'killer' jelly fish off kerry - aka portuguese Man O'War

lg123

has anyone heard about these been seen off the kerry coast recently?

a guy from the dingle water world (or something of the like) was given a captured one recently, he was talking about it on newstalk yesterday on sean moncrieff's show yesterday.

they are not 'killer' but supposed to be pretty dangerous all the same. if you have heart problems or asthma especially. the guy on the radio said to avoid at all costs.

ps, the old trick of someone pissing on you will not help a sting from these at all (or acidic chemicals such as vinegar etc.).

Killgore Trout

There was this article in the mirror about a month ago http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/08/13/invasion-of-the-killer-jellyfish-115875-20695374/

the wikipedia article has some good pictures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Man_o%27_War

Love the emotive tabloid language. Anyway - saw them in Barbados when i was there - and still got in the water. If the place was infested with them i'd think twice - but the odds are low.

I'd be more worried about getting struck in the head by a board/dashed on some rocks/bitten by seals

Kimbot

Apparently there were tonnes of them off the coast of the uk over the past months or so and they are very dangerous.

elainee

yeah i heard they have been seen in dover and cornwall!! have u ever seen one!! they are huge scarey mother f*****s!!:eek:

Frisbee

Their huge bastards. Remember hitting one with a blasting gun in Killybegs harbour when I was younger...

cornbb

Killgore Trout wrote: »

I'd be more worried about getting struck in the head by a board/dashed on some rocks/bitten by seals

Ditto! Apparently they have a really nasty sting but describing them as "killer" is (mostly) tabloid hyperbole.

eiji-the-second

this is from steven pirsch, once working in an emergency room now a shaper... it hink everone should know this since were getting the problem in our waters
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What is done in the first minute after being stung will determine the difference between minutes of moderate pain or hours of horrible pain. Please try to forget what you have read, been told, or have used to treat Man Of War stings - I should know, I worked in the county emergency room as an RN. Remember this: get that damn gelatinous stringy goo off immediately! Resist paddling in to wipe it off on the beach. Quickly, try to splash it off first. Often, simply thrashing an arm or leg etc., through the water violently will dislodge it. If it is wrapped, quickly pull it off, piece by piece (it will not burn the inside of fingers). If it can be completely removed in less than one minute, you will probably be in moderate pain for about 10 minutes - then the pain will subside. If you paddle in to remove the attached tentacles on the beach, you will be suffering miserably for hours, with local burning and radiating muscle, and lymph node pain. The longer the time between the attachment and the removal, the longer and more intense the pain. Try to have some hard liquor available. Pour some over the burn (a few times), and consider getting drunk on the rest. By the time your drunkenness wears off you should be fine. The hard liquor treatment will stop the injection of poison and give pain relief. Generally, due to the elapsed time, the only benefit of going to the emergency room will be for pain medication.
If you are going to surf in a man of war infested area, be aware you can protect yourself. Simply cover as completely as possible with lycra pants, lycra shirt, (or 1mm Mares wet suit) booties, latex gloves,ozone hat etc. You can be stung through the lycra, but it will be relatively mild (not bad enough to make you want to go in). This is one way to get great un-crowded point break surf.
What is done in the fist minute after being stung will determine the difference between minutes of moderate pain or hours of horrible pain.

cornbb

eiji-the-second wrote: »

Try to have some hard liquor available. Pour some over the burn (a few times), and consider getting drunk on the rest. By the time your drunkenness wears off you should be fine.

Lol, I like this man's way of thinking.

lg123

cornbb wrote: »

Lol, I like this man's way of thinking.

ditto on that

elainee

was in dingle aquairium tues took a pic of the man o war thy captured omg:eek: its so small its the size of a fist!!! looks like a plastic bag with purple string hanging off it!! very disapointed!!:(