Aussie Dopers: atre "Sea Wasps" Really Dangerous?

Factual Questions
1

The sea wasp is a kind of jellyfish, common in the waters off Australia. According to a TV show I saw, its sting is very painful to humans…are they really dangerous? Do they close the beaches in Australia, when these things arein season? And, if you are stung, what can you do? These things sound like they could be really dangerous…much more so than sharks! :eek:

2

Yes.

Assume that if you get bitten by one of these things (more commonly known here as a “box jellyfish”), you WILL die.

I’m no expert, living in Southern Australia where we don’t get them. But up north in the tropics, they are a major concern.

3

Bitten?

Erm… stung. Getting bitten by a jellyfish would be labout as dangerous as getting bitten by a rice pudding, I guess. :slight_smile:

4

I believe the sea wasp a.k.a. box jelly has the most poisonous venom of any animal…if you somehow manage to survive the anguish of the sting, the welts will leave you scarred for life.

AFAIK, only the botulism bacterium is more poisonous…a single organism can kill…though the poison is post-metabolic waste, not venom.

5

For some reason, acetic acid seems nullify the effect of the sting. So some of northern Queensland’s beaches have bottles of vinegar on stands along the beach.

If you get stung (and you’ll know it when you do), you’re supposed to pour vinegar all over the affected area and go to a doctor straight away. If you don’t do this, there is a good chance of death.

However, prevention’s better than cure. You shouldn’t be swimming off a number of these beaches in summer, when the stingers are out. Some public places have stinger nets, but these aren’t perfect. Besides this, there are crocs and other nasties on the beaches up there. Pay attention to the warning signs, go to the patrolled beaches etc, and you’ll be fine.

6
      • Or you could wear pantyhose, right? I remember a news story showing Aus. lifeguards wearing pairs of pantyhose, a second with the crotch cut out and worn like a shirt. The length of a jellyfish sting was not long enough to reach through the pantyhose fabric it said…
        -Of course, their hands, feet and head were still exposed. I suppose if you went for total-coverage, congregating at the beach could become a pretty confusing experience. That, or a new way to meet people… Me, I’m terrified of dying from jellyfish attack. That’s why I wear pantyhose all the time.
        ~^_^~
7

Wow! I hadn’t heard of anything like that before, but it seems pretty smart.

There were several stories last year about people encountering box jellies while swimming. As I recall (can’t find the cite right now) one man wound up swimming through a school of them and was very badly stung – it caused heart failure (he had a pre-existing heart condition). Scary stuff