Warning over beach threat posed by lion’s mane jellyfish
EXPERTS have warned beachgoers to beware the dangerous lion’s mane jellyfish after five people were hospitalised with painful stings in recent months.
Researchers from the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway and UCC issued information about the animals and also how to treat a sting if you get one.
A study published by NUI Galway in 2017 showed the best first aid is to rinse with vinegar to remove tentacles, and then immerse the wound in 45C hot water for 40 minutes or apply a heat pack.
Despite being one of the least common types, relatively high concentrations of large lion’s mane jellyfish have been recorded close to busy areas in recent weeks.
Jasmine Headlam of NUIG said: “We often see lion’s mane jellyfish on the east coast, where the water is cooler, around hot spots like Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire and popular beaches like Bettystown, Co Meath, and Clogherhead, Co Louth.
“In the past few weeks we’ve had reports of large adult lion’s mane from the west coast in places like Salthill, Kinvara, Carna and Oranmore in Galway as well as Newquay in Clare and even Cork harbour.
“Stings from large lion’s mane can be particularly dangerous, as the thousands of thin tentacles can each extend to several meters long.
“Initially, a sting may result in itching or localised pain that may radiate to other areas of the body, potentially progressing to severe pain within 20 minutes.
“They can result in conditions including back pain, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating and hypertension.”