Jellyfish and stinging jellyfish in the sea
In order to avoid stinging jellyfish - avoid jellyfish with colour.
Jellyfish (aurelia aurita) are crystal clear. The nematocysts of the jellyfish do not burn humans. The female can have reddish eggs, and by that it is easy to mistake for a stinging jellyfish.
Stinging jellyfishBy the Danish shores you will find two types of stinging jellyfish - a red (cyanea capillata) and a blue (cyanea lamarckii). The stinging jellyfish use its tentacles for doping and catching crustacean and small fish. When the tentacles come into contact with humans, they cause a burning feeling in the skin. The stinging jellyfish often stay by the surface of the water, where its almost invisible tentacles can come into contact with bathers. So it is a good idea to keep a distance to the stinging jellyfish.
The jellyfish is especially common by the shores in the late summer.
First aid
The capsules of the tentacles contain poison, and they burst in case of pressure, so therefore, you have to avoid pressure on the skin. Rinse the skin carefully in the immediately in order to wash off the poison. If you do not succeed, try to scrape off the poison with a shaver (alternatively a knife, a credit card, an ice-lolly stick or the like).
Dont rinse the skin with freshwater, as this can make the capsules burst and release poison on the skin, but rather use vinegar to rinse the skin. When all poison has been removed from the skin, you can ease the burning feeling with a local anaesthetic lotion.
Source: Patienthaandbogen.dk