AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Portuguese Man of War question and warning

Hawaiian Style= Pee on it!

Similar topic, different beast. My son bumped into a sea urchin and the nurse used ammonia. She claimed that it helped dissolve the tips of the spines imbedded in his skin. It worked great and he was pain free in less than 2 hours.

"IMMEDIATE FIRST AID ADVICE:

1. Rinse the area liberally with seawater or fresh water to remove any tentacles stuck to the skin. This can be from a spray bottle or in a beach shower. Do not apply vinegar. A study shows that vinegar in these stings sometimes makes the sting worse. (Portuguese man-of-wars belong to a different family than box jellyfish [Carybdea alata] and therefore must be treated separately.)

2. For severe pain, try applying heat or cold, whichever feels better to the victim.

3. Few Portuguese man-of-war stings cause life-threatening reactions, but this is always a possibility. Some people are extremely sensitive to the venom; a few have allergic reactions. Consider even the slightest breathing difficulty, or altered level of consciousness, a medical emergency. Call for help and use automatic epinephrine injector if available."

Do not use fresh water

Our friend said what helped him the most was was a warm compress.

He would definitly not recommend vinegar.

Think J Dog had it right - was likely a purple man o war from the sounds of it.

Ammonia is the magic solution...either bottled or urine

Important question. This site says 1/4 ammonia to 1 fresh water.

ammonia and alcohol on jellyfish stings

Not sure there is a difference between a Purple Man O War and a Portuguese Man O War. They're distributed world wide mainly in tropical warm waters but go where the wind blows them. Interestingly some have their airsack on the opposite side so the wind blows half the population one way and half the other so they can diverge and survive better with a larger distribution.

www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/Physaliaphysalis.html