Langkawi Jellyfish Stings - Post Reports Here
There have been many reports of serious jellyfish stings on Langkawi recently that have been posted on this blog and I thank all who have commented - this is invaluable in getting the authorities to do something constructive soon to help improve the situation and make this beautiful island safer for all.
If you have a story to tell, a report to make or a comment on jellyfish stings at Langkawi could you please do it here on this latest post. If possible can you include:
- date/time
- location (what beach)
- weather conditions
- water depth
- what happened
- what you saw
- description of jellyfish
- description of tentacles
- description of sting (is the mark whip-like in look or is it more like a broad burn or blisters etc)
- how was the response from locals (life savers, hotels etc)
- what were symptoms
- what was treatment
- any medical treatment or hospitalization
- how long did the symptoms last
- do you have any lasting effects
- and anything further you can think of
There is an email address in the Blog Boxie profile and if who want to leave an email address to be contacted that would be great - we could help each other. contact@boxjellyfish.online
While Langkawi obviously has a very concerning jellyfish problem at the moment, details are not clear as to where exactly most stings are occurring and what exactly is doing the stinging. Pantai Cenang seems to be a hot spot and Irukandji seems to be the culprit. I wouldn't go into the water without a lycra suit if you paid me and actually probably wouldn't go into the water with a lycra suit at the moment full stop
Take care because there has been a death there already this year (at least one as far as we know) and plenty of stings requiring hospitalization - who knows what's round the corner??
Thank you for commenting on your jellyfish stings, your input is very helpful and greatly appreciated!!
I was stung on the beach at Berjaya Resort (just north of pantai Kok) on Wednesday the 28th around 2pm. I was up to my chest in water and was stung on my left thigh/ right thigh (as if it was between my legs) then on my foot as I was trying to swim away. The resort had vinegar on hand in the beach house and applied that. They said i was the 2nd person that day to be stung. My reaction was bad enough to require an antihistamine injection and prescription pain medication from the physician on site. My main sting (on my left thigh) swelled almost 8 inches in diameter, and now has about 20 dark purple welts about .25-.5inches in diameter. I don't know what type of Jellyfish it was. I had muscle aches and spasms all afternoon/evening, and lingering soreness/pain the next day. 2 days later I still feel some pain in my thigh but overall feel much better.
ReplyDeleteOn 9 September 2010 (two days ago) I was in the water with my husband at an island near Hong Island in Thailand. We had hired a long boat and had been touring around Hong Island. We were in water chest deep relaxing and having a wonderful time. It was about 12 noon and sunny. Suddenly I was very severly stung on my back and left arm. The pain was so intense I thought I had been attacked by a shark or shot with a shot gun. I waited expecting to see blood on the water but realised there was no blood. Then we both saw a huge brownish??jellyfish about a metre away going down with the current. The pain was so intense I was paralysed and all of a sudden everything just stopped and went into slow motion. No one there spoke any helpful English. All of a suddent I realised everyone had left the water due to my scream of agony. The boat driver started looking for a barb on my back but seemed to say there wasn't one which I supposed was a good sign? He kept saying "sorry" because his English was almost non existent. He kept talking rapidly to another long boat driver who said "sorry have no medicine". The agonising pain never stopped. It was unbearable. My husband told him to drive us back to the Sheraton immediately. When I got to the hotel, the pool guys put vinegar on my back which by then was incredibly swallen,red and bubbling like a severe burn. We were both very worried because we did not know if this was lethal or not and there had been no help at all. I suffered horrid pain for about 18 very long hours. The only thing that alleviated my pain was being under a hot shower. Once out of the shower the pain continued horribly strong. It's been over 2 days now and i still have pain especially to touch and have huge hard lumps and marks like whips on my back. I had no idea that there was jellyfish in Thailand as no one had warned us and there was no information at all anywhere. I wish tourists had this type of information available. As we were leaving the hotel to go to Kuala Lumpur I casually told the Sheraton Manager what had happened and he insisted I saw the nurse on duty. The nurse looked at my back and arm to check if there was anything that needed to be removed and then gave me some cream which he recommeded I use 3 to 4 times a day. He said I had been stung by a box jellyfish. I still don't know if I will be left with scars or not or when this will disappear as no one has given us any information. The pain was so intense even thinking back about it brings tears to my eyes.
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