Jellyfish sting injury

Very low urgency
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The jellyfish is a gelatinous marine animal with cnidocysts, which are like microsyringes that inject toxic substances.

Although the majority of their stings are caused by live jellyfish, it is common to come into contact with a dead jellyfish or the remains of its tentacles in the water.

The majority of their stings are red, linear skin lesions with hives. Although the hives may develop after a few minutes, they can also develop after several hours.

Treatment involves removing the tentacles that remain in the skin and applying hot water or vinegar to the affected area to destroy the venom that has been injected.

Bibliographic references
  1. Erin N Marcus. Jellyfish stings. UpToDate. Oct 2016
  2. O'Reilly GM. Prospective study of jellyfish stings from tropical Australia, including the major box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri. Med J Aust 2001; 175:652.
  3. Macrokanis CJ. Irukandji syndrome in northern Western Australia: an emerging health problem. Med J Aust 2004; 181:699.
  4. Fox JW. Venoms and poisons from marine organisms. In: Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 21st, Goldman. (Ed), WB Saunders, Philadelphia 2000. p.437.
  5. Charles Lei. Trastornos causados por mordedura por víboras venenosas y exposición a animales marinos. Harrison. Principios de Medicina Interna, 19e. Cap 474
Author
Dr. Abel Andrés Orelogio
Copyright
© TeckelMedical 2026

Symptoms

    Reddened skin


    Welts/wheals on the skin


    Itchy skin

Symptoms to watch out for

Bite in the eye
Vomiting
Welts hours or days after the bite
Mental confusion
Day time drowsiness that does not allow for daily life activities
Difficulty breathing

Self-care

Remove the visible tentacles with fine tweezers.
Soak the skin in hot water for 20 minutes.
Avoid washing in sea water or human urine.
Avoid rubbing the area of the lesion.