• Every year, during the summer holidays, small incidents occur.

  • Even if not serious, these summer sores can be bothersome and painful.

    So, to prevent this from ruining the holidays, it is better to know how to react.

  • In the first episode of our series devoted to summer sores,

    20 Minutes gives

    you the right reflexes to adopt when stung by a jellyfish (yes, we'll tell you if, like in

    Friends

    , you have to pee on it or not).

We wait for them all year round, they are finally here: the summer holidays.

And for many July and August residents, the ultimate pleasure is enjoying the beaches and swimming in the salt water.

Provided, however, that you do not cross paths with jellyfish which could quickly spoil the festivities.

But this year, these gelatinous creatures are back, especially on the beaches of the Côte d'Azur and Corsica.

And some swimmers risk encountering them in the water and having the painful experience of their sting.

But not everyone knows how to react.

Should I rinse with clean water?

Pee on the bite (we know that many of you are asking the question)?

20 Minutes gives

you the good reflexes to have, and the gestures to avoid.

jellyfish sting for dummies

What does a jellyfish sting do?

In general, it hurts!

But it all depends on the one whose tentacles we will cross.

“There are over 1,500 species, and some are more virulent and venomous than others.

Moreover, the nastiest are often the little ones, plants Dr. Catherine Oliveres-Ghouti, dermatologist.

The problem with jellyfish is that since they are transparent, you often don't see them in the water, and you can accidentally touch them while swimming.

In the event of a sting, “a sharp pain appears almost immediately, like a burn or an electric shock, describes the dermatologist.

And a few minutes later, the skin turns red, and sometimes a red or purplish rash appears on the skin, even blisters, or a mark similar to a burn.

Signs that show exactly the part of the skin that has been in contact.

Thus, a patient who touched one while swimming in the Mediterranean had the mark of the jellyfish on her skin, like a red tattoo, with the body and the tentacles!

And in rare cases, the pain is so sharp that it can trigger vagal discomfort.”

The good reflex

First of all, "we keep calm and above all do not touch the site of the sting: when the jellyfish's tentacles touch the skin, the nematocysts they contain, kinds of small vesicles containing the stinging venom, go cling to the skin.

If you rub with your hands, you will burst the nematocysts that are still closed, at the risk of extending the sting, increasing the pain tenfold and spreading it to the hand,” warns Dr Oliveres-Ghouti.

“If you are on a supervised beach, you can go to the first aid station, the rescuers are used to managing these situations.

In all cases, we rinse without rubbing with sea water. Then, if we see that tentacles have remained stuck to the skin, we gently remove them with tweezers, not with our bare hands.

Then we put sand on the sting to trap the jellyfish debris, which we remove by gently scraping with a stiff cardboard.

Then, if necessary, the wound can be soaked for a few minutes in hot salt water (around forty degrees, no more) to inactivate the venom and calm the pain, continues the dermatologist.

And if you have a lot of pain, you can also apply a cortisone-based cream to quickly relieve the pain.

After this disappointment, it is possible to keep a mark on the skin for several days.

"The jellyfish sting can cause a form of skin burn," says Dr. Oliveres-Ghouti.

It is important not to expose the wound to the sun, otherwise a pigmented mark will remain for a long time.

So we keep his wound in the shade, under clothing or a good layer of total screen, ”she prescribes.

But the first precaution to adopt is to find out about the presence of jellyfish at your swimming spot, especially in the event of a planned vacation on the beaches of the Mediterranean.

“If it is indicated that they are present in large numbers, it is better to avoid bathing, advises Dr. Oliveres-Ghouti.

If there are few of them, the safest thing to do is not to swim alone, considering the risk – although rare – of feeling unwell, and therefore of drowning.

This is what happened to another patient, who was stung abroad by a very poisonous jellyfish which knocked her unconscious in the water.

Fortunately, she was saved by a swimmer who saw her sink and revived her.

The false good idea

In panic and pain, you might be tempted to run to your water bottle or to the nearest tap to run your injection under very cold water.

But “it is important not to rinse it with fresh water: the vesicles still clinging to the skin would burst and release their venom, warns Dr. Oliveres-Ghouti.

In the same way, do not suck the sting in order to suck the venom!

This is not a bee sting, for example, which leaves its sting stuck in the skin”.

As for the famous question that all those who have watched

Friends

ask themselves: no, “it is not recommended to urinate on the bite, answers the dermatologist.

Yes, urine is salty.

But this is not necessarily practical if you have been stung in the shoulder!

In addition, the wound could become infected”.

It happened to them

His swim on a Lebanese beach, Abdel keeps a very vivid memory of it.

“I was in the water when the tentacles of a jellyfish brushed my thigh.

I felt a painful burning sensation almost immediately, in just a few seconds.

After getting out of the water, I ran water over my sting, which was getting more and more painful, then went to the lifeguard station on the beach.

Obviously, it's quite common there, because the lifeguard was ready and well equipped.

He applied a cortisone ointment to me, and it relieved the burning sensation within minutes, luckily he had it!

After that, oddly, I bathed much less often.

Company

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur: Before taking a dip in the water, visualize if there are jellyfish

Planet

Côte d'Azur: Proliferation of one species, appearance of another… Why do we have the impression of being invaded by jellyfish?

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