J is for ..... JELLYFISH

These magical creatures take my breath away! Having studied Zoology at Uni I was fortunate enough to be a part of some fantastic aquatic trips/camps that involved much water activity. We ran research on anything from seaweed and sea cucumbers to turtles and crabs. We snorkelled near some amazing blooms of jellyfish. Must say though, many of my memories do involve camp fires, crazy games and much student bonding. Not sure that any of those activities were on the initial information letters that went home to the parents.

A little back ground on these very cool animals:
- Jellyfish are a stage of the life cycle of Medusozoa
- They are found in every ocean, including down in the deep and up the top at the surface
- They have been around for at least 500 million years or more
- No brain, heart or bones
- Their body consists of over 95% water
- Box jellyfish have 24 eyes (360 degree view, how cool!)
- In Japan they are considered a delicacy
- They use their tentacles with stingers to capture their prey, usually plankton or small fish
- Jellyfish are not actually fish!
-   ....... the list is endless!!

Those of us that live in Victoria are very lucky as we have no dangerous jellyfish in our waters. Jellyfish in Victorian waters rarely cause serious illness but they can cause immense pain. Many of us Melbournites love to take trips up north, so it is important to be aware of what can be found in our northern waters and the necessary first aid. The Box jellyfish found up north has been known to kill more people than any other marine sea creature each year. Thanks to TV and movies we know the near fatal effects of swimming through a jellyfish bloom (Marlin and Dory on Nemo). My boys have even learnt from The Octonauts to put vinegar on a jellyfish wound.

Recognition of Blue Bottle and Non-box Jellyfish stings:
- pain to stung area
- sting marks that are often white and red around the edges
- pain in the groin or armpits
- headache
- nausea, vomiting
- breathing difficulty

Recognition of Box Jellyfish stings:
- immediate severe pain
- irrational behaviour
- ladder pattern in stung area
- loss of consciousness
- breathing stops and leads to cardiac arrest

First aid Management:
- when in doubt treat for worst case scenario!
- all victims of a jellyfish sting should be observed for at least 30 minutes
- assist patient from the water
- do not rub the stung area
- observe airway and breathing
- Box Jellyfish: flood the stung area with vinegar (this inactivates the stinging cells)
- Non-tropical jellyfish: apply hot compress or hot water immersion to help relieve the pain.
    (no hotter than 45C and review after 20 minutes) If not available then use cold pack.
- Tropical jellyfish: ice packs and topical anaesthetic agents may help reduce the pain
- pull off tentacles, this is not dangerous to rescuer, and rinse with sea-water
- In general keep the patient calm and still
- if unconscious follow DRSABCD
- seek urgent medical assistance

IN SUMMARY: Due to the large number of different types of jellyfish, and the limited ability to identify the culprit, there is no universal treatment for jellyfish sting. If you are in the tropics then think worst case scenario and treat with vinegar. In other cases outside the tropics with non life-threatening stings treat for the pain with either heat or cold.

Some facts about jellyfish in Port Philip Bay can be found here.
Australian Resuscitation Council also has some great information here.

~V~