Marine animal stings or bites

Disease	Injury	Nutrition	Poison

Special Topic	Surgery	Symptoms	Test

Jellyfish sting

Marine animal stings or bites

Definition:

This injury is described as a poisonous bite or sting from any form of marine life.

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
- Pain
- Burning
- Swelling
- Redness
- Laceration, bleeding
Generalized symptoms
- Groin pain, armpit pain
- Cramps
- Fever
- Sweating
- Weakness, faintness, dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty breathing
- Paralysis

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.

Review Date: 11/18/2001
Reviewed By: Boaz Rosenblat, M.D., Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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