jellyfish

[niggle]

they seem to be getting fewer these past few days or am i being optimistic ?

[Vital Spark]

Nothing wrong with being optimistic Niggle. Is the sea half full of jelly fish, or half empty?

From my experience, and although I live here, I don't visit the beach that often, they tend to be more prevalent towards the end of the supposed 'rainy season' - i.e. October time.

I'm sure that those living nearer the coast can give a more accurate picture.

I'm pretty used to them in the North Sea off Suffolk, and you basically give them a wide berth. I guess the cold North Sea variety are probably less dangerous than those in warmer climes. I've been stung a few times by the North Sea lot - it hurts for a while but it's really no worse than a nettle sting.

V.S.

[barrys]

We haven't seen any noticeable difference in numbers recently - but we are seeing some very big ones - we're still discouraging our passengers from going swimming on our trips apart from a couple of very sheltered spots we know down at Dolphin Bay between the shore and the small islands there.

If you do get stung, make sure you have some vinegar nearby - that seems to help better than just about anything else.

[Roel]

This might cheer you up a bit:

http://www.bugbog.com/travel_safety/dan ... tings.html

[niggle]

Oh cheers for that last post !
Past 2 days no jellyfish although I got stung the other day - nettle sting feeling. I've heard that peeing on your leg does the trick - ok for us guys, maybe a little more tricky for the ladies

[bradders]

Oh cheers for that last post !
Past 2 days no jellyfish although I got stung the other day - nettle sting feeling. I've heard that peeing on your leg does the trick - ok for us guys, maybe a little more tricky for the ladies

Would LOVE to comment on your posting Niggle but I know it would get me into trouble!!!

What a shame this isn't a Night Crawlers thread!!!

So. I'll simply say "thanks for the tip - but I think I'll try the vinager treatment first"!!

bradders

[swanks]

Jellyfish are predated by sea turtles and there decline has meant an abundance of the things.

If you get stung the tentacles tend to stick to you as they have 'harpooned' you and the best way forward is to scrape them off with the edge of a credit card or similar.
If you have any of that stuff used to stop insect bites stinging with you that seems to help.

[DawnHRD]

Got stung really badly about 4 years ago & the rash took about 10 or 11 months to go. Strangely, about 2 years later, I was a bit run down & the rash came right back up in exactly the same place, size & shape

The Thais use the leaves of a plant that grows near the beach for the sting. ( A bit like we use dock leaves for nettle stings). Sadly this information was given to me when my sting was already a few days old...

[Vital Spark]

A student on Monday turned up (bless her cotton socks) limping, and obviously in a bit of pain. One (only one) of her legs had been stung by a jelly fish while she was paddling in the sea at Hua Hin two days previously.

She had extremely nasty red blotches on her leg, from the knee down, and her foot and leg was badly swollen. She has had some medication since, but I think that that leg will be scarred for a considerable time. She didn't get any immediate attention. I think that's the key - vinegar or (thank you Niggle) something else...

I guess they're big enough to spot - or better still keep out of the water until the end of the rainy season. Holidaymakers should stick to the hotel swimming pools to cool down at this time of year.

VS

[Big Boy]

I was there all of last month, and took numerous jaunts along the beach, and even entered the sea on several occassions until the fleas put my family off further visits to the beach. In all that time I only saw 5 jellyfish washed ashore, and didn't see one whilst I was in the sea.

Their absence is extremely unusual for the month of August (judging by previous visits), but it was peasurable to be able to swim with the much reduced threat. However we did see 2 young girls fall from a bananna boat straight on to a jelly fish - very unlucky.

The jellyfish that we did see were much larger than normal, and for only the 2nd time in Thailand, I saw a blue one - does anybody know if there is any significance in the blue colouring?

[lomuamart]

I was down in Bang Saphang this weekend and did a bit of sea swimming - at one time well off-shore. There weren't any jellyfish.
I think that has been covered on the forum in other threads, that the potentially most dangerous time for these stingers is about October with the rains and inshore currents.
However, they're always out there and I've quite often found that the best bet is to simply walk for a bit along any beach. If you see the critters washed up on the beach in any numbers, it's a reasonable assumption that they're not too far off-shore. Also just ask the beach restaurants if you should be careful.
Maeng ga proon is the name you'll need, I think.

[dtaai-maai]

However we did see 2 young girls fall from a bananna boat straight on to a jelly fish - very unlucky.

Unlucky for the girls or the jellyfish...?

[chelsea]

Big Boy if the blue ones are as poisonous over there as there are here in Australia, keep well away. They may only be very small in size, but are very dangerous and in extreme circumstances can kill

[lomuamart]

I'm fairly sure that we don't get box jellyfish here in HH, although having read up about them they are distributed further afield that I had thought before. I'd always reckoned they were only found in northern Australia, but it appears that they find their way to the Philippines as well as other tropical areas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish
Not very nice at all and extremely difficult to see.
I was in San Paulo ER room once and saw an elderly women having a horrible wound on her forearm dressed. Later on my wife said she heard one of the nurses say jellyfish injury.
I assume you're talking about the box jellyfish, chelsea. I know there there are other nasties in Australia as well.

[chelsea]

Had only been in Aus a short time and went to work in Cairns. Went to the beach when 1st there and could not understand why no one uses the beach.
Went for a swim, and then the same night watched a documentary about all the types of Jelly Fish in then waters in Northern Australia.
That was my one and only dip in the sea in my time there.

They showed a diver that got one of these things wrappred riund his body and his injuries were horrific. They more resembled burns or large welts.
The particular person will be scared for life with no chance of the skin ever recovering.

We get swarms of the smaller ones here in Perth but are still to be avoided.