I’m convinced that things come and go in cycles. And because of this I’m equally convinced that I’m the middle of or hopefully at the tail-end of a cycle of less-than-good-luck. You’re probably wondering what the heck this has to do with jelly fish and sea urchins but actually, luck (or the lack there of ) has EVERYTHING to do with both of these fascinating-to-look-at but miserable-to-be-touched by wonders of the deep blue seas.
The root of my problems began a few weeks back when I hurt my Achilles tendon while running on the beach. I now have to wear a silly looking “boot” to keep my foot straight and slightly pointed down. This has changed my workout routine which now focuses on swimming. Or at least will focus on swimming until I can take off that silly looking boot in a few weeks.
So there I was – dog paddling furiously along the coast, obviously not posing a threat to Mark Spitz or anyone else, except maybe the lifeguard. Who was probably trying to decide if I need saving or not. I normally wear a mask and a snorkel so I can see what’s beneath me and also because it’s easier to breath. But this particular day I did away with that. Figuring that keeping my head above water would work my upper body and arms a little bit more. It also prevented my from seeing the jelly fish in the water ahead of me.
I am not Jacques Cousteau. My love of the ocean is limited to knowing not to swim after sunset, not to use a spear gun and hang the fish on my hip. I’m not sure what the criteria are for jellyfish. I can tell you the jelly fish that you find in the water near the beach don’t come too often and when they do they are these small versions that are difficult to see. But easy to feel – especially when you swim into one or several. Which I did.
My first inclination was to curse. Which I did. The sting of a jelly fish is akin (at least to me) to that of a bee sting on a little bit more intense. My second impulse was to get back to shore. The water wasn’t that deep so I started to make headway rather quickly until I stepped on a sea urchin. Now, I don’t know what I did lately to piss off the Man upstairs, but certainly I did something. Fortunately the pain in the bottom of my foot from the needles of the sea urchin (they call them “Ricci” in these parts) took my mind off the pain in shoulder and chest from where the Jelly fish stung me.
Getting back to the jelly fish. The sting of a jelly fish makes your skin red and irritated. The skin swells a bit and soon starts to itch. You may have the impulse to scratch. That is not a good thing to do as it compounds both your pain and swelling. No, the thing to do is to clean the area immediately with alcohol or hot or warm water. In my case “immediately” is a relative term, because the beach was pretty much empty and I had to limp my sorry butt back to my car first and them home.
Another good remedy is to cover the infected area with a mixture of baking soda or clean the area with a mixture of water and vinegar. I learned this from my wife who learned it from her mother who learned it from HER mother.
Cold water on a jelly fish sting is worthless. In case of a big jelly fish cortisone cream is a good remedy.
As far as the sea urchin spines in my foot – rubbing olive oil on the area where the spine is loosens up the skin a bit. Although there are other folks who swear by vinegar as the active agent to use. After that, it’s a matter of using your thumb and fore-finger to try and work the spine up and out of the skin. Unfortunately, you’re going to need a sewing needle and tweezers to do a little digging. All-in-all nothing that made a trip to the emergency room necessary.
I’ve since learned that cheap rubber booties are the best prevention against sea urchins. Perhaps you’ve seen these before; they look like slippers and sit snugly on the foot. I have a few pairs lying in my garage somewhere and obviously I should have been wearing them that morning.
So there you go. Easy-to-perform remedies to help out your next emergency at the beach. Tomorrow I’ll be back in the water…and I’ll be wearing a mask and snorkel and little rubber booties.
