Bluebottles, the scourage of summer
I just
did a quick lit search and found some info regarding the
bluebottle that you might be interested in.
Jaimie Potts
Evolution and Development of marine animals
Dept Anatomy and Histology
University of Sydney
Species name Physalia utriculus
Common Name : Blue bottle or Portuguese man-o war
Distribution: Warm marine waters world wide
Each blue
bottle is not actually a single organism as such, they are actually a
colony of individuals called zooids, which all came from a single egg.
These zooids are specialised to have different roles in the colony, although
they function together as if they were a single animal.
One zooid makes up the float, others make up stinging tentacles and others
are the yellow mouthed feeding tentacles. Any given population of bluebottles
has two mirror morphologies (that is there are two types of float shape
within the population that are mirror reflections of the
other. The different morphologies cause the two mirror-image forms to
have sail radically different courses to maximise dispersion by the winds
and
to prevent the whole population from being stranded by strong and long
durating onshores. In other words, on a day like today with a NEasterly
blowing, one morph type of bluebottle will come towards shore on a particular
course while the other morph type will follow a mirror image course and
go out to sea. Furthermore it is thought that the two forms of P. physalis
have arisen in an effort to gain separate access to upwelling and diverging
sea-surface waters that probably contain their major food.
(Alam J M. Qasim R. 1997). In other words maximising the chances of getting
a decent feed.
The fishing
tentacles of bluebottles adhere to prey and human victims by the penetration
of a barbed tubule (looks like a barbed harpoon under the microscope)
connected to an intracellular nematocyst. Nematocysts are the ball-shaped
blue globs on the tentacle. The nematocyst is surrounded by a system of
tiny tubes and filaments that anchor the nematocyst to the
tentacle. When you are stung, the bluebottle discharges many of these
nematocysts into the skin which subsequently inject venom. The nematocyst
only fires when the cnidocil apparatus, a cluster of subcellular structures
at the external surface of the nematocytes is stimulated by mechanical
and chemical stimulii, for example, proteins from animal skin tissue and/or
just physical touch.
So try to wash it off without touching it with your hands etc to minimise the sting. When I was a lad, vinegar was prescribed as a cure as was rubbing it with sand. This is clearly wrong from what I've described above and will only cause the unfired nematocysts to discharge into the skin thus increasing the degree of the sting. Firing of nematocysts is a first year university prac and it is induced by adding vinegar to the bluebottle tentacle while viewing it under a microscope.
The best
remedy for stings I could find in the literature was from a study by Exton
et al 1989, Medical Journal of Australia. They recommend
cold packs as the most effective first-aid treatment to relieve mild-to-moderate
skin pain from Physalia ("bluebottle") jellyfish stings
as well as stings from other jellyfishsuch as Cyanea. ("hair jellyfish"),
Tamoya sp. ("Moreton Bay stinger" or "fire jelly")
and Carybdea rastoni
("jimble")
A little bit more below but probably beyond the reach of the majority
of your audience.
Institution
DEP. BIOCHEM., UNIV. KARACHI, KARACHI 75270, PAKISTAN.
Title
TOXICOLOGY OF PHYSALIA'S PORTUGUESE MAN-O'WAR VENOM.
Source
Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 4 (2). 1991. 159-168.
Abstract
The venomous pelagic coelentrate Physalia species (Blue bottle) or the
Portugese man-o'war has recently been studied in detail due to their
hazardous effects on community. It was observed that the venom of the
animal is lethal to man and can also produce cutaneous stings of varying
severity. Physalia species also possess significant cardiotoxicity to
man, rats, mice and are lethal to lower animals. This effect has been
attributed to the abnormality in ionic transport across membranes. The
cutaneous pain and musculotoxic action in human produced by Physalia venom
may be induced by one or several high molecular weight polypeptides.
Blockage of specified neurons and neuromuscular junction besides alteration
in end plate potential (EPP) and end plate current (EPC) was
also attributed to high molecular weight toxic fractions. Survey of enzymatic
contents of Physalia venom reveals the presence of a wide
variety of enzymes whose presence and actions were similar to that of
complex enzyme mixture of snake venom. Besides these clinical
manifestations neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and other physiopharmacological
effects were also demonstrated.
Authors
Burnett J W. Gable W D.
Institution
DIV. DERMATOL., DEP MED., UNIV. MD. SCH. MED., BALTIMORE, MD.
21201.
Title
A FATAL JELLYFISH ENVENOMATION BY THE PORTUGUESE MAN-O'WAR.
Source
Toxicon 27 (7). 1989. 823-824.
Abstract
The documented case of a human fatality resulting from envenomation by
Physalia physalis is presented. Although this case is only the second
scientifically recorded fatality, several similar cases have been suspected.
Auerbach P S. Hays J T.
Institution
1367 EMERGENCY, VANDERBILT UNIV., NASHVILLE, TENN. 37232.
Title
ERYTHEMA NODOSUM FOLLOWING A JELLYFISH STING.
Source
Journal of Emergency Medicine 5 (6). 1987. 487-492.
Abstract
At least 100 of the approximately 9,000 species of coelenterates are dangerous
to humans. The most common syndrome following an envenomation is an immediate
intense
dermatitis, with characteristic skin discoloration, local pain,and systemic
symptoms. In this case report, we describe a case of erythema nodosum
with articular manifestations following envenomation with an unknown jellyfish.
Serological testing of the victim revealed marked
elevation of immunoglobulins G and M directed against Physalia physalis,
the Portuguese man-of-war. The patient's condition did not respond to
conventional topical therapy for coelenterate envenomation, but was successfully
managed with systemic corticosteroid therapy. This case
demonstrates that the emergency physician should consider a delayed reaction
to a marine envenomation in any victim who presents with an acute dermatological
disease following immersion in marine coastal waters.
Alsonso J
L.
Institution
RUA ITAPEVA, 490, CONJUINTO 12-CEP: 01332-SAO PAULO-S.P.-BRASIL.
Title
SERIOUS ENVENOMATION BY THE PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR
PHYSALIA-PHYSALIS A CASE DESCRIPTION.
Source
Neurobiologia (Recife) 50 (1). 1987. 37-46.
Abstract
That the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) can cause paralysis,
even lethal ones, in experimental animals, has been already
proved and extensively studied. On man, however, there have only been
described moderate local symptoms such as pain and dermatological lesions,
and, in some cases, such general symptoms as abdominal pain diarrhoea
and fever. There are only isolate references that Physalia could cause
lethal accidents; in this article the author describes the clinical history
of a case which enforces this hypothesis. A man of 63 years, M.D., long
accustomed to sport, hit with his face a Physalia while swimming far from
shore. At first he experienced swelling and intense pain on the face,
diffuse pain on the abdomen, an ascending muscular weakness, which made
swimming difficult. These symptoms were accompanied by strong desire to
cease swimming and the sensation of imminent death. About 20 minutes later
he arrived at shore, feeling disoriented and cold, and observed paralysis
of the muscle of the scapular girdle and strong headache. Three hours
later he was treated with corticosteroids and anti-histaminics, and the
symptoms described retreated. From the next day on, he observed anesthesias
and red pigmentation of the facial areas which had been in contact with
Physalia. The pigmentation disappeared in some weeks, but the sensitive
deficit remained even 4 months after the accident. This strong symptomatology
is probably derived from the large dermic area affected and
from the time of exposure to the poison. The author thinks that this poison
has a direct action on the subcutanean sensitive terminations, at
first assuming an irritating character of pain-production, and later on
conducting to degenerative phenomena of these terminations which produce
anesthesias; a second, long-distance action produces ascending paralysis,
possibly secondary to disturbance of the polarization of the motor units
membranes, as those produced by the poison of other coelenterata on experimental
animals. The remaining symptoms can be related to the
histamin-liberating and hemolytic action of physalitoxin. The described
case was in great peril of loosing his life; if consequences had been
fatal, it would have been difficult to establish the causa mortis, which
probably explains the absence of any grave clinic-descriptions produced
by Physalia poison.
Authors
Cormier S M. Hessinger D A.
Institution
Biol. Dep., Clark Univ., Worcester, MA 01610.
Title
Cellular basis for tentacle adherence in the Portuguese man-of-war
(Physalia physalis).
Source
Tissue & Cell 12(4). 1980. 713-722.
Abstract
Cormier S M. Hessinger D A.
Institution
Biol. Dep., Clark Univ., Worcester, Mass. 01610.
Title
Cnidocil apparatus: Sensory receptor of Physalia physalis nematocytes.
Source
Journal of Ultrastructure Research 72(1). 1980. 13-19.
Abstract
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