psychological),
but the pharmacist's cream was the best one, 'cos it contained an anaesthetic
(to stop the pain) and an antihistamine (I think - to stop the swelling/itching
after the initial sting). It was also useful for dealing with jellyfish
stings - which I scored a few of after surfing Currumbin Point one day
when there were 1000's of them in the water... (jellies, not surfers,
although it was rather crowded anyway...)
-Israel
Even though
St Johns first aid has chucked out vinegar as a treatment for bluey stings
(in favour of ice), vinegar works bloody well, reducing pain quite rapidly.
I have even poured half a cask of reisling over a really bad sting on
my chest & body cause that was all I could find, and it seemed to work
ok, being a vinegar derivative I guess. So there you go
-Sinkers
Best remedies:
Get someone to piss on the sting, or do it yourself if possible. Vinegar
to sting Shower as hot as you can stand it.
- KD
Bluey Remedies...
Other than the Stingoes or Vinegar there's not a lot you can do. I've
been told that our tolerance to the little blighters actually lessens
with each sting (so each will get worse). The best remedy I've found is
to take your mind off the pain. One night after a bad sting I got playing
a computer game and tried to really immerse myself in it.... the other
one is to smoke pot (this will dull most minor pains). They're my remedies,
other people may find other things to take the mind off it (oh and ice
isn't too bad either)
- Jake
I read your
question today and wished it was put foward to readers a day sooner. Yesterday,
enjoying the sunshine and surf and Freshie, I took a wipeout and coming
up encountered the worst bluey sting I've ever had (dare I say, the worst
I've ever seen) - the sucker got me on the chest and wrapped around to
my back and then slid down to stike again just above my butt.
As I am writting this, I am sore and incredibly itchy! Well, regarding
treatment, my hand goes up for Stingose. The gel in particular. It does
sooth the itching to a certain extent, but it's characteristic that I
love the most is that it dries crusty on top of the skin (it doesn't go
into the skin) and so - I don't scratch my itchy sores. And we all know
that if you don't scratch them, they heal quicker and better.
With regards to Josh's question - I know where Blueys come from..... the
devil.
-Element
Rinse and
dab with household vinegar
- Lee
The most
popular advice I've been given is: "someone else's urine..." but, as my
wife currently refuses to comply, I just swear a lot and that cures it.
- Paul
Stingoes
or vinegar best option. A mate of mine, I reckon he is full of shit, says
to pull the tentacles off straight away. I reckon leave them on and then
put vinegar or spray stingoes, then take them off - because if you pull
them off before this the spores release more venom into your skin. Who's
right. (He says he is because he was a lifesaver for 10 years.) Thanks,
- Kev
When I was
out surfing Nth Avalon the other day I got stung so badly on my left arm,
hand, leg and foot that I could hardly make it back to the beach. Anyway,
I ended up getting to the surf club were a clubby told me to have a warm
shower before they put sting-goes on me. I could not believe how much
the warm shower instantly relieved. After I got out of the shower, the
pain started to come back even after they put the sting-goes on. It wasn't
until I got to the pub and had a few beers that the pain went away.
So to conclude I guess the best remedy for a bluey sting would be to fill
a esky full of beer and jump in a warm bath.
- Tim
Re bluey
stings. the best remedy is DRY LAND!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahaha
-Russell
I reckon
the best thing is to go and buy a couple of Icy Poles and hold them onto
the sting for about 20 minutes. It gets rid of the sting, and the heat
doesn't hang around - it's gone!! Works every time.
- Caen
'Stingoes'
- fab product. Ice - handy on the beach in the middle of summer! Full
body rash vest. But I copped one in the face last weekend, dunno how you
can avoid that!
- Katie
Up in QLD
the 'Official remedy' if you get stung by a box jellyfish is to put vinegar
on it. Getting stung by one of those things is a pretty serious scenario,
so I'd guess that's a pretty good idea. The best tips I've found RE: blueys
is;
- Look to windward when you're paddling - the tails always follow the
body as they move downwind, so if your on their leeward side your generally
OK.
- The obvious one - is to stick to the northern corners of the beach so
the little blighters get smashed on the rocks of the headland rather than
getting to you.
- Or you can cover up - wear a long sleeved rashy or a steamer if your
super keen...and don't mind going hyperthermic! - this is still a bit
dodgy as you can still get stung on the face and neck, which can be really
nasty!
- Be philosophical - in Sydney these days, to get waves you've gotta be
willing to do something the other guys won't. (get up earlier in the morning,
take off closer to the rocks, drive to less crowded beaches, watch the
conditions more closely, threaten violence etc) If you are willing to
endure bluey stings you will get the waves the other guys don't.(And the
guys that go out when blueys are rampant obviously want the waves more
than I do!)
- Once you've been stung, I reckon you've either got to leave them completely
alone (the straight jacket method) or scratch the bejesus out of them
so they bleed the offending poison out and cease itching. The worst time
of year seems to be Autumn, when all the little bastards that have washed
up over summer seem to break up. You then have just bits of tail with
no float to warn you. These ones aren't as bad as the fresh ones, but
it's a bastard when they totally surprise you. Not sure if the above qualifies
as 'wisdom' but I couldn't resist putting my 2 cents worth in. cheers.
- Mark.
Their is
tubes of stuff called STINGOSE which is OK. But nothing helps when your
in the water. Apparently Sunfish think the bastards are yummy. So, all
hail the mighty Sunfish and may they dine unhampered. Don't scratch
- Martin
My cure
that works on my stings is WD40. It's the acid alkaline neutralising effect.
Doesn't work if you let the sting go for more than half an hour ( no problems
with that in this summers mostly shitty surf ). So pack it in the car.
Most of my mates say I'm a *uck wadd when I tell them so I have no scientific
research to back it up with, meaning a Noble prize for sting prevention
will not come my way.
- Brett ( pain free since 1982 )
Aren't you
supposed to piss on them ??? - just joking, Stingoes is the Best, Vinegar
& Cold Water is also useful if you have to remove the tail from the body.
-Brendon
In my younger
days when we used to go the beach in Newy or up the bay, if we got stung
by a bluey, the ol' boy would reach into the beach bag, grab the first
aid kit and whack on some vinegar on it. It took the sting out of it pretty
quickly. I'm not sure if the same can be applied to a jellyfish sting
or any other type of marine stinger that you could think of.
- Dave
Ice dude
-Eric
Pull the
sting off then cold water or ice if it's really bad.
- Peter
Blast off
the blue bottle with a public shower Apply stingo's
Ice pack
Icy cold beer
- G.
A bottle
of everyday vinegar - douse yourself in the stuff. It seemed to work ok
for me, but you smell like fish'n'chips for the next day or so... not
such a bad thing if your girlfriend is into fish'n'chips!!
-Daniel
the best remedy is a ice pack it has been medically proven to reduce the swelling and is the choosen method by SLSC Aus. Vinegar is only for box jelly fish and is ineffective for blues.
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