Help! I got a Foot the size of a basketball! Well not that big but Damn! So whats the hot tips? I thought they were a warm water thing. The beach at Rincon had these little blue sailed things washed up on the beach. I must have stepped on it?
How long until it goes down? Anybody have any experience with this?
Sadly, the only cure is ‘‘Tincture of Time.’’
Sounds like you stepped on a Portuguese man of war. Also known as a “blue bottle”.
Did they look like this?
Blue bottles are painfull… the bane in Australian east coast of too many days of strong nor/east winds in the summer months…I was told as a grommet to rub the effected areas with wet sand as soon as possible to bring the poison to the surface of the skin… it seemed to work … you’ll feel better tomorrow , although you may be a bit uncomfortable to get a decent nights sleep.
We get those every summer nasty nasty things the tenticles stick to you. For reason they give me big welts a couple of days after I’ve been stung. Hot water straight after helps then it’s just time.
Yes Sammy, really close, but darker blue. I didn’t even feel it when it happened, maybe because my feet were cold. Started hurting about 15 minutes after I got out of the water and put a shoe on. When I got home and took my shoe off, I couldn’t believe how big it got.
Aloha Every,
Man-of-war stings are quite common on the islands. Especially if you’re on the windward side. I usually pack some Benedryl in my dive and surf bag and take a dose to keep the swelling down after a sting. Also, one of the lifeguards treated me with a mixture of meat tenderizer and alcohol to help breakdown the sting and prevent infections. Worked okay but the Benedryl does better for me. The sting goes away after a few days to a week.
Your swelling sounds pretty bad though. I think it’s best you check with your Doctor especially since it’s your first time getting stung.
Shaka,
T
was it one of these?
we got a lot of these last year and are starting to get some more this year… they are supposed to be harmless though?
maybe you’re allergic?
The thing crisp showed you is a By the Wind Sailor. Related to man o war, but harmless. They show up in the spring and are all over the beach up here now. Got to be something else. I don’t think we get man o war in California. Never saw one in 57 years of life here. Did you get hit by a sting ray? Mike
Yes Chris, that’s them. I googled and saw the same thing. Harmless. Maybe allergic?. I got rashes/ spots on my ribs, and under my arms right after too. Most of the pain stopped.
Now it just itches and swollen. I have stretch marks on my foot! It goes up my ankle too.
I think something other than the Wind Sailor’s got you. All it takes is a loose strand of stinging cells. I doesn’t even need to be attached to the parent animal, to do harm.
Unfortunately the fact you’ve never seen one before in 57 years doesn’t count so much these days; the average ocean water temps around Australia have been signifiantly increasing over the last few years (climate change?), and as a result we’re starting to see warmer-water species show up in areas further south (i.e. they’re migrating into waters that in the past have been cool-water).
Could be the same thing is happening on the U.S. coasts too. Could also be a change in wind-patterns.
Good luck with the foot Everysurfer; hopes it comes good for you soon, but I’d second tunabowl’s advice and go run it past a doctor first to make sure of what’s affecting you.
Cheers.
These warm water years bring all kinds of out of the ordinary stuff into our local areas. Like Bill said you probably got loose strands across your foot.
The little by the wind sailors are one of the few jelly species that are harmless.
FWIW during the 1983 El Niño event I saw not only Man O’ Wars in San Diego, but a couple penguins as well.
Considering there was wahoo caught off LA last season there’s no telling what else is swimming around out there.
There are massive jellyfish blooms off of Japan and other areas of the Pacific. Don’t be suprised if you see a lot more in the inshore waters on the east and west coast. Water in the gulf is pretty warm for this time of year.
I’m in the doctor’s office right now. Doesn’t look like jellyfish. Might be urchin, or stingray? Doctor is looking at x-rays. More to follow…
The color can range from light blue, to purple, to nearly red/maroon.
They are not jellyfish, but a different phylum altogether. As Bill T said, the stinging cells can nail you well after they’re detached from the rest of the body and even long after the thing is dead. Biggest one I ever laid eyes on had a balloon 2’ long. Tentacles can reach 165 feet in length. They are found mostly in tropical waters but not uncommon in temperate seas, as well. They wash ashore as far North as Ireland and England and certainly can be found in Southern California.
I’m still betting you got stung by a Man O War, or least some tentacles in the sand.
They are very common on New England beaches once the water hits 60 (mid June).
Read this. Pay particular attention to the stuff about the man o war. Remedies for jellyfish stings are not applicable.
The man o war is NOT a jellyfish
http://chemistry.about.com/b/2011/06/01/treating-jellyfish-stings-and-man-o-war-stings.htm
ES,
Definitely sounds like Vellela vellela (by-the-wind-sailor).
Not sure what else got you.
Also, the Portuguese man o’ war is a colonial jelly. Same phylum as other jellies, just a different class than typical jellies.
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Cnidaria
Class:Hydrozoa
Order:Siphonophora
Family:Physaliidae
Genus:Physalia
Species:P. physalis
Binomial namePhysalia physalis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
[quote=“$1”]
Unfortunately the fact you’ve never seen one before in 57 years doesn’t count so much these days; the average ocean water temps around Australia have been signifiantly increasing over the last few years (climate change?), and as a result we’re starting to see warmer-water species show up in areas further south (i.e. they’re migrating into waters that in the past have been cool-water).
Could be the same thing is happening on the U.S. coasts too. Could also be a change in wind-patterns.
Good luck with the foot Everysurfer; hopes it comes good for you soon, but I’d second tunabowl’s advice and go run it past a doctor first to make sure of what’s affecting you.
Cheers.
I cant disagree with you LIT. But, we have other jellies that can give you a good sting. Rash, some pain,etc. Not in the same league as a man o war, though. Sounds more like a sting ray, but I have a hard time believing evrysurfer would not have noticed getting hit by one while in the water. Mike/quote]
Yeah, me too!
BUT… believe it or not, these things happen; a few of months ago a surf-buddy of mine showed me x-ray pictures of his friends foot with a 7cm long spine sitting in it right next to the bones. The guy in question gets in the water fairly often, but apparently he had no idea of when it happened. All he knew was one day his foot started to get painful, swelled up. He got sick, etc.
Went to the doctor, they did the x-ray, everyone freaked. Eventually he had an op to remove the object - it was barbed so they suspect it was a stingray spine. He’s good now.
Have another windsurfing friend who stepped on a sea-urchin and thought he’d got all the bits of spine out. Kept windsurfing, but was never quite the same. Not much energy/got tired quickly when out for a windsurfing session. Got sick a lot and took a while to recover from illnesses. Then one day his doc was examining his foot for something and felt an area that was firmer than it should have been - lanced it and a huge amount of pus came welling up out of the hole. So they investigated and found a tiny piece of urchin spine in the middle of a huge pus-ball way down in his foot. It’d worked it’s way down there and had been sitting there for years poisoning his system with infection.
Once it was removed he healed up quickly and reckons that straight-away he felt 20 years younger again. Heaps of energy, rarely gets sick and has been charging in his windsurfing ever since.
Just because a person may have felt a quick sting, but no lasting pain, or any pain at all for that matter doesn’t guarantee you haven’t been stung by something. If things aren’t going right for you, go get checked out - as that windsurfer will resoundingly testify; long-term infection sucks and it can happen pretty easily.
Cheers all!
