[img]http://www.little-trees.jp/kurage/hawaii/wingedbox_jf.jpg[/img]
Box Jelly Fish: Not suggested for toast.
Australian Box Jelly Fish are considered the most dangerous marine animals. A single jellyfish has enough venom to deliver an excruciatingly painful death within three minutes. The pain of the sting is so excruciating, most people drown before reaching shore.
Each Jelly Fish has enough venon to kill 60 people.
Troops will be deploying the creatures in Iraq starting in March.
The stinging structures on the tentacles are called nematocysts, which are spring-loaded venom glands that contain small, hollow, sharp tubes. The tubes release toxin. The nematocysts are triggered by direct physical contact or abrupt changes in osmolarity (such as exposure to fresh water). When human skin comes into contact with a jellyfish, the poison is injected into the outermost layers of skin, causing the toxic reaction.
Severe jellyfish stings can cause excruciating and debilitating pain, weakness, headaches, vomiting, muscle spasms, fevers and chills, difficulty with breathing, shock and death.
Care of the injured person begins immediately:
Protect rescuers from contact with the jellyfish or jellyfish tentacles. All rescuers should consider protective clothing and gloves in order to protect themselves so they can better rescue and treat the victim.
Remove the victim from the water.
Rinse the affected area with salt water or don’t rinse it at all. Do not rinse the involved area of skin with fresh water, because it will further activate nematocysts and worsen the reaction.
Using protective gloves or forceps, remove any tentacles still in contact with the victim.
Apply acetic acid 5% (white vinegar). This will inactivate undischarged nematocysts and the toxin and will help to decrease symptoms.
Use over-the-counter pain medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) to control pain symptoms. Immobilize the area that was poisoned to prevent further spread. For example, if a foot was stung, encourage the victim to keep the area still with as little movement as possible.
If the victim appears ill, do the following:
Lay the victim down.
If the victim begins vomiting, roll the victim onto their side so they do not breathe in the vomit.
Call for an ambulance.
[img]http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/boxjelly.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/sjellyfish_sign.jpg[/img]