With this summer already being a record breaking year for blue-bottle stings in Queensland, 2017 has already turned into a nightmare for swimmers. Four Queensland beaches were shut down over the weekend after deadly box jellyfish stung ten people and hospitalized them at Fraser island.
Noosa beach had so many blue-bottles a week ago, that beachgoers left in swarms to get away from the infested waters. With all these nasty little buggers around you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to stay protected so you and your family can enjoy a lovely swim at the beach.
Great news! There are some things that can help prevent your chances of being stung. Surf Life Saving Queensland has great tips to stay protected. Stay in patrolled areas. These areas are watched closely so if jelly fish are spotted they can quickly notify swimmers to move out of the water.
Rash vests of course seem like a no brainer. Wear them! They are known to protect you from skin cancer. They also protect you from what can be deadly stings from jelly fish. You have one life to live so why risk it right?
If you are most unfortunate and happen to get stung by a jelly fish a great thing to have with you at the beach is vinegar. Pouring vinegar on a sting neutralizes unfired stinging cells.
For the areas of Queensland known for not so deadly jellyfish a good treatment that will help after being stung is hot water. The hot water breaks down the proteins in the sting. If you shower the area in hot water for 20 minutes that will relieve the sting and if that doesn’t help you can also put and ice pack on the affected area to relieve the pain.
If you don’t know what kind of jelly fish stung you the best thing to do is to monitor your symptoms as they can go bad very quickly. Should you end up with nausea, back pain, or muscle cramps that are quite severe and are escalating quickly you should go to the hospital.
Please use the upmost caution when enjoying your summer at the beaches. Keep it fun and play it safe using these tips to protect yourself from jelly fish.
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