Swimming season, be careful of fire jellyfish

Recently, fire jellyfish appeared in the beach area of ​​Nha Trang, affecting people and tourists participating in beach activities. Every summer, many people are hospitalized due to fire jellyfish attacks.

Child patient was "attacked" by jellyfish while swimming in the sea - Photo: BVCC

What is a fire jellyfish?

Fire jellyfish ( scientific name: Physalia physalis) are jellyfish and their symbionts classified as representatives of the family Physaliidae, which is a monotypic family and genus. They have tentacles that carry venom that can cause severe pain.

According to experts, fire jellyfish often appear in many Vietnamese seas in the summer. They attack human skin with venomous tentacles.

Mild cases cause the victim to have a rash, itching, burning, and blistering of the skin. If the sting is more severe and not treated promptly, it can cause difficulty breathing, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, and even heart failure leading to death.

Every year, many coastal areas regularly issue warnings about the discovery of fire jellyfish, reminding tourists to be careful and how to handle cases of fire jellyfish attacks.

What to do when attacked by jellyfish?

Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy - head of the department of skin diseases treatment for women and children (Central Dermatology Hospital) - shared that every year in the summer, she often receives cases of skin damage caused by jellyfish.

"Jellyfish poisoning causes very strong skin irritation. When jellyfish tentacles come into contact with the human body, they secrete toxins. When exposed to this poison, the body will feel very itchy and the skin will burn at the point of contact.

So if you accidentally touch jellyfish while swimming, these toxins will stick to your skin and enter your body immediately.

If the patient does not receive timely treatment, the injuries will become more and more serious, easily infected, abscessed, at risk of bad scarring, and may even lead to sepsis, which is life-threatening," Dr. Thuy stated.

Instructions on symptoms and first aid for jellyfish stings

According to this expert, in case of jellyfish touching the skin, the patient must be quickly removed from the area where the jellyfish is, then quickly assess the patient's condition to see if they are tired, dizzy, sweating or have a rapid heartbeat.

If you have the above symptoms, call an ambulance immediately.

In milder cases, first aid can be given by removing any remaining tentacles from the body with clean tools.

Wash the wound directly with sea water, vinegar or baking soda for 15-30 minutes.

People absolutely should not use drinking water or fresh water to wash jellyfish stings because it can increase the release of toxins, causing burning pain. Then bandage the wound, be careful to avoid rubbing or scratching the lesions.

Patients who feel unusual after being stung by jellyfish should go to the doctor for timely advice and treatment.

Doctors also recommend that before going swimming, everyone should seek more information from local people to know which sea areas have a lot of jellyfish and should limit swimming.

When you see jellyfish, especially colorful jellyfish, do not swim to avoid being attacked. Children should wear tight swimsuits to limit the risk of jellyfish coming into contact with sensitive skin areas, preventing the risk of severe allergies.

How is the fire jellyfish different from other jellyfish?

Currently, there are two species of jellyfish in our country's sea: jellyfish commonly used as food or to process many other products, and poisonous jellyfish that can affect health when in contact with them.

The fire jellyfish is one of those poisonous jellyfish. The shape of the fire jellyfish is quite diverse, it can be transparent or have bright colors.

WILLOW

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mua-tam-bien-can-trong-voi-sua-lua-2025051510113181.htm