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Man-o-War Questions or Comments?

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From the lens Portuguese Man of War Sting First Aid.

Questions or comments about Portuguese Man of War stings or this lens?

  • PeterMac May 14, 2012 @ 11:09 am | delete
    Every year the bluebottle or man-o-war jelly fish are blown on to our shores in Nth Queensland. I know of only one cure that can be applied at the beach - dilute bleach. By personal observation it's very effective
  • Nate Apr 22, 2012 @ 2:59 pm | delete
    I got stung yesterday I was swimming in the gulf of Mexico in Florida and I saw what looked like a cloth under water so I went to grab it to see what it was and as soon as I touched it an extremely powerful sting came then I saw the float so I ran to shore ASAP to a lifeguard they removed tentacles from me the put on some kind of creme. For the rest of the day it was extremely painful then in the morning most of the pain was gone but it was all swelled up and some parts of my hand was purple and numb
  • Gage Douglass Apr 4, 2012 @ 9:00 pm | delete
    Just got stung today! Sure was painful but after a numbed in up, I was fine
  • Tolovaj Apr 4, 2012 @ 12:57 pm | delete
    I heard Portuguese man of war is really not an animal but community of different organisms living in symbiosis. True or false, no kidding with this jellyfish...
  • cody44 Mar 26, 2012 @ 2:05 pm | delete
    Powerful sea creature!!! will certainly keep away from that!
  • Visitor Mar 21, 2012 @ 9:01 pm | delete
    This thing stung my dad :( im so scared should i call the police?
  • Carrie Dec 12, 2011 @ 10:30 pm | delete
    I got stung from my foot all the way up to my hip and it wrapped around me and also got my sisters wrist alittle and we were about 20feet away from eachother. When i got stung my legs when numb. I was lucky enough to have been able to scream for help and saying i got stung before i fell underwater. It hurts alot but when u get stung do your best to stay calm and scream for help and saying you got stung. have people help you get to shore and get a lifeguard if they are not already there when you get to shore. Always watch out for the signs of a allergic reaction. If you are not sure ask the lifeguard.or call 911. DO NOT WASH THE STING WITH FRESHWATER! i was lucky enough to be able to take a shower without washing that leg with freshwater. and also i was lucky because my hotel had a saltwater pool.
  • NorDac Sep 10, 2011 @ 5:49 pm | delete
    Old remedy, urine. Pretty gross, but it desolves the enzimes.
  • whaup Jun 9, 2011 @ 10:22 pm | delete
    I got stung two days ago. it hurt and I rubbed it with sand and rinsed it with fresh water. My leg went numb an then it went away. that night i woke up at 5am to muscle spasms, itching, and extreme irritation. I took benadryl/benaryl cream. it helped. Right now i'm still having bad muscle spasms and its irritated. LOVE FLORIDA
  • C.bensington Jun 1, 2011 @ 12:08 am | delete
    I got stung yesterday. It don't hurt that bad. I got stung in four places and had muscle spasms and now its worsening. Go Hawaii... -.-
  • johnlfa May 28, 2011 @ 3:48 pm | delete
    Good advice, thanks!
  • Bella_Stella Apr 6, 2011 @ 3:02 am | delete
    This is such a strange creature... with an even stranger name! It is the first time I have heard of it. How big can it be? I was impressed by the length of its tentacles!
  • joanv334 Jan 24, 2011 @ 4:44 pm | delete
    Thanks for sharing!
  • TheGoodSource101 Oct 6, 2010 @ 11:55 pm | delete
    They are a tough sting that's for sure. Great Lens
  • Paul K, Asheville, NC Sep 12, 2010 @ 12:35 pm | delete
    Well Folly Beach SC strikes again! We were ther on Labor Day and our 11 year old daughter got stung pretty bad. The paramedics and lifeguards at Folly Beach were great, she loved the attention, andthey responsed very fast. They did treat it like a jellyfish sting though with the vinegar which did not help, but it did not seem to make it worse either. They did put heat on it immediately. My daugher's stings have small tentacle marks every couple of millimeters, are others like that? Got both her arms and right leg pretty bad. It flared up today which is a week later. She is very uncomfortable. Nurse recommended Benadryl and Pepsid AC? She took a warm bath and does well if she is distracted. Gosh, 7 more weeks of this! uuuggghhhh!!!
  • Erin Aug 24, 2010 @ 9:26 pm | delete
    I recently got stung by a man of war on tybee island ga Aug. 17, 2010. I was stung the day before on the foot by a regular jelly fish and it hurt but the pain went away in about 10 min. I wasn't sure it was a man of war sting at first so i poured vinegar on it and it hurt really bad and swelled up more. I instantly got sick and kept vomitting for about 12 hrs. I wasn't able to even keep ice chips down. I finally thought the swelling was going away after about a week and now it has flared back up and is itching like crazy. Now after reading others stories i am pretty sure it was a man of war.
  • Debbie Aug 13, 2010 @ 12.30 pm Aug 21, 2010 @ 11:25 am | delete
    I got stung at N. Forrest Beach Hilton Head. I hvae never had anything that hurt and stung to bad. When I got out of the water I put wet sand and ocean water on it. My daughter poured beer on it which helped for a litted while. I did ice oral benadryl. Now a week later it has flared back up. It is red swollen and itchy. I an doing ice, caladryl and benadryl. I hope this doesn't last to much longer.
  • Melissa Aug 6, 2010 @ 3:23 pm | delete
    My best friend was recently stung at Folly Beach, SC, but no one saw what it was. (After reading this, I'm pretty sure it was the man o war.) She was sent to the ER via ambulance because the life guards couldn't get her pain under control or help her calm down. They washed it with vinegar first, and according to this website that only makes it worse. Then in the ER, the docs gave her a tap water/vinegar bath which lead to more screams. They gave her a sedative and strong pain meds to help her calm down when they realized the nematocysts were probably still on her foot. They used medical tape to rip these off and sent her home. I think she got the right treatment, but it was all in the WRONG order. It's been 6 days and she's at the doctor's today because of what sounds like a "flare up of irritation" because her pain rx isn't working, nor is benedryl. I hate to tell her she's go 7 weeks left of this.
  • angela Aug 10, 2010 @ 5:43 pm | delete
    my daughter got stung at Folly around the same date (August 2010) and she had flare ups a full week later! Terrible itching!
  • cajunkitty May 24, 2010 @ 3:25 pm | delete
    After removing the tentacles and washing the area with sea water apply a mixture of campho phenique and baking soda made into a thick paste and apply on the affected area. It works great on all sorts of poisonous stings eve on stinging nettles.
  • kailuakim Oct 1, 2009 @ 8:20 pm | delete
    i just got stung by man of wars this afternoon on my regular ocean swim... It was windy, but that is normal for Kailua beach, so did not think much about it.
    On my way swimming back in, i felt like I swam into an electirc fence and could feel "strings" all over my arms... needless to say it freaked me out so I swam really fast to get back in. When I got back to shore, I talked to some folks on the beach, and I told them i think I got stung, they saw my arms and agreed.
    I immediately went to the drug store, rubbed some gel on the wounded areas, then when I got home I read online that vinegar pulls the sting out. My arms felt as though they were on fire, I asked my neighbor to rub the vinegar on my arms, (that was about 20 mins ago) and it helped, but i still feel tremendous stingy on my arms...
    This is the first time EVER I have been stung... I do feel muscle weakness and like I am going to vomit, along with a quickened pulse (my heart is racing) strange.
  • Andrea Sep 19, 2009 @ 12:41 pm | delete
    Carrie, I am so sorry you are going through this awful experience.

    I was stung while on vacation in Italy swimming in the Meditteranean a week ago. I believe it was a Portuguese Man o War. (I hear they are now present in that area) The pain was so severe upon contact, I had trouble walking immediately after. In fact, my leg swelled terribly within two days and my flight home to the U.S. was delayed two days. I was seen for potential blood clots. The sting left three long finger-type welts on the inner part of my right knee/shin area and a huge - what I call - palm print on the back of my knee. I was given ten days of strong anitbiotics and advised to keep my leg elevated to help the swelling. Now, after a week, I am starting to develop new raised welts as well as severe itching, some swelling and pain in my leg. After reading your article, I am worried this will go on for 6-8 weeks. It is awful. Thanks for the information, however.
  • x xCarrie Sep 10, 2009 @ 7:53 pm | delete
    I believe I was stung by a man o' war while floating in the surf at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. My symptoms are very similar to what is described in this article. The 1st symptoms were severe burning of both lower legs. I did not see what stung me. A week later , I had a flare up of intense itching along with pain and raised welts (again). I went to the dr. who prescribed a cortisone injection and methylprednisolone pills for 6 days. I now have the welts back and I am just taking antihistamines in the form of zyrtec during the day and benadryl at night. I also use benadryl gel on the afffected areas. I have 3 -5 more weeks, supposedly!!!
  • Billie, 12 Aug 16, 2009 @ 8:54 am | delete
    My local beach is full of them at the moment. I thought I should check them out, and this website gave me alot of information. As I go swimming/body boarding weekly with mt life saving club, I thought I should know. ;) Thanks.
  • LowThyroidCures Aug 14, 2009 @ 10:42 am | delete
    Great lens, I really enjoyed it. Although I don't get the opportunity to go to the beach often, jellyfish has always been my biggest fear of getting in the ocean.

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Azareal

Hi. I'm Dr. Anne Helmenstine, scientist, author, and mom. I write and edit About.com's Chemistry Website, which covers general chemistry, science proj... more »

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