Woman dies from box jellyfish sting

[Cormorant]

German Woman Dies in Thailand From Box Jellyfish Sting - ABC News

I'm curious to know how box jellyfish affect cruisers in those waters -- northern Australia, up through the tropical Indo-Pacific. Do they keep you from going swimming or diving? Or is it more like the risk of shark attack -- just carry on and hope for the best?

[Hud3]

In Hawaii, their arrival is predictable - 9-12 days after the full moon. Probably the same elsewhere, I'd guess. Stay out of the water in areas where they can show up if you don't want to risk getting stung. In Hawaii, that's normally the leeward and southern shores.

[Wotname]

The blighters are somewhat seasonal and somewhat predicatble. When in doubt, either stay out of the water or wear a"stinger suit".
Back in the day, one wore panyhose, one the normal way and another "upside down" with one's arms in the legs.

I no longer live in the tropics but I understand there are more fashional protection suits these days .

[Moonos]

Wow I never knew box jellyfish were in Thailand and I have been there many times.

[Bulawayo]

Box jelly fish are far more wide spread then many realise. I was stung in the West Indian Ocean as was one of my children. Vinegar does not work after being stung, but treatment that does work is heat. The only source of hor water to hand was the exhaust water from the outboard motor so we used that for relief.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

Box jelly fish are far more wide spread then many realise. I was stung in the West Indian Ocean as was one of my children. Vinegar does not work after being stung, but treatment that does work is heat. The only source of hor water to hand was the exhaust water from the outboard motor so we used that for relief.

Was that an irukandji sting? There are box jellyfish, and then there are box jellyfish.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9CHshkF8GDU

[Bulawayo]

No, it was larger. I had a couple of meters of sting striping on my shoulder, right arm and right chest whilst my son had his upper foot stung. My scars took around 15 months to fade away. The body of the box jelly fish that stung me was about the size of a 2 litre soft drink bottle. It was painful enough.

Originally Posted by minaret

Was that an irukandji sting? There are box jellyfish, and then there are box jellyfish.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by minaret

Was that an irukandji sting? There are box jellyfish, and then there are box jellyfish.

I understand the regular box jellies are bad but I watched the whole special on the irukandji and those little critters scare the shirt out of me. Not only is the pain horrific but it lasts for days and days.

Too small for nets or anything to keep out and also so small that if you're swimming in a area that's at risk you have to cover every, tiny bit of exposed skin.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Thanks for posting that video. I had seen that before, but watched it again.

What surprised me on this second viewing was the TINY size of the box jelly. I thought they were much, much larger than shown in the video. Seeing one in the water, in front of the diver's mask, shows how VERY small it is. Amazing!

Also amazing, is that just a small sting can have such devastating effect, with possible death (as in the report in top post here) or excrutiating pain that can last for days or weeks (the female diver felt pain for weeks), and that no pain relievers, even maximum morphine can eliminate the pain. WOW!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Thanks for posting that video. I had seen that before, but watched it again.

What surprised me on this second viewing was the TINY size of the box jelly. I thought they were much, much larger than shown in the video. Seeing one in the water, in front of the diver's mask, shows how VERY small it is. Amazing!

Also amazing, is that just a small sting can have such devastating effect, with possible death (as in the report in top post here) or excrutiating pain that can last for days or weeks (the female diver felt pain for weeks), and that no pain relievers, even maximum morphine can eliminate the pain. WOW!

I understand there are several varieties of box jellyfish, most of them a good bit larger. The irukandji as you see is quite small and difficult to spot even with a mask.

[hellosailor]

You try to stay aware and well away from any kind of jellys in the water. And when some reef fish decide to take a bite out of the tentacles, they can break free and float away and even the little scraps floating around still can sting you.


So...death? Probably anaphylactic shock. Good to keep your eyes open, stay out of the water if there is a lot around, know the first aid, maybe keep an epipen onboard, and don't be afraid to call for help if you have stings and are feeling worse.


I see lots of jellys, I get out the Kindle or the sewing kit and find something else to do.

[julius222]

Hi All

I'm now a 10 year resident of Darwin, NT and previously a 20 year resident of Townsville, North Queensland. Box jellyfish are an accepted hazzard in these waters.

2 types, Chironex fleckerii and irrukanji. For the purposes of keeping out of their way there is no substantial difference. They are both deadly.

Excerpt from wikipedia
Chironex fleckeri, commonly known as sea wasp, is a species of box jellyfish found in coastal waters from northern Australia and New Guinea north to the Philippines and Vietnam.[1] It has been described as "the most lethal jellyfish in the world", with at least 63 known deaths in Australia from 1884 to 1996.[2]

They are not to be treated lightly.

VINEGAR WORKS!!! Do not dismiss this. Carry it if you're going to swim in these waters.

And, yes, the old panty hose works well too.

In these areas, Vinegar is carried by most boaties and ready to hand in the cockpit. Public beaches and jetties also may have a bottle of vinegar in palce as safety equipment. Examples are, Nightcliff Jetty, DArwin and Radical bay, MAgnetic Island, QLD. and many more places in between.

These jelly fish do not sting, as in a sharp point penetrating the skin. Rather the toxin is carried in little sacks attached to the tentacles.

The sacks burst on the skin, the toxin is absorbed and the result is intense pain. Trying to brush off the tenatcles just bursts more sacks, intensifying the pain. To be pedantic, the toxin doesn't kill you. The resulting pain kills you. It is that severe.

The delayed reaction mentioned in one of the posts may be from bursting an an unburst sack carried around on clothing or equipment

This is where VINEGAR helps. Vinegar neutralises the toxin in the sacks BEFORE THEY BURST. Vinegar neutralises the toxin still ON THE SKIN SURFACE. Carry it, have it ready if you are swimming and hope you never have to use it.


Cheers

Julius

[Captain Obvious]

I was with some friends in a boat fishing off of cape tribulation. It was night time and we went in to the beach to get something from our room. I was on the boat, one friend ran up to the room and the other guy held the boat in shallow water. He had a stinger suit on. He said watch this, the navigation lights, or light in general attracts the jellyfish. Sure enough about 30 seconds later a box jellyfish the size of an apple swims over to the boat where he is standing. No swimming for me north of mackay between mid September into around Easter. Here where I live we tend to not swim after north easterlies. Water temp has a lot to do with it too. Also it tends to be a mainland thing with swimming at islands further of the coast deemed safer. Not foolproof though.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Julius!

Thanks for adding to the information about the Box Jellyfish.

The video that was posted up above, shows two divers wearing protective "skin suits" and both did apply vinegar to their bodies upon getting out of the boat, one after feeling "stung" on his lip and the other on her hand. They show the vinegar being poured from a bladder via a flexible hose.
_______

I will take some vinegar (gallon at least) with me when I go to the South Pacific!

______

Again, I am struck by how TINY that little box jelly is in the video. The closeup video shows them without anything for scale. Then the video shows one floating in front of the diver's mask (second dive with more face protection) and it is almost impossible to see the little jelly. It looks about the size of a person's fingernail on their smallest finger, or the size of a pea. Very small. But deadly. OUCH!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Thanks for posting that video. I had seen that before, but watched it again.

What surprised me on this second viewing was the TINY size of the box jelly. I thought they were much, much larger than shown in the video. Seeing one in the water, in front of the diver's mask, shows how VERY small it is. Amazing!

Also amazing, is that just a small sting can have such devastating effect, with possible death (as in the report in top post here) or excrutiating pain that can last for days or weeks (the female diver felt pain for weeks), and that no pain relievers, even maximum morphine can eliminate the pain. WOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws5hImeonEA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_syndrome