AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye PicaPica

We just returned from AC and a few of us have a "rash" really more like bites that we got from diving/snorkeling. We were told the jellyfish were spawning and it was from the larva in the water. A friend suggested we put oil (or vaseline) on even under our suits..we did but still got some bites..MY question is has anyone heard of this..what is it really..They itch and spread especially if you scratch..

I've been told by more than one local dive masters that pica pica is some form of plankton that inhabits the water from around April till June.

It seems to be in certain areas....so not everytime you go diving will you get it.

Any exposed body part is fair game for pica pica.

The cure?
They suggest to take hot water...as hot as you can stand it....and a wash cloth and hold the cloth over the bites. This forces the critter out of your skin.

Using Windex on it...(it's the ammonia in it)....will also work.

Easier said than done....Don't Scratch!
Try some Hydrocortisone cream or Benadryl cream for the itch.

I have been fortunate so far....never been bit.

Hope this helps...let me know if you try one of these remedies and they work.
I'm interested.

Thanks!

ragsaye...now that you mention it,when we were there last fall,we got what we thought were bug bites, but not your typical misquito bites. Mostly on our arms/legs, they were small red bumps that itched horribly. Took about a week to go away.We did not dive or snorkel, but we did a lot of swimming in the ocean.

Hi guys

Pica Pica and the effects are actually caused by the offspring of the thimble jellyfish which appear in the millions around this time of year.

many people think that the thimble jellyfish is the actual culprit of the stinging however Adult thimble jellyfish do not cause any sting, however this time of year the thimble jellyfish are doing the wild thing and there offspring which are microscopic are the real culprits of the rashs and stings.

People think that by wearing a wetsuit will protect the wearer however because the offspring are very very small when the wetsuit fills up with water the critters are in the water and still sting.

So how do we battle these little monsters.

Normal areas affected are the under arm area stomach under the chin and neck area.

vaseline is very good as it forms a protective layer over the skin however be careful not to use Petroleum vaseline if you are using a a silicone mask as it will dinitigrate the silicone so only use non petroleum vaseline.

that is a preventative measure but what if you have already been stung.

A vinigar solution is best to nutrelize the stinging cells and just apply to sensative areas immediately after getting out of the water.

then apply a good antihistamine cream to the area to stop the itching.

Hope this has helped

All the best

Gaz Cooper
Gaz Cooper's Dive Belize www.divebelize.com

Oh yeah

DO NOT SCRATCH OR RUB THE AFFECTED AREA as this will activate more of the stinging cells and will spread the stings.

Use the vinigar solution Immediately after and that should stop the spreading

There is a new product that was developed by an Israeli company named Nidaria and the product has been successfully combined with sunscreen. It is available for purchase and it's called Safe Sea (Jellyfish & Sea Lice Safe Sun Block). Actually you can buy it with or without sunscreen.

Mary and Scott, those little red bumps were most likely sandflea bites. Itch like a son of a gun, don't they? Putting lots of greasy Deep Woods Off on my feet and around my ankles really helped. I also used the Deep Woods on my arms and neck, etc. but not so heavily applied. I didn't suffer near as much as my friend who was using a citronella product. (I was also taking a B complex vitamin. Some other people on the board have suggested that taking Vitamin B can repel mosquitos and sandfleas. I don't know if that is true or not and that is not why I was taking it anyway. Regardless, I had significantly fewer bites than did my friend)

If it was something that bit you it might be that pica pica stuff, it not, it could be something I catch frequently in Jamaica called Sea Scratch. When in Jamaica after a rain you tended to see a lot of sea grass in the water and for some reason or the other it left this residue that caused a reaction in my body. Don't laugh, but I was told to poor rum all over my body. I figured what the hell, if it didn't work I could drink it, well it did (I also think straight rubbing alcohol could work). The end result was that it did go away but scratching it made it worse, an antibacterial lotion worked, Neosporin I think. Good luck and try not to scratch.

God Gaz....you are smart.....LOL

Thanks for the real scoop....learn something new everyday

Cheers!
Tammy

I got it in Honduras last year. If you put Benadryl Cream on it, it goes away very quickly. We were better by the next morning. It sure did itch and hurt at first, though!!