Physalia physalis
I'll interrupt this blog update to let you all know that I got stung by one of these today.....
I've had one lightly brush my stomach before (I think the rashie helped protect me on that occasion) but this one nailed the top of my back foot as I caught a wave. It was very, very painful and I think I must've had some sort of nasty reaction to it as I felt the pain run all the way up my leg and into my torso where it lingered around my back and stomach for ages. It wasn't a very nice experience and I felt awful. The lifeguards here tell you that the pain will last 45 minutes. I am writing this seven hours or so after the sting and my foot is still in a lot of pain.
There's a bit more info here. You see these stingers every day on the beach during the summer months. They get washed in with the on-shore breeze, but today was the first time that I've been out in the water with so many of them. They seemed to come in really quickly and I got stung as I was making my way back in to the beach.
Given the amount of time I spend in the water, I'm sure this wont be the last time I get stung either.
I've had one lightly brush my stomach before (I think the rashie helped protect me on that occasion) but this one nailed the top of my back foot as I caught a wave. It was very, very painful and I think I must've had some sort of nasty reaction to it as I felt the pain run all the way up my leg and into my torso where it lingered around my back and stomach for ages. It wasn't a very nice experience and I felt awful. The lifeguards here tell you that the pain will last 45 minutes. I am writing this seven hours or so after the sting and my foot is still in a lot of pain.
There's a bit more info here. You see these stingers every day on the beach during the summer months. They get washed in with the on-shore breeze, but today was the first time that I've been out in the water with so many of them. They seemed to come in really quickly and I got stung as I was making my way back in to the beach.
Given the amount of time I spend in the water, I'm sure this wont be the last time I get stung either.
posted by Jonny @ 9:11 PM
8 Comments:
At 4/2/07 2:26 PM,
MIKE AND LYN said…
Do hope you were wearing your tight speedos !!!! Love Mum
At 4/2/07 2:43 PM,
Me said…
Yes indeed, they would have helped to shut off the blood circulation...
Do you think you might be allergic in some way to them? Or do you think the lifeguards were lying about the 45 minute thing?
Sorry you got stung... do you remember them warning us about them when I was there? I was having second thoughts about going in the water and everyone told me I was being soft. I think I'll listen to the lifeguards in future!
At 5/2/07 8:26 AM,
Jonny said…
Well the pain is still there and it's now 30 or so hours after the incident.
Needless to say I had a crap nights sleep, and I spent most of today applying Witch Hazel Gel to the affected area.
I went to the chemists on the way home and they gave me some codeine which should do the trick.
And I thought I'd add some pictures of the sting to the blog, just so you know I am not being a great big girls blouse about this.
I'm glad you went in the water though, aren't you Mikey?
As for the Budgie Smuggler's, well they are best left alone.
At 5/2/07 1:21 PM,
Sarah said…
I presume stinger suits do not feature in the wardrobe of the average surfer-about-town? They really are delightful:
Not for the faint-hearted
(don't blame me - we were forced to wear them in the Whitsundays)
At 5/2/07 7:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
Oh Jonny, how awful. It looks like a rather thudding kind of wound. I was intrigued with the name of the beast. A 'physalis' is also that small baby tomato sized orange fruit that has papery leaves around it and decorates plates of pretty cuisine. I have had difficulty pronouncing it, especially when people ask 'What have you got?' Mike's Ma
At 6/2/07 5:41 AM,
Anonymous said…
That looks like a Bluebottle to me Jonny .. or is that the same thing as a Portuguese Man o War ???
I saw 3 Bluebottles this morning when i went in before work ... i might start being a litle more cautious, but where's the fun in that hey ???
At 6/2/07 7:43 PM,
Andy said…
Oh that's really awful, you know, that you have to watch out for nasty things with stingers when you go for a quick surf before work, you poor poor people. I do hope it doesn't spoil your fun. That would just be terrible.
I was being sarcastic, by the way.
Looks pretty vicious though.
At 7/2/07 10:10 AM,
Jonny said…
Will - they are one and the same thing, which surprised me when I found out.
The codeine has done the trick, but I do have a nice scar, although that will probably go in a few days and then I will be left wondering what all the fuss was about.
There was loads on the beach this evening when I went for my run. I also went for a quick dip in the ocean, although I did feel slightly wary of them given my reaction to them (I didn't see any in the water though). Still, I can't let a little thing like a jellyfish put me off.
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