# Help--this jellyfish sting is itchy! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764 "2008-05-02T15:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/1 "2008-05-02T15:47:36Z")
I had the happy fortune of swimming in the Caribbean by Jamaica but the misfortune of being stung, I am assuming by a jellyfish. For the first couple of days it was painful but that eased off. Then the itching started. I got stung last Weds the 23rd and it just keeps itching. I just started trying generic Benadryl itch cream but it’s not doing anything. Any other suggestions? And what’s this I hear about meat tenderizer? Would that do any good since it’s been over a week? NOTE: I am not asking for real medical advice, just OTC tips. If it doesn’t go away or becomes unbearable, I’ll seek professional help. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/2 "2008-05-02T16:15:26Z")
Everything I know about jellyfish stings I learned from the show Friends, so I guess the most important question is have you tried peeing on it yet? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/3 "2008-05-02T16:20:55Z")
Hee; that’s the response I got from a number of people. Unfortunately I was the only one swimming (inexplicable to me until I got stung) and I didn’t have anyone nearby I could ask. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/4 "2008-05-02T19:53:52Z")
Try household ammonia, applied topically. Another alternative is to run water as hot as you can stand it from the tap, soak a washcloth, and apply to the sting. Either one works for mosquito bites and other itchies, so they should work for your jellyfish sting. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/5 "2008-05-02T20:08:08Z")
Never tried it myself, but I’ve heard using a paste made from meat tenderizer works. The idea is that it breaks down the protein in the jellyfish venom. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/6 "2008-05-02T20:11:27Z")
I used the meat tenderizer trick when I worked at scout camp. I never got stung, so I don’t know if it made a lick of difference with the after affects, but it was a random enough activity that it calmed the stung campers down. I always found that the Band-Aide Brand Anti-Itch Gel (used to be Rulli Gel) worked best on itchy bug bites. It might work well on jellyfish stings too. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/7 "2008-05-02T20:13:10Z")
Baking soda. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/8 "2008-05-02T22:03:45Z")
Jellyfish stings are alkali, so you need an acid, like vinegar. Look at [these](http://firstaid.about.com/od/bitesstings/ht/06_jellyfish.htm) [two](http://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_jellyfish_sting/article_em.htm) first aid sites. Note that the first site says that it may last months. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/9 "2008-05-02T22:27:57Z")
If it’s been a week, there is really not much to be done. Most of the above mentioned things (meat tenderizer etc.) only work Immediately (like seconds/minutes) after the sting. They work by destroying the proteins in the nematocysts. Right now, what you’re experiencing is your own bodies reaction to the venom. OTC benadryl is about as good as you’re gonna get without seeing a doctor… I lived in Jamaica, and was stung by every jellyfish there - it was likely either a sea wasp (cubomedusae, not related to the more venemous Australian variety) or a portugese man-o-war. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/10 "2008-05-02T22:32:05Z")
[QUOTE=pbbth] Everything I know about jellyfish stings I learned from the show Friends, so I guess the most important question is have you tried peeing on it yet? 😛 [/QUOTE] SHUT UP! We _don’t_ talk about…that incident. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/11 "2008-05-03T11:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Jellyfish stings are alkali, so you need an acid, like vinegar. Look at [these](http://firstaid.about.com/od/bitesstings/ht/06_jellyfish.htm) [two](http://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_jellyfish_sting/article_em.htm) first aid sites. Note that the first site says that it may last months. [/QUOTE] I wonder if storebought (so not so tastey, so not such a waste) tomato slices used as compresses would help? That or orange/grapefruit slices? Those are acidic too? 😕 Vinegar might be the most cost effective though. Soak a washrag and use it as a compress? Where is the sting, depending on where you maybe could just get a basin and put the affected part in there and soak it? Though, the washrag compress method would use less. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/12 "2008-05-03T13:42:31Z")
I’d have already died from the horror of it all. Jellyfish…eeeeew. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/13 "2008-05-03T14:02:28Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I’d have already died from the horror of it all. Jellyfish…eeeeew. [/QUOTE] I refer you to text option three in [this](http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9314/jellyfishqo1.jpg) Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines screenshot, and the subsequent [NPC response](http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9919/jellyfish2ze4.jpg). Playing a Malkavian can be quite amusing at times. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/14 "2008-05-03T14:05:34Z")
My WAG, based on having lived in developing countries with plenty of jellyfish, not so much first-world-style medical care: if you don’t treat the sting within minutes, whatever you do later won’t make much difference. But you’ll live. Pure anecdote, IANAD and all that: My son and I both got stung along the Sinai Penninsula once within seconds of each other while swimming side-by-side, so I assume it was the same jellyfish that got us both. I recovered quickly, but it seems like a tentacle got wrapped around his ankle. He had a mark like an ankle-bracelet style for a YEAR afterward. But the pain/itching went away in a few days, and no lasting harm was done. Actually I think he is a little sorry the scar is gone. It would be kinda cool as a 10-year-old boy to have a permanent jellyfish sting scar. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/15 "2008-05-03T14:49:27Z")
IME, even treating right away doesn’t always work. My husband and I have both been hit by thimble jelly larvae, and reacted differently. He actually had to get some steroids for the reaction, while I just itched like crazy for days. I don’t think there’s anything you can do but wait it out. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/16 "2008-05-03T23:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] I refer you to text option three in [this](http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9314/jellyfishqo1.jpg) Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines screenshot, and the subsequent [NPC response](http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9919/jellyfish2ze4.jpg). Playing a Malkavian can be quite amusing at times. 😃 [/QUOTE] Jayzuz! That’s almost as scary as the jellyfish! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/17 "2008-05-03T23:41:39Z")
If you can talk a doctor into a shot of cortisone you may get relief. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/18 "2008-05-04T06:16:32Z")
I haven’t tried this with jellyfish stings, but for other stings, I have put purell hand sanitizer on it and it worked very well. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/19 "2008-05-04T13:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Jayzuz! That’s almost as scary as the jellyfish! :eek: [/QUOTE] [Beckett](http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Beckett) is a wandering scholar. He’s of clan [Gangrel](http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Gangrel_%28Vampire:_The_Masquerade%29). His eyes glow orange because he’s a Gangrel, their looks can change in time to reflect that they are close to their animalistic nature. (If you think he’s scary, [you don’t want to see](http://www.planetvampire.com/image.asp?/bloodlines/gallery/screenshots/full/17.jpg) the [Tzimisce](http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Tzimisce) you encounter in [Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_-_Bloodlines)! He practices [flesh shaping](http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Vicissitude), on himself.) To get back on topic, should you or shouldn’t you use sand? I’m trying to recall what was said on [Venom ER](http://www.animalplanet.com.au/venom_er/index.shtml) about jellyfish stings, let me see if I can find it. Hmmm, I’m not finding mention of it. I don’t think it was a box jellyfish on the episode I saw, it was some other kind of jellyfish. I think the person survived. Ah, according to [this](http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/alsting1.html) “ **Never rub with sand!** ” Makes sense, since the vinegar (according to that site) is to prevent more stings, so the sand might cause more? Just like you want to lift the bee stinger out without squeezing it? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-jellyfish-sting-is-itchy/447764/20 "2008-05-05T20:26:42Z")
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I besieged it with Benadryl and Cortisone OTC stuff and it feels less itchy. The one on my knee feels dry and not itchy, so that’s a definite improvement. Should be a nice little pattern for a while, based on some of your comments! [![](https://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/gigisdmb/?action=view¤t=0502081140.jpg) ](https://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/gigisdmb/?action=view¤t=0502081140.jpg)