Jellyfish Stings: A Protective Suit vs. a Friend to Pee on You!

I recently read an article about whether it's fair for marathon swimmers to wear special suits to prevent jellyfish stings. Some purists debate that Diana Nyad's swim from Cuba to Florida "doesn't count" because of her protective mask and gloves. I was curious about this (although that's probably a better topic for the BioMed blog) and about how jellyfish affect human swimmers. Nyad's previous attempt to swim the same route came to an end when multiple jellyfish stings left her unable to effectively move her legs.

Jellyfish Facts

Thought to have inhabited our seas for 500 million years, there are hundreds of species of jellyfish. The four major classes are scyphozoa (true jellyfish), cubozoa (box jellyfish), hydrozoa (medusa), and staurozoa (stalked jellyfish).

Some species of jellyfish commonly found in the waters off the United States include cannonball jelly, mushroom jelly, moon jelly, lion's mane, sea nettle, sea wasp, and Portuguese man-of-war. Sting pain is related to the amount of venom that species possess.

Jellyfish:

• Range in size from smaller than a pinhead to larger than humans
• Have no brains - an elementary nervous system detects stimuli and responds
• Are a type of plankton; they drift along ocean currents

A group of jellyfish is called a smack and when large numbers of them appear suddenly it's called a bloom. Blooms occur when currents push big groups of jellyfish together in one location. They are especially likely to appear in warmer currents that have an abundant food supply.

Jellyfish Stings

Jellyfish feed themselves by stinging their prey with some of the thousands of nematocysts on their tentacles. The nematocysts inject toxin into the prey and then the jellyfish feed. This mechanism is also used for self-defense.

The "sting" of the sting can range from mild discomfort to paralysis. Box jellies tend to be the most venomous. The stings of the sea wasp, a type of box jellyfish, can kill a person within minutes.

Treatment of Jellyfish Stings

So, does peeing on a jellyfish sting help? The answer is no. Urine, picric acid, and alcohol can actually make some stings worse because they stimulate stinging cells that may still be in the skin.

Tentacles should be removed from the skin to stop the discharge of venom. Vinegar is the treatment of choice for box jellyfish stings.

Protection Against Jellyfish Stings

In areas with large jellyfish populations the best recommendation is to wear protective gear. In Australia, nylon pantyhose can protect a swimmer from the stings of a sea wasp because its harpoons are so short. Wet suits, full-body suits, masks, and gloves are also advisable. This example shows a thin material that covers the body.

So is it fair that Nyad is being criticized for wearing such protection? She explained that the support team that followed her had to duct tape the cuffs of the gloves for her. It is this assistance that might disqualify her marathon swim from the official record books. She, and other swimmers, said that the suit actually makes swimming more difficult opposed to giving an unfair advantage.

What do you think? Should marathon swimmers be entitled to protection like jellyfish sting suits and shark cages without penalty?

Resources:

Sea Science - Jellyfish

Jellywatch.org - Fun Facts

Wikipedia - Jellyfish

Image Credits: www.nationalgeographic.com, www.diananyad.com