Health Care Encyclopedia
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Marine animal stings or bitesDefinition: A poisonous bite or sting from any form of marine life, such as a jellyfish.
Alternative Names: Stings - marine animals; Bites - marine animals
Considerations: - The majority of these types of stings occur in salt water.
- Some types of marine stings or bites can be deadly.
Causes: Causes include bites or stings from various types of marine life including: jellyfish, Portuguese Man-of-War, stingray, stonefish, scorpion fish, catfish, sea urchins, sea anemone, hydroid, coral, cone shell, moray eels, sharks, barracudas, and electric eels.
Symptoms: - Localized symptoms
- Generalized symptoms
First Aid: - Keep the victim quiet and still.
- Wear gloves, if possible when removing stingers.
- Wipe off stingers or tentacles with a towel.
- Wash the area with salt water.
- Soak the wound in as hot of water as the patient can tolerate for 30-90 minutes, if instructed to do so by trained personnel.
- For some types of stings/bites, you may be instructed to apply vinegar or a meat tenderizer/water solution to neutralize the venom.
Do Not: - DO NOT attempt to remove stingers without protecting your own hands.
- DO NOT raise the affected body part above the level of the heart.
- DO NOT allow the victim to exercise.
- DO NOT give any medication, unless told to do so by a physician.
Call immediately for emergency medical assistance if: - The victim has generalized symptoms.
- The victim has difficulty breathing.
- There is uncontrollable bleeding.
Prevention: - Swim near a lifeguard.
- Observe posted signs that may warn of danger from jellyfish or other hazardous marine life.
- Do not touch unfamiliar marine life. Even dead animals or severed tentacles may contain poisonous venom.
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| Review Date: 8/15/2005
Reviewed By: William D. Whetstone M.D., Associate Clinical Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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