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AQUATIC
DANGERS
Aquatic Dangers
What to do if you get stabbed, stung, bit or poisoned
By Barbara R. Schmitz, LCSW
This is the season when many of us spend a lot of time outdoors. Have you ever felt stabbing pains on your skin at the coast? It
Many of us will be going to the coast and various lakes for spring was probably a Portuguese man o’ war. They are blue, appear on the
break. Thousands of marine and freshwater aquatic and semi aquatic surface and are a foot long with dozens of tentacles hanging down
creatures live in these waters. Few actually pose a threat to humans, that can stretch 50 feet or more. They will fire their venomous ne-
but injuries can be inflicted if the animal is frightened or disturbed. matocysts at anyone who touches them and they have thousands of
The animals rarely pursue humans but the bites/stings are used as a these stinging cells.
defense mechanism to a perceived threat.
Most jellies are highly venomous and free swimming. Often you
Some of the marine animals with whom you might come in con- see jellies in schools.
tact are: jellyfish, sponges, bristle worms, sea urchins, stingrays, cat-
fish, lionfish, cone-shells, sharks, snakes, alligators, snapping turtles, The box jelly or sea wasp (found in Australia) is the most ven-
and more. omous animal on land or sea. It can kill a human in less than four
minutes. It has enough venom to kill 60 adults and the sting is in-
Beware the jellyfish, those gooey blobs that appear delicate or stantly unbearable. The Hawksbill turtle is the greatest enemy of the
transparent and are hard to see in the water. You find them in every box jelly. Fortunately, there is antivenom.
ocean, in cold and warm seas. They are made mostly of water and
have no muscles, bones, brains, hearts or eyes; however, they have Some recommended treatments for jellyfish injury are to carefully
nerves in their tentacles that sense light and food. They are among remove the tentacles so as not to release more stinging cells; irrigate
the most numerous predators on Earth and they can sting. The adult with sea water—NOT freshwater or alcohol wash as more cells
is called a medusa and it resembles a bell with tentacles. could discharge. Wash with vinegar but don’t rub the area until the
vinegar has been applied to stop the stinging cells. When I was in
24 San Antonio Medicine • May 2016
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