Blue Bottles

No not the fly but a jellyfish.
Whilst spending the day on Manly Beach in Australia recently the lifeguards made an announcement that lots of these 'blue stingers' had been washed up on the tideline. They're fascinating things and are completely reliant on being moved around by the wind. They can give you a painful sting though and people were being warned to stay away. This is off the Beach Safe website from Australia

The bluebottle (physalia) is probably the most well known jellyfish around the Australian coastline. Their blue, balloon like sail sits above the water and is attached to a long tentacle extending below it. This tentacle is covered in stinging cells callednematocysts. When this touches the skin it reacts by injecting a small amount of a toxin which causes irritation and can be quite painful.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU GET STUNG BY A NON-TROPICAL STINGER?

FOR BLUEBOTTLE STINGS:

• Wash off any remaining tentacles with seawater, or pick off with your fingers (they can’t usually sting through the tough skin on your fingers!)
• Immerse the patient’s sting in hot water (no hotter than can be easily tolerated)
• If local pain is not relieved or immersion facilities are not available, the application of cold packs or wrapped ice is also effective.

FOR OTHER NON-TROPICAL MINOR JELLYFISH STINGS:

• Wash off remaining tentacles with seawater, or pick off with fingers.
• Apply cold pack or wrapped ice for at least 10 minutes or until pain is relieved.
• Refer to medical aid for further treatment if condition deteriorates.

A QUICK NOTE ON SOME THINGS THAT DON’T WORK FOR STINGS...

Lifeguards are often amused and entertained by the many strange and bizarre treatments people try to relieve the temporary pain of a non-tropical marine sting, such as;

• Rubbing sand over the sting (it just gives you a rash around the sting)
• Pouring soft drinks over the sting (just makes it sticky)
• Pouring vinegar over the skin (is vitally important for TROPICAL marine stings, but not for non-tropical stings)
• Urinating over the sting (it’s just gross, and doesn’t work anyway!)

Of course I had to go and take a look. There were literally hundreds of them washed up and dying on the sand. Beautifully coloured little things and a shame they had to get washed up and died. Even the Silver Gulls left them alone though.