Peanut Butter and Jellyfish
Most people would be surprised to know that even though I’ve lived on a boat full-time since the summer of 2009, I am a very poor swimmer. In truth, I suck at it! I was never taught to swim as a child, and still struggle with it as an adult. A couple weeks ago, Rebecca and I visited a nearby beach to cool off, and while there, had an impromptu breast stroke lesson. Up until then I had the timing of the stroke, and in fact the entire theory of how it should work, completely ass backwards. Rebecca, a virtual fish in the water, gave me a few tips, and while my stroke is still very ugly, at least I now have an idea of what I should be trying to accomplish.
First attempt at the breast stroke. Please, no laughing.
One of the benefits of our present anchorage is the close proximity to some beautiful beaches. In spite of the hundreds of boats located nearby, we have had no problem finding a stretch of sand that we can have all to ourselves. Not ones to sit idle for too long, I have been using some of our beach time to continue to work on my swimming skills. Rebecca, as you might imagine, spends hers sprinting up and down the sandy shoreline, adding in some burpees and pushups for variety. What can I say… you know how she is.
Yesterday, I was making some decent progress. That is, until my practice session was cut short by a jellyfish sting. Or at least, that’s what I assume it was.
Still suck, but having fun.
Rebecca and I see jellyfish all the time. The top image on this post was taken while snorkeling during our most recent trip to the Tobago Cays. We don’t know exactly what that is. Do you? Comb jelly? Sea walnut?
As a rule, the jellyfish that we most frequently see don’t bother us all that much, if at all. Yesterday though, as I stood in the knee deep water, I was stung/bit enough to cause me to yell, Owww! Needless to say, we both left the water immediately after that.
Sure enough, I did find a red mark on my calf where, whatever it was, had stung me. The water was stirred up enough that I never did see what the culprit was. It was one of the ones listed in this article, I assume. My leg stung for 20 minutes or so, just about the amount of time it took for use to drag our dinghy off the beach, and return to Frost.
So, what should be done about such a thing? Should you rinse the wound with hot water, or cold? Should the water be fresh or salt? What about pouring vinegar on it? Or peeing on it, you’ve surely heard that before, right?!
Just as we typically do after swimming in the salt water, we both rinsed off with Frost’s outdoor fresh-water shower. While doing so, I payed particular attention to my calf area. By this time, my leg had stopped stinging, so that’s all I did. If it had been more serious, I have a document saved on my laptop that details the treatment for jellyfish stings. Thinking that this document may be of interest to some of our readers, I have uploaded it to our site. The original source of the paper is here, but you can download the specific file from this link (right click and save as…). The article I linked above also has some suggestions for treatment.
Swimming is so much easier with fins, mask and snorkel.
The best remedy for minor jellyfish stings is meat tenderizer. The enzyme (either bromelain or papain) breaks down the venom. Got stung 2 weeks ago on Grand Anse by a moon jellyfish. Once a paste of meat tenderizer & just a drop or 2 of water was applied all the burning was gone. Works for bee stings too. Got this tip years ago from my kids pediatrician.
I’ve heard that too. In the article I linked to it states the following:
Of course, if it worked for you, that’s all that matters, right?
This has nothing to do with jellyfish stings, or becoming a better swimmer, but thought I’d share something that has made a world of difference for me. I’m a terrible swimmer myself, you are definitely not alone there! As much as I love the water, I would always tire out from treading water, and hanging out in the water just wasn’t a ton of fun–until someone taught me this awesome trick. Take an old-school regular lifejacket (if you can find one). Flip it upside down, and put one leg in each arm hole, then zip it up your front, like a big ‘ol diaper. It looks ridiculous, but it works amazingly for lounging around in the water. You are still mostly in the water, way more than floating on a chair or toy. You won’t slip off like a pool noodle, and it won’t shoot away from you like a flutter board, plus you really don’t have to do any adjustment. Unlike wearing the PDF the correct way, doing it upside down means its not floating up in your neck or face, and you can be free to fully enjoy your time in the water. Bonus: Anyone seeing you in the water won’t see the lifejacket, and will be amazed that you can stay tread water so easy! Having a drink or two while floating in the water at the cottage has never been so enjoyable. Hope it helps!
I’m not typically the lounge in the water type, and when I have, a pool noodle has always worked for me. I can see how your suggestion would definitely work, and be more secure.
Pee on it right away!! It will stop the stinging by neutralizing it. Urine is always available!
Did you read the links in the post?