The sea is full of a great diversity of life forms and some of these have developed ingenious weapons, such as venom injecting stinging organs, which they use for hunting prey or in self-defence against predators.

One of the most amazing and potentially deadly creatures is the Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) of northern Australian coastal waters. This marine stinger immobilises its prey (usually small fish or prawns) by injecting them with a powerful venom released from a battery of stinging cells on its long tentacles.

The Box Jellyfish is, in turn, preyed upon by sea turtles and forms an important part of their diet.

If you happen to touch the transparent and almost invisible jellyfish, its tentacles will administer a sting. The severity of the sting is dependant upon the size of the skin area which comes into contact with the tentacles, but a sting covering half a leg, for example, may be enough to kill a person. It will certainly cause severe intractable pain and can leave terrible burn-like scars. In Australia over eighty recorded deaths and countless non-fatal stings have been attributed to Box Jellyfish.

The following information is from the Surf Life Saving Association:

The Chironex Box Jellyfish is found in shallow, tropical Australian waters (north of Agnes Waters, Qld, all N.T. and Western Australia north of Broome). It's a coastal jellyfish and is never found offshore.

The Box Jellyfish gets its name from its box-like appearance - it has tentacles dangling from each 'corner.' These ribbon-like tentacles can be anywhere from 10 cms to 3 metres in length. It is a large jellyfish, weighing up to 6 kg and measuring about 20-30 cm across the bell. It's transparent in the water, and therefore difficult to see.

Symptoms

If you're unfortunate enough to be stung by one of these creatures, you must act immediately.

You don't have to worry that you won't know you've been stung - the symptoms are immediate, severe pain on the skin. The tentacles may still be present on the skin or there may be a ladder-like pattern of what appear to be burn marks.

The victim may also lose consciousness and stop breathing, and the pulse can become irregular or cease completely.

First Aid

Remove the victim from the water

Since the pain is excruciating, it may be necessary to restrain the victim

Seek help from ambulance or Life Savers (who have anti-venom)

Carry out normal ABC first aid (check the Airway, ensure the victim is Breathing, and check the circulation).

Carry out mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage to keep the victim alive until help arrives.

In less sever cases, remove any tentacles and pour vinegar over the affected area for at least 30 seconds (this helps to inactivate any remaining stinging cells).

Then apply compression bandages over major stings.

Apply cold compacts to relieve pain.

The Best Treatment

By far the best way to treat stingers is to avoid contact with them in the first place.

Special stinger exclusion nets are placed on beaches in populated areas and you're strongly recommended to only swim inside these nets. However, if you are staying in areas without these special nets, some protection is offered by wearing the nylon scuba suit liners sold in dive shops.

At the very minimum, a couple layers of panty hose and tight fitting, long sleeved shirts can help but the risk remains for your head, neck, and hands.

Always take a couple large bottles of vinegar when using unpatrolled beaches during the stinger season.

Travel to Australia

Marine Stingers