[thepiesleys]

Today we took the boys to a lovely safe surf beach to body board, and while my two eldest were boarding with Dan, joseph (2 1/2) and myself were just splashing at the edge, Joe started to whimper and said he had been bitten on his hand and calf, i really could not see anything and thought he had caught himself on a sharp shell or something, there was nothing around and i did not know what to think - a few mins. later he was screaming in agony and getting in a right old state, the life guard said he thought he hed been stung - and so we took him to the life guard station - they confirmed it and told us to ice it and give him antihistameine and pain relief (which of course we had not got at the time). Joe screamed and cried for at least 40 mins it was horrible.

We took him into town (Waiuku) to a pharmacy and the lovely pharmacist came right through to look at him and tell us what to do, Joe calmed down at this point and took some pain relief, he is now fine and well.

I honestly did not see any jelly fish and have been told that they can be tiny and in windy weather they do get carried onto the beach. I urge moms and dads to watch out for them i know i will be a lot more vigilant from now on- it was a nasty sting.

Sue

[jubjub]

Poor little Joe.. at least it was nothing more serious. Bet you carry pamol & antihistamines in your bag now...

But at least the others got to use their body boards, hope they got some good waves.

[wiki]

Ouch! Jellyfish stings are nasty.

You could always have got Dan to try the old wives cure - urinating on the sore spots takes out the sting... but you need to remember public decency and find a sandhill or two to hide behind. :)

The other good thing for removing the sting is vinegar - for the same reasons, I guess. And if you have some in the boot of your car, you're set for fish and chips on the way home too

[stu70]

Sorry to hear about this incident. Good luck to your baby. Did not realize there are all these perils in the waters. But then they have sharks off the coast of florida and carolinas

[Moorf]

Yep, you do need to keep an eye out for bluies (blue bottles as they're called here) - they have small blue bodies which litter the beach after rough weather - we used to see loads on Sumner beaches - and the stings are vicious. The trouble is, their tentacles (or whatever they're called) can be several metres long (up to 8-10) even if they look small from the surface.

I believe they are related to the Portugese Man O'War variety.

And yes, pee'ing on them helps loads - or vinegar!

Remembered a great post that Timbo made with advice: http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1529&highlight=jellyfish

[Ana&Steve]

We took some pics of these, before we knew what they were...glad we didn't touch them!
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g263/carlson523/DSCN5295.jpg

Ana

[pinkpiggy]

Back at the beginning of November my friend came to visit and we went for a ride to Kirkcaldy (about 10 miles from us) and the beach was littered with hundreds and hundreds of jellyfish. I've never seen the likes of that here in Scotland. Obviously we were just out for a walk, far too cold to be going in the water.

[Moorf]

Yep Ana - that's them!!


(off topic - but Ana, was reminded of you last night watching an American comedian - very funny - hadn't seen him before but he was a little like my other fav comedian Bill Hicks - his name was Richard Jeni (sp). Your analogy of world peace vs 5 mates picking pizza toppings was used - the only difference was he was talking about the power of being armed.... i.e the person with the gun gets to choose! :D Was funny at the time... :uhoh )

[jess]

I didn't realize the umpteen zillion blue thingies we saw on the beach after a storm weeks ago were jelly fish! Couldn't figure out what they were since they were so small and covered in a lot of sand... Thanks for the pic!

By the way, I don't have one as of yet, but do wet suits stop them from stinging?

[SharpBlade]

Apparently, rubbing wet sand on the area that`s hurt should help. Also, flushing the sting with sea water. At least, that`s what NZ Red Cross says.
Laura

[Ana&Steve]

(off topic - but Ana, was reminded of you last night watching an American comedian - very funny - hadn't seen him before but he was a little like my other fav comedian Bill Hicks - his name was Richard Jeni (sp). Your analogy of world peace vs 5 mates picking pizza toppings was used - the only difference was he was talking about the power of being armed.... i.e the person with the gun gets to choose! :D Was funny at the time... :uhoh )
(OT to Moorf) I've seen that guy on comedy central...think I should sue him for plagiarism? :D

BTW, that jellyfish pick is a little misleading...it's only about the size of my thumb to the first joint, for anyone who hasn't seen one yet. :)
Ana

[Bruckner]

Sue - I hope Joe feels better. Poor little guy! My brother and I had a painful experience down in Virginia Beach when we dove into the surf only to be covered in stinging nettles.

Ana - I looked at your photo and confess jelly fish was not the first thing that came to mind! What beach were you at? Greg used to frequent Bucaneer Beach in Oceanside and when we lived in Vista we used to do pier walks all the time.

Emily

[Smiler]

BTW, that jellyfish pick is a little misleading...it's only about the size of my thumb to the first joint, for anyone who hasn't seen one yet. :) Ana

Phew!

Was imagining headline of NZ Herald "Massive blue jelly fish off NZ coast line" :uhoh

[Ana&Steve]

Ana - I looked at your photo and confess jelly fish was not the first thing that came to mind! What beach were you at? Greg used to frequent Bucaneer Beach in Oceanside and when we lived in Vista we used to do pier walks all the time.
Oops, sorry! This was taken in NZ, on the West Coast near Waitara. We used to go to Buccaneer and Moonlight when I was little, and the jellys there are big and goopy and clearish. (At least when they're washed up on the beach)

Phew!

Was imagining headline of NZ Herald "Massive blue jelly fish off NZ coast line"

Smiler, you're so silly! :laugh
Ana

[Debbie]

Sue, I hope Joe feels better. I'm also glad I'm not the only one this has happened to. We all went to Piha on Friday and my son got stung by the blue bottle he thought 'looked interesting' in the rock pool he was playing in. He had no idea it was a jelly fish I didn't even know they were about. I thought he had caught his hand on a sharp rock or similar. Luckliy we were with some Kiwi friends and they identified the problem and suggested peeing on my sons hand. My poor little boy was a might concerned when this was explained to him but he was in so much pain. I have to say it worked a treat. The guy at the first aid station was telling me how you should take care when you brush the stings off as they can still sting you.
Have a safe holiday. Debbie

[thepiesleys]

Debbie - at least were not the only ones. Although i suspect it is not a regular occourence.

Were abouts in kent you from - I'm a Dover lad.


Dan

[bob_the_engineer]

That’s awful, sorry to hear he got stung.

I have to admit I’ve never seen a blue jelly fish here. I’ve seen a few big clear ones with a dark ring inside, they are around the size of an adults open hand. I’ve only seen those recently and they reminded me of the ones that I’d seen in the UK.

I did see a group of kids playing in the waves, a shout went out and they surrounded one with their boards, then a bucket was grabbed from the beach and they caught it and flung it out of the water.
(braver than me) they were careful not to touch it so I assume those sting too.

Bob

(I’m off to buy a big bottle of vinegar and some antihistamines to keep in the car) :uhoh

[Debbie]

Debbie - at least were not the only ones. Although i suspect it is not a regular occourence.

Were abouts in kent you from - I'm a Dover lad.


Dan

Hi Dan,
My family are all on the 'planet Thanet' Cliftonville area but we moved from Paddock Wood to NZ.

The Kiwi friends we were with and the first aid guy were saying the blues are common at certain times of yr and after storms they all end up on the beach.

Bob, Like you a bottle of vinegar is now on the shopping list but I think it will end up getting more use for picnic fish & chips.

[jubjub]

Whilst reading my Womans Day in the sunshine on the deck, I came across an advert

Safe Sea, its a 30spf sunscreen with jellyfish protection in it too. Might be worth a look for you serious beach goers...

You can get it in pharmacies... and online

http://www.pharmacydirect.co.nz/default.aspx?t=4517&p=19234

[jess]

wow jubjub that's great! watched the little video... :D

[Tia Maria]

Yes thanks for that jub jub, we'll be using it on the beach once we find a bottle.

Cheers

Tia