ORANGE PARK, Fla. – With spring here and summer on the way, a lot more of us are headed to the beach.
That also means we’re more likely to run into jellyfish, and sometimes Portuguese man o’ war, in the water or washed up on the sand.
If you get stung, it can really hurt.
There are several things you should and should not do if it happens to you.
Portuguese man o’ war have a purple, blue, or pink like float. Jellyfish generally have a bell shaped body.
A man o’ war is not a true jellyfish. Man o’ war is a colony of four different polyps that work together. They drift on the surface, using a sail, whereas jellyfish swim actively. A jellyfish is a single organism.
Some Portuguese man o’ war washed up on Vilano Beach in St. Johns County in early April.
A News4JAX viewer sent some photos on April 4 from a sunset walk on the beach. Thankfully, they were not stung, but wanted to warn others.
News4JAX showed those same pictures to Dr. Steven Goodfriend at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, and asked what you should do if you are not so lucky.
“You have to be careful,” said Goodfriend, who is an emergency medicine physician. “You do not want to put vinegar on it. It can actually make it worse. They have these little nematocysts that can increase discharge of these painful, painful shocks that you get from them.”
Other things you should not do if stung include not rinsing with freshwater, do not rub the area with your hands, clothing, sand or alcohol, and never try to remove the tentacle with your bare hands.
Instead, you should rinse that affected area of the body with saltwater, use a glove, tweezers, or even a debit or credit card to remove the tentacles.
Less than a week after that viewer shared their photos, St. Johns County Marine Rescue posted on social media showing a purple flag advisory. That means man o’ war and jellyfish are in the water.
Lt. Daniel Power says when treating people with stings, there is a big factor they address first.
“Our first and major concern is [determining if] the patient allergic,“ Power said. ”A lot of times people who are allergic to bee stings or insect stings [can be allergic to a jellyfish sting]. It is the same type of toxin or venom that the jellyfish have, and it can cause an allergic reaction.”
If you see the purple flag or spot those critters on the sand, stay back and warn others. They can still sting even after they are washed up on shore.