Winds driving jellyfish onto beaches, residents are advised to take extra care
December 1st, 2006
Shiny blue and gelatinous, the Portuguese man-of-war is once again washing up on South Florida beaches by the dozens. They look so pretty, they can be alluring to small children — like small blue balloons.
Strong easterly winds this week have driven the jellyfish onshore, with purple flags flying from Boca Raton to Juno Beach. The jellyfish have an inflated sac, which is a luminous blue and acts like a sail. Palm Beach County beaches see the jellyfish in late fall to early winter, but they can linger in the waters until spring.
‘Basically, the man-of-war come with the tourists,’ said Phil Wotton, the district captain at Gulfstream Park for Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue. ‘They start in November and go through the holidays.’
Even if the jellyfish is dead, its tentacles still can inflict a painful sting. The tentacles are made up of tiny stinging cells with a powerful poison. The tentacles tend to stick to skin, so rubbing an affected area or thrashing around in the water after a sting can make it worse.
For most folks it feels like a bee sting, only over a larger area. In rare cases, people can go into shock. Children and the elderly are most at risk of a bad reaction. A 13-year-old boy who was stung Wednesday at Gulfstream Park was taken to the hospital as a precaution, Wotton said.
As the winter months progress, the jellyfish become larger, their tentacles longer, their sting more potent, he said. Swimmers can take precautions by facing the oncoming waves and watching for the jellyfish.
‘The last thing you want is to have your back to the water and have one drift into your leg and wrap itself around,’ Wotton said. ‘You can lessen your chances of being stung by being aware of the environment.’
SOURCE: Sun-Sentinel
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