Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCommon SymptomsTreatmentSevere ReactionsTreatment of AnaphylaxisWhat Not to DoPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Common Symptoms
Treatment
Severe Reactions
Treatment of Anaphylaxis
What Not to Do
Prevention
Jellyfish sting treatment consists of these simple steps:
Some people can have a severe allergic reaction known asanaphylaxisto jellyfish stings. Anaphylaxis symptoms occur suddenly and can progress quickly from a runny nose and a skin rash to throat tightness, trouble breathing, fainting, and cardiac arrest. Anaphylaxis needs to be treated quickly with an epinephrine injection.
This article discusses jellyfish stings. It also details the symptoms of a jellyfish sting, jellyfish sting remedies for the pain, and signs of an emergency.
borchee / Getty Images
Common Symptoms of a Jellyfish Sting
Jellyfish tentacles have thousands of nematocysts that can pierce the skin and inject venom. Depending on the species and the venom dose, a sting can cause reactions ranging from mild tosevere and even life-threatening.
The common symptoms of a mild jellyfish sting may include:
What a Jellyfish Sting Looks and Feels Like
The sting often leaves tentacle impressions that may be red, brown, or purple track marks. The entire area may be pink, red, or purple.
What Are Sea Lice Bites and How Are They Treated?
How to Treat a Jellyfish Sting
Rapid treatment of jellyfish stings can reduce pain, keep systemic symptoms from getting worse, and lower the risk of complications (including infections).
Once first aid is delivered, medications can help alleviate pain and swelling. Severe reactions need to be treated in a hospital.
First Aid
There are three steps commonly recommended for first aid treatment of a jellyfish sting:
For jellyfish stings near the eyes, thoroughly rinse the eye with seawater and then get to the emergency department as soon as possible. The healthcare team will flush your eye with saline (a mixture of salt and water similar to tears), remove nematocysts, and give you medicated eye drops and pain medication.They might also recommend seeing an opthalmologist—a doctor specializing in eye care.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Once you have removed the tentacles and immersed the wound in hot water, there are things you can do to control pain and promote healing. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications include:
Anice packis also an effective remedy for symptoms of a jellyfish sting, including pain, swelling, and itching. Place a cloth between the ice pack and your skin, and apply the ice for no longer than 15 minutes to prevent frostbite.
Signs of Severe Reactions
There is a lot still unknown about the causes of a severe reaction to jellyfish stings, in part because there are over 2,000 species of jellyfish around the world.
In most cases, a severe reaction will occur immediately or soon after the sting. However, if anaphylaxis is involved, reactions have been known to be delayed for days and even weeks.
Symptoms of a severe jellyfish sting that require immediate medical care include:
If you or someone you are with experience any of these symptoms, call 911 or have someone rush you to the nearest emergency department.
If left untreated, anaphylaxis can lead toshock, respiratory obstruction due to swelling, cardiac or respiratory arrest, or death.
Anaphylaxis is treated as a medical emergency in a hospital. The treatment starts with an injection ofepinephrine(adrenaline), which helps relax the airways so you can breathe easier and tightens blood vessels to increase blood pressure. This latter effect helps reduce the risk of shock.
Afterward, you may be given oxygen, intravenous (IV) fluids, and medications likecortisone, albuterol, andantihistaminesto improve breathing and/or halt the allergic response.
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about how you should treat jellyfish stings. Few of these homespun remedies have any research to support their use and may cause more harm than good.
A 2017 study of the lion’s mane jellyfish suggests that rinsing a sting with seawater may actually increase the release of venom while rinsing with vinegar has no such effect.By contrast, rinsing a bluebottle jellyfish sting with vinegar often makes the sting worse.
Other things you should NOT do to treat a jellyfish sting include:
To Pee or Not to Pee?
Avoiding Jellyfish Stings
Avoiding jellyfish stings is undoubtedly a better strategy than treating them. There are several things you can do to protect yourself:
Summary
19 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Virgin Institute of Marine Science.Jellyfish stings.American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Anaphylaxis.Stanford Medicine.Stung: Understanding jellyfish stings.Montgomery L, Seys J, Mees J.To pee, or not to pee: a review on envenomation and treatment in European jellyfish species.Mar Drugs. 2016;14(7):127. doi:10.3390/md14070127Cunha SA, Dinis-Oliveira RJ.Raising awareness on the clinical and forensic aspects of jellyfish stings: A worldwide increasing threat.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14):8430. doi:10.3390/ijerph19148430Li L, McGee RG, Webster AC.Pain from bluebottle jellyfish stings.J Paediatr Child Health. 2015;51(7):734-737. doi:10.1111/jpc.12861Piontek M, Seymore JE, Wong Y, et al.The pathology ofChironex fleckerivenom and known biological mechanisms.Toxicon X. 2020;6:100026. doi:10.1016/j.toxcx.2020.100026Doyle TK, Headlam JL, Wilcox CL, MacLoughlin E, Yanagihara AA.Evaluation ofCyanea capillatasting management protocols using ex vivo and in vitro envenomation models.Toxins (Basel). 2017;9(7):215. doi:10.3390/toxins9070215Mount Sinai Hospital.Jellyfish stings information.Seymour JE.Are we using the correct first aid for jellyfish?Med J Aust. 2017;206(6):249–250. doi:10.5694/mja17.00053Wilcox CL, Yanagihara AA.Heated debates: Hot-water immersion or ice packs as first aid for Cnidarian envenomations?Toxins (Basel). 2016;8(4):97. doi:10.3390/toxins8040097Mao C, Hsu CC, Chen KT.Ocular jellyfish stings: Report of 2 cases and literature review.Wilderness Environ Med. 2016 Sep;27(3):421-4. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2016.05.007Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.How to treat and prevent frostbite.Fleming NEC, Harrod C, Newton J, Houghton JDR.Not all jellyfish are equal: Isotopic evidence for inter- and intraspecific variation in jellyfish trophic ecology.PeerJ.2015;3:e1110. doi:10.7717/peerj.1110Giavedoni P, Velasco V, Morgado-Carrasco D, Nogué S, Mascaró Galy JM.Delayed allergic reactions to jellyfish stings: usefulness of ultrasonographic evaluation: ultrasonographic features of delayed allergic reactions after jellyfish stings.J Ultrasound Med.2018;37(11):2721-4. doi:10.1002/jum.14604Shaker MS, Wallace DV, Golden DBK, et al.Anaphylaxis-a 2020 practice parameter update, systematic review, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;145(4):1082-1123. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.017MedlinePlus.Jellyfish stings.Fischer D, Van der Leek TK, Ellis AK, Kim H.Anaphylaxis.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol.2018;14(Suppl 2):54. doi:10.1186/s13223-018-0283-4American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.Jellyfish stings.
19 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Virgin Institute of Marine Science.Jellyfish stings.American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Anaphylaxis.Stanford Medicine.Stung: Understanding jellyfish stings.Montgomery L, Seys J, Mees J.To pee, or not to pee: a review on envenomation and treatment in European jellyfish species.Mar Drugs. 2016;14(7):127. doi:10.3390/md14070127Cunha SA, Dinis-Oliveira RJ.Raising awareness on the clinical and forensic aspects of jellyfish stings: A worldwide increasing threat.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14):8430. doi:10.3390/ijerph19148430Li L, McGee RG, Webster AC.Pain from bluebottle jellyfish stings.J Paediatr Child Health. 2015;51(7):734-737. doi:10.1111/jpc.12861Piontek M, Seymore JE, Wong Y, et al.The pathology ofChironex fleckerivenom and known biological mechanisms.Toxicon X. 2020;6:100026. doi:10.1016/j.toxcx.2020.100026Doyle TK, Headlam JL, Wilcox CL, MacLoughlin E, Yanagihara AA.Evaluation ofCyanea capillatasting management protocols using ex vivo and in vitro envenomation models.Toxins (Basel). 2017;9(7):215. doi:10.3390/toxins9070215Mount Sinai Hospital.Jellyfish stings information.Seymour JE.Are we using the correct first aid for jellyfish?Med J Aust. 2017;206(6):249–250. doi:10.5694/mja17.00053Wilcox CL, Yanagihara AA.Heated debates: Hot-water immersion or ice packs as first aid for Cnidarian envenomations?Toxins (Basel). 2016;8(4):97. doi:10.3390/toxins8040097Mao C, Hsu CC, Chen KT.Ocular jellyfish stings: Report of 2 cases and literature review.Wilderness Environ Med. 2016 Sep;27(3):421-4. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2016.05.007Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.How to treat and prevent frostbite.Fleming NEC, Harrod C, Newton J, Houghton JDR.Not all jellyfish are equal: Isotopic evidence for inter- and intraspecific variation in jellyfish trophic ecology.PeerJ.2015;3:e1110. doi:10.7717/peerj.1110Giavedoni P, Velasco V, Morgado-Carrasco D, Nogué S, Mascaró Galy JM.Delayed allergic reactions to jellyfish stings: usefulness of ultrasonographic evaluation: ultrasonographic features of delayed allergic reactions after jellyfish stings.J Ultrasound Med.2018;37(11):2721-4. doi:10.1002/jum.14604Shaker MS, Wallace DV, Golden DBK, et al.Anaphylaxis-a 2020 practice parameter update, systematic review, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;145(4):1082-1123. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.017MedlinePlus.Jellyfish stings.Fischer D, Van der Leek TK, Ellis AK, Kim H.Anaphylaxis.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol.2018;14(Suppl 2):54. doi:10.1186/s13223-018-0283-4American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.Jellyfish stings.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Virgin Institute of Marine Science.Jellyfish stings.American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Anaphylaxis.Stanford Medicine.Stung: Understanding jellyfish stings.Montgomery L, Seys J, Mees J.To pee, or not to pee: a review on envenomation and treatment in European jellyfish species.Mar Drugs. 2016;14(7):127. doi:10.3390/md14070127Cunha SA, Dinis-Oliveira RJ.Raising awareness on the clinical and forensic aspects of jellyfish stings: A worldwide increasing threat.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14):8430. doi:10.3390/ijerph19148430Li L, McGee RG, Webster AC.Pain from bluebottle jellyfish stings.J Paediatr Child Health. 2015;51(7):734-737. doi:10.1111/jpc.12861Piontek M, Seymore JE, Wong Y, et al.The pathology ofChironex fleckerivenom and known biological mechanisms.Toxicon X. 2020;6:100026. doi:10.1016/j.toxcx.2020.100026Doyle TK, Headlam JL, Wilcox CL, MacLoughlin E, Yanagihara AA.Evaluation ofCyanea capillatasting management protocols using ex vivo and in vitro envenomation models.Toxins (Basel). 2017;9(7):215. doi:10.3390/toxins9070215Mount Sinai Hospital.Jellyfish stings information.Seymour JE.Are we using the correct first aid for jellyfish?Med J Aust. 2017;206(6):249–250. doi:10.5694/mja17.00053Wilcox CL, Yanagihara AA.Heated debates: Hot-water immersion or ice packs as first aid for Cnidarian envenomations?Toxins (Basel). 2016;8(4):97. doi:10.3390/toxins8040097Mao C, Hsu CC, Chen KT.Ocular jellyfish stings: Report of 2 cases and literature review.Wilderness Environ Med. 2016 Sep;27(3):421-4. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2016.05.007Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.How to treat and prevent frostbite.Fleming NEC, Harrod C, Newton J, Houghton JDR.Not all jellyfish are equal: Isotopic evidence for inter- and intraspecific variation in jellyfish trophic ecology.PeerJ.2015;3:e1110. doi:10.7717/peerj.1110Giavedoni P, Velasco V, Morgado-Carrasco D, Nogué S, Mascaró Galy JM.Delayed allergic reactions to jellyfish stings: usefulness of ultrasonographic evaluation: ultrasonographic features of delayed allergic reactions after jellyfish stings.J Ultrasound Med.2018;37(11):2721-4. doi:10.1002/jum.14604Shaker MS, Wallace DV, Golden DBK, et al.Anaphylaxis-a 2020 practice parameter update, systematic review, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;145(4):1082-1123. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.017MedlinePlus.Jellyfish stings.Fischer D, Van der Leek TK, Ellis AK, Kim H.Anaphylaxis.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol.2018;14(Suppl 2):54. doi:10.1186/s13223-018-0283-4American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.Jellyfish stings.
Virgin Institute of Marine Science.Jellyfish stings.
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Anaphylaxis.
Stanford Medicine.Stung: Understanding jellyfish stings.
Montgomery L, Seys J, Mees J.To pee, or not to pee: a review on envenomation and treatment in European jellyfish species.Mar Drugs. 2016;14(7):127. doi:10.3390/md14070127
Cunha SA, Dinis-Oliveira RJ.Raising awareness on the clinical and forensic aspects of jellyfish stings: A worldwide increasing threat.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(14):8430. doi:10.3390/ijerph19148430
Li L, McGee RG, Webster AC.Pain from bluebottle jellyfish stings.J Paediatr Child Health. 2015;51(7):734-737. doi:10.1111/jpc.12861
Piontek M, Seymore JE, Wong Y, et al.The pathology ofChironex fleckerivenom and known biological mechanisms.Toxicon X. 2020;6:100026. doi:10.1016/j.toxcx.2020.100026
Doyle TK, Headlam JL, Wilcox CL, MacLoughlin E, Yanagihara AA.Evaluation ofCyanea capillatasting management protocols using ex vivo and in vitro envenomation models.Toxins (Basel). 2017;9(7):215. doi:10.3390/toxins9070215
Mount Sinai Hospital.Jellyfish stings information.
Seymour JE.Are we using the correct first aid for jellyfish?Med J Aust. 2017;206(6):249–250. doi:10.5694/mja17.00053
Wilcox CL, Yanagihara AA.Heated debates: Hot-water immersion or ice packs as first aid for Cnidarian envenomations?Toxins (Basel). 2016;8(4):97. doi:10.3390/toxins8040097
Mao C, Hsu CC, Chen KT.Ocular jellyfish stings: Report of 2 cases and literature review.Wilderness Environ Med. 2016 Sep;27(3):421-4. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2016.05.007
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.How to treat and prevent frostbite.
Fleming NEC, Harrod C, Newton J, Houghton JDR.Not all jellyfish are equal: Isotopic evidence for inter- and intraspecific variation in jellyfish trophic ecology.PeerJ.2015;3:e1110. doi:10.7717/peerj.1110
Giavedoni P, Velasco V, Morgado-Carrasco D, Nogué S, Mascaró Galy JM.Delayed allergic reactions to jellyfish stings: usefulness of ultrasonographic evaluation: ultrasonographic features of delayed allergic reactions after jellyfish stings.J Ultrasound Med.2018;37(11):2721-4. doi:10.1002/jum.14604
Shaker MS, Wallace DV, Golden DBK, et al.Anaphylaxis-a 2020 practice parameter update, systematic review, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) analysis.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;145(4):1082-1123. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.017
MedlinePlus.Jellyfish stings.
Fischer D, Van der Leek TK, Ellis AK, Kim H.Anaphylaxis.Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol.2018;14(Suppl 2):54. doi:10.1186/s13223-018-0283-4
American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.Jellyfish stings.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
