Health Encyclopedia

Marine animal stings or bites

Definition

Marine animal stings or bites refer to poisonous bites or stings from any form of sea life, including jellyfish.

Alternative Names

Stings - marine animals; Bites - marine animals

Considerations

The majority of these types of stings occur in salt water. Some types of marine stings or bites can be deadly.

Causes

Causes include bites or stings from various types of marine life including: jellyfish, Portuguese Man-of-War, stingray, stonefish, scorpion fish, catfish, sea urchins, sea anemone, hydroid, coral, cone shell, sharks, barracudas, and moray or electric eels.

Symptoms

There may be pain, burning, swelling, redness, or bleeding near the area of the bite or sting. Other symptoms can affect the entire body, and may include:

First Aid

Wear gloves, if possible when removing stingers.
Wipe off stingers or tentacles with a towel.
Wash the area with salt water.
Soak the wound in as hot of water as the patient can tolerate for 30-90 minutes, if toldto do so by trained personnel.
For some types of stings/bites, you may be told to apply vinegar or a meat tenderizer/water solution to neutralize the venom.

Do Not

DO NOT attempt to remove stingers without protecting your own hands.
DO NOT raise the affected body part above the level of the heart.
DO NOT allow the patient to exercise.
DO NOT give any medication, unless told to do so by a health care provider.

Call immediately for emergency medical assistance if

Seek medical help if the person has difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding, or other body-wide (generalized) symptoms.

Prevention

Swim near a lifeguard.
Observe posted signs that may warn of danger from jellyfish or other hazardous marine life.
Do not touch unfamiliar marine life. Even dead animals or severed tentacles may contain poisonous venom.

References

Otten EJ. Venomous Animal Injuries. In: Marx J. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2006.

Review Date:6/9/2008
Reviewed By:John E. Duldner, Jr., MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine Akron General Medical Center and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

ADAM Quality A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) and this website do not claim the information on, or referred to by, this site is error free. This site may include links to websites of other government agencies or private groups. Our Agency and this website do not control such sites and are not responsible for their content. Reference to or links to any other group, product, service, or information does not mean our Agency or this website approves of that group, product, service, or information.

Additionally, while health information provided through this website may be a valuable resource for the public, it is not designed to offer medical advice. Talk with your doctor about medical care questions you may have.