Mystery Solved - Cozumel 8/4/2010

[marci4tony]

Thimble Jellyfish! Everywhere!:D

 

Lots of good information on mexicovacationtravels dot com - They were reported at Nachi, Paradise, Mr Sanchos and Chankanaab and suspected at San Fransisco. Since all those areas are along the same stretch of coast, I suspect they were all over!

 

Being an inquisitive land-locked person, I had to find out what was giving us grief all day! (They seemed to be more prevalent near the toys, and the jugs of vinegar were proof that the management were aware of the hatch)

 

Of course, their sting has been likened to a rubber-band snap. I got stung on my foot, and it hurt for maybe 5 minutes, but soon forgotten about! When we were in the water, all we could see were the little dots (eyes I suspect) and they were small, and transparent. Most people did not even know there was anything out there!

 

Oh the things we learn when we travel!!;)

[marci4tony]

A photo!

[golfadj]

We hve been to Cozumel and swam in the water about 5 times and never had to deal with this. Once there were millions of little fish but will take that over jelly fish any day.

[Flairy]

I wonder if a rogue one of those is what got me last year.

 

I was at Nachi early November last year on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I was just swimming along, floating really, and an instant, intense sting erupted on the inside crease of my elbow and upper forearm. I got out of the water immediately, thinking there would be jellyfish around, but I saw nothing. The waiter came over with a little vase of vinegar, but it didn't help much. He searched the water for jellyfish but also found nothing. The area that stung puffed up and turned a very deep red for about the next 48 hours.

 

When I got home from the cruise, I started researching things that can sting in Cozumel waters, and the best I could come up with was that it might be a piece of fire coral that'd come loose and was floating in the water.

 

But now that I see this I wonder if this could also have been it.

[chickie_mite]

We hve been to Cozumel and swam in the water about 5 times and never had to deal with this. Once there were millions of little fish but will take that over jelly fish any day.

 

If you want to avoid being stung by jellyfish, just go with me---they have my number! SHEESH! I don't care how many people are in the water, it seems like I'm the one they always target! LOL

 

I always carry vinegar-soaked gauze in a baggie (peroxide works, too), because it's almost a guarantee I'll need it!

[md10074]

We were at Nachi on 8/2/10 and thank God we didn't see any. The kids were in the water all day and I would have felt terrible if they got stung.

[stay_or_go]

My son got stung in Mazatlan in January, not deadly or poisoness but he said it hurt quite a bit.

 

After about 30 min, it was pretty much over.

 

There were many people in the ocean that day including me, guess he was just the lucky one...

[peepaw]

I don't want to gross anyone out, but, urine works better than vonegar.

[LynneL]

I don't want to gross anyone out, but, urine works better than vonegar.

 

Am I to guess that is where you got your name Peepaw - lol.

[Stevesan]

I don't want to gross anyone out, but, urine works better than vonegar.

 

Joey demonstrated that during a Friends episode. :D

 

But in all seriosity: A rashguard shirt, besides providing a bit of warmth and UV protection (mine is 50UVP), is excellent protection against those tiny "no-seeum" jelly fish.

[Cricket63]

Meat tenderizer also works great. Just mix it with some water to make a paste and apply to the area. Just carry some along in a small zip lock baggie.

[flynnsport]

ouch...good to know.

[Boro]

Joey demonstrated that during a Friends episode. :D

 

 

But in all seriosity: A rashguard shirt, besides providing a bit of warmth and UV protection (mine is 50UVP), is excellent protection against those tiny "no-seeum" jelly fish.

 

 

 

linky :D

[okgirl]

Meat tenderizer also works great. Just mix it with some water to make a paste and apply to the area. Just carry some along in a small zip lock baggie.

 

You can also use meat tenderizer as a repellant, just get wet and sprinkle it on the skin and rub in and let dry. It's an irritant to the jelly fish and they will stay away from you. You do have to reapply about every 30 minutes of water time.

[KCMarie]

linky :D

 

Hey Boro, thanks for the linky. Very uhm....educational indeed. It's not easy finding a volunteer though when one is needed!

 

In all seriousness though, meat tenderizer is great and I am definitely taking some in a ziplock bag next time! At Nachi last year all they had was vinegar and as my daughter said, it didn't help much.

 

A note....if one chooses to use meat tenderizer, make sure to use the unseasoned variety.

[med2cruise]

Just at Nachi last Monday and no signs of jelly fish. THere were a lot of people in the water and no one said anything about getting stung.

[Carolyn1950]

We have had those tiny jelly fish on the Texas coast too. Went to North Beach by Corpus Christi twice with the grandkids and each time the jelly fish got us.. I can't remember ever getting stung by them in the bay before.. Glad to know the name of them, had no idea..

[tootsiebit]

We have had those tiny jelly fish on the Texas coast too. Went to North Beach by Corpus Christi twice with the grandkids and each time the jelly fish got us.. I can't remember ever getting stung by them in the bay before.. Glad to know the name of them, had no idea..

 

 

Yep we sure do, and last Friday we took our grandkids to Padre (Port Aransas) and after being in the water about 5 minutes I felt a sting and told hubby that something stung me...felt kind of like a prick of a needle, and I went about my business ...about 10 minutes later my little granddaughter started screaming loudly that something was stinging her, so I yanked her up and out of the water and while I was hauling her back to shore I got stung again...she got it pretty good on her little knee..poor baby.....anyway the boys and hubby hadn't got stung...but there was no way me and the granddaughter were going back in, so we decided to sit at the waters edge and play...and I'll be if I didn't get stung again....and about that time a little girl swimming close to us and playing with a fish net, started hollering "look Daddy a little baby jellyfish is in my net...well my oldest grandson decided to look for them and caught one in his bucket right away....Mystery solved...but I have never seen them so little...so the baby jellyfish must have been abundant in Cozumel and on the Texas Coast also last week...2 days later Corpus christi news was reporting about baby stingrays all over next to the shore and hundreds of people being stung by them in South Padre...EEK...glad baby jellyfish is all we had that day!!!!!!

[Interceptor2551]

Great, now I might not even get in the water at Nachi next month. I'm allergic to bee stings and swell up pretty bad and need medical attention, would jelly fish do the same thing if bee stings do that to me? Any correlation does anyone know?

[KCMarie]

Great, now I might not even get in the water at Nachi next month. I'm allergic to bee stings and swell up pretty bad and need medical attention, would jelly fish do the same thing if bee stings do that to me? Any correlation does anyone know?

 

Interceptor, I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but I can tell you that one of the great things about Nachi is their big pool. Last year my daughter got stung by 'something', never found out what it was. After that, her and I were out of the water and in the pool. Their pool is really nice, huge! Swim up bar, swim in to the hot tub, right next to the beach.

 

I know it's not the same thing as the ocean, but for me...I'll take the pool. If you can't find the answer to your question, rather than risking an allergic reaction, you could always tough it out in the pool.

 

 

 

The pool is just off camera, to the right of the blue tile mosaic walkway.

 

Enjoy your cruise and your stay at Nachi! I have 82 more days yet until I am back.

[ImmortalxKiss]

At Nachi in April and never seen any ..creepy!!

[Carolyn1950]

Yep we sure do, and last Friday we took our grandkids to Padre (Port Aransas) and after being in the water about 5 minutes I felt a sting and told hubby that something stung me...felt kind of like a prick of a needle, and I went about my business ...about 10 minutes later my little granddaughter started screaming loudly that something was stinging her, so I yanked her up and out of the water and while I was hauling her back to shore I got stung again...she got it pretty good on her little knee..poor baby.....anyway the boys and hubby hadn't got stung...but there was no way me and the granddaughter were going back in, so we decided to sit at the waters edge and play...and I'll be if I didn't get stung again....and about that time a little girl swimming close to us and playing with a fish net, started hollering "look Daddy a little baby jellyfish is in my net...well my oldest grandson decided to look for them and caught one in his bucket right away....Mystery solved...but I have never seen them so little...so the baby jellyfish must have been abundant in Cozumel and on the Texas Coast also last week...2 days later Corpus christi news was reporting about baby stingrays all over next to the shore and hundreds of people being stung by them in South Padre...EEK...glad baby jellyfish is all we had that day!!!!!!

 

darn, we have a place in Port Aransas and I was hoping they weren't there..

[Deadfan1973]

So rub yourself with meat tenderizer!!!!!! Ok, I'll take the jellyfish sting over smelling like a nice big juicy t-bone and tempting the reef sharks any day! ;-)

[ilovetheislands]

On our last family cruise in 2009, my daughter was stung several times while snorkeling in St. Thomas. The stings covered about 1/2 of her torso and the whelts stayed on her for a few days. It happened to me as well while night snorkeling in Cozumel in 2005 except mine were all over my face. I happened to notice that I heard faint popping or crackling sounds when I was being stung and I heard them again in St. Thomas. I got out of the water immediately because I remembered the sound. Unfortunately, my daughter was too far away from me to heed my warnings, by the time I got her attention, it was too late. Aggravating and uncomfortable but not incredibly painful after the initial shock.

[dan40]

I wonder if a rogue one of those is what got me last year.

 

I was at Nachi early November last year on the Fantasy out of New Orleans. I was just swimming along, floating really, and an instant, intense sting erupted on the inside crease of my elbow and upper forearm. I got out of the water immediately, thinking there would be jellyfish around, but I saw nothing. The waiter came over with a little vase of vinegar, but it didn't help much. He searched the water for jellyfish but also found nothing. The area that stung puffed up and turned a very deep red for about the next 48 hours.

 

When I got home from the cruise, I started researching things that can sting in Cozumel waters, and the best I could come up with was that it might be a piece of fire coral that'd come loose and was floating in the water.

 

But now that I see this I wonder if this could also have been it.

 

 

Did you search, "sea lice" which are tiny jellyfish with powerful stings.