I wna thank Zak-eeee for giving me this inspiration to write about something in my bored time. We were talking about Noosa, and he was telling me about BlueBottles that him, Bron and Shrav found in the sea. This inspired a new topic of conversation: JELLYFISH
A couple of years ago, I got stung myself. Hey hey hey, wait, before you guys start telling me not to go into the water, I want to inform you guys that I was barely in the sea. I was standing at the place where the waves wash up to the shore, and even then I got stung. Come on, how long is the beach?? Why do the coordinates have to be so accurate for the jellyfish to WASH UP ON ME....>< >< ><
So anyway, I ended up with welts on my right wrist and both my ankles...That's cause I was standing this way in the water:
That's me at Moreton Bay, didn't have any pictures of me when I was digging around for La-La (clams) in the Penang sea when I got stung. But yea, I was basically standing in that position. And the water was even shallower than what you saw in the picture above...>< How the jellyfish had the good luck to wash up on me, I don't understand.
But anyway, I felt a burning sensation on my wrists and my legs, and at first I thought it was the salt water. After that, it got exceedingly itchy, and I knew something was wrong cause the itch didn't go away and it was starting to hurt as well. And I took my arms out of the water and lo and behold, they looked something like this:
And whatd'ya know...I got stung! Jeezz...
The hotel management sprayed some toilet cleaner on me (cause it contains ammonia) and it was better after that, so I didn't see the doctor (big mistake, I found out later). And after I showered, I went to inspect the creature. Of course it was stranded on the beach, and anyone else would have pitied it or something, but I just felt mad at it. So me and brother took huge sticks and whacked the juice out of it. It was milky white, and to my horror the size of a tea table.
A few days later, the redness went down and everything was alright. And just when I thought it was all well, little boils started appearing the day after that. SOOOOO many little lumps on my skin--the kind of lumps that are filled with water...And they scared me to fits. THEN I decided to see the doctor...And I forgot what happened after that. But they burst one by one, and it took YEARS before the scars would go off. In fact, I still have a tiny fragment of scars today.
OK, I am thankful that at least I got stung in Penang sea, and by common jellyfish, and not in Australia. Because here in Malaysia, although it hurts to get stung and its painful, in Australia if you get stung by the wrong species, it could be fatal. One of the most dreaded jellyfish is the Chironex Fleckeri, known as the Box Jellyfish or (apparently)
Boxfish, Sea Wasp, Fire Medusa, Or Just Stinger
There are more than one article that says the Chironex Fleckeri produces the most deadly venom in the world, in fact. It is so lethal that it can kill a human in a minute!! OMG...Reason why they need such potent venom is because the jellyfish are soft, and they feed on crustaceans. Crustaceans are hard and have sharp shells, so they would hurt the jellyfish if they struggled. That is why the venom has to be so potent to kill the prey instantly. But it seems that the smaller jellyfish are more potent than the larger ones. Reason is because:
In larger jellyfish, the need to kill instantly is not a problem, as the larger jellyfish can use their tentacles (which are stronger and bigger)to hold on to the prey, while the smaller jellyfish (who only injects a more concentrated poison from a small tip of the nematosis, and nowhere esle) cannot do such things, and must kill their victims instantly. By doing so, the small Irukandji can devour its prey instantaneously, and not risk having the prey escape. Indeed, the smallest jellyfish, Irukandji, sleeps, as well as the other jellies, to conserve energy. This seems illogical, but during this time, there are more predators than prey to the Irukandji, and so it is ilogical to try to hunt. Also, during this time, it is necessary to conserve energy, because unlike many other animals, the jellyfish cannot store fat, and so must constantly feed. The Irukandji actually has many tentacles, but they branch out from four main stalks.
So what is this Irukandji?? Wait, before I go into that, let's check out the Box Jellyfish first.
Here are some interesting facts:
1. The jellyfish bell has 4 distinct sides, hence giving it the name "Box"
2. The box jellyfish seem to move towards the shore in calm waters when tide is rising and gather near the mouths of rivers, estuaries and creeks following the rain.
3. Box jellies are highly advanced among jellyfish. They have developed the ability to move rather than just drift, jetting at up to four knots through the water. They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea, although without a central nervous system, scientists aren’t sure how they process what they see.
4. The season for the Box Jellyfish starts with the onset of the wet across the top of northern Australia, usually around October and lasts until April. Further south along the northern Queensland or northern Western Australia coast the season is usually from November to March.
5. From 1883 to late 2005, the box jellyfish accounted for at least 70 recorded deaths.
Alright, that was a few random facts about the box jellyfish...Now we move on to the Irukandji.
Personally, I've never heard of them before until Zak mentioned them. This is how they look like:
OMG they're TINYYYYYY...How the hell are we supposed to see them???!!!
2 people have died from Irukandji stings:
- 58-year-old British tourist, Richard Jordon, was stung while swimming near Hamilton Island, off the coast of Queensland, in January. He died several days later.
- In April 2002, a 44-year-old American tourist, Robert King, died after a brush with the Irukandji jellyfish off Port Douglas in Queensland.
Wow...
The deadly Irukandji jellyfish is related to the more commonly known box jellyfish, about which visitors to the north Queensland coast are warned.
That's not the worst of it...
A box jellyfish sting results in pain and welts forming immediately. These signs result in first aid being quickly applied and treatment begun which reduces the imminence of death and must have kept the death toll low.
A sting by the Irukandji jellyfish, on the other hand, is often felt as nothing more than a painful irritant with a rash akin to that of prickly heat. By the time more serious symptoms appear, it may be too late to save a life.
So what should you do if you do get stung? Or rather, what should people do if you get stung, cause with venom as deadly as this, it is highly likely that you would go into shock and have a cardiac arrest as the venom targets the heart (especially box jellyfish).
"Victims frequently require hospitalization to receive analgesics and sometimes intravenous antihypertensive therapy; alpha-blocking agents such as phentolamine have been used for this purpose. Supraventricular tachycardia and high-intensity transient signals in dilated cardiomyopathy have been reported following Irukandji stings, and it has been suggested that serial echocardiography be performed to monitor the progress of severely affected patients. Analgesia is usually required, and may need to be given intravenously when pain is severe. First aid consists of analgesia then examination and investigation followed by reassurance. The role of vinegar to inactivate undischarged nematocysts remains uncertain, with initial work proving inconclusive."
Waaaaaa....Such a long complicated narration...But put simply, it means when stung, pour lots of vinegar (because it usually helps to remove the jellyfish tentacles from the skin)!!!! And then go to the hospital--don't be like me. (Btw nematocytes simply mean "jellyfish stingers")
For other people, it may be to prevent jellyfish stings:
1. Don't go swimming in jellyfish infested areas (duuh) and don't go swimming when it is jellyfish season. The beach people will put up signs telling you about it.
2. Wear lycra stinger suits...That cover your whole body, although with Irukandji that might not be so effective
3. Swim in the place where jellyfish nets are put out to keep jellyfish away, although again the annoying Irukandji might just slip through (stupid brainless jellyfish!!!!! ANNOYINGGGG)
For someone who attracts as much bad luck as me, my rules should be:
SWIM IN UQ POOL, DON'T EVEN GO NEAR THE WATER IN AUSTRALIA
After my ordeal with the jellyfish, I discovered that there is only one way to take my revenge properly...And that is...
EAT THEM!!!!!!!
(They taste especially good cold, and dipped in soy sauce.)
Will do more research on this interesting creature when free, and when inspired by revenge.
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