new-science
Relieving Jellyfish Stings
January 6th 2007 05:18
Scientific American has an interesting online article about relieving the pain from jellyfish stings by relieving oneself on the stings. Several television shows have joked about the use of urine to counteract the poison from jellyfish stings.
Scientific American's verdict? Don't pee on yourself. (Did you really need anyone to tell you that?)
Jellyfish tentacles are lined with nematocysts, little packets of stinging that stick to your skin when the tentacles rub against you. A change in the balance of solutes triggers the release of more toxin, as does rubbing or scratching the sting.
Salt water is the best remedy at the beach. A baking soda/salt water paste can also help to draw the poison away from the skin.
Source: Scientific American, 2007 Jan 04
Jellyfish image courtesy of stock.xchng
Jellyfish tentacles are lined with nematocysts, little packets of stinging that stick to your skin when the tentacles rub against you. A change in the balance of solutes triggers the release of more toxin, as does rubbing or scratching the sting.
Salt water is the best remedy at the beach. A baking soda/salt water paste can also help to draw the poison away from the skin.
Source: Scientific American, 2007 Jan 04
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Comment by katyzzz
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Great information. Intriguing picture. I'vebeen stung by bluebottles [it ain't nice]
Neat trick, arrest for indecent exposure?
Bit hard if you don't wan to 'go'.
katyzzz
Comment by Adele
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I've been stung by a few jellyfish, too. It's not fun, but it's not so painful that I would consider letting someone do that to me! I thought the tv shows made this up, but apparently there are people who believe it.
Thanks for commenting.
Comment by Brenton
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Comment by Adele
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