Jellyfish Truth – The Weird Side of the Internet

Jellyfish Truth – The Weird Side of the Internet – by Liam Sweeny.

So we’ve all heard of it. You’re at the beach with your friends, playing volleyball, someone takes a break to go traipse through the edge of the surf and before anyone has a clue what’s going on; a scream. Someone just got stung by a jellyfish. And every guy there realizes that the proper first aide for this emergency came standard equipment. But who is confident enough about their “long straw” to draw the short straw?

Peeing on a jellyfish sting to ease the pain is something that Emily Post is conspicuously silent about. I have first aid training, like Red Cross training, and nowhere in the course did it instruct you to get the consent of the injured party to whip anything out. (PSA when actually administering first aid, always get consent to treat, if they’re responsive) I have never heard of anyone in the situation of having to pee on someone else’s leg for pain relief.

Cause guess what? It doesn’t work. The social contract of the beach need not be challenged.

The ammonia in pee is supposed to change the acidity of the jellyfish venom, which is in principle true. But it’s too dilute. White vinegar is the go to. Also, pee can have bacteria.

So now you know the truth. If you’re on the beach, and you’re called upon to hose the pain away, feel free to apply some science to the affected area. Unless you just like peeing on people. In fact, if you just like people, just hang out on the beach and pretend you didn’t read this.

I’ve still never heard of anyone actually peeing on anyone’s leg. Not that someone would take a pic and throw it on Instagram. Are jellyfish stings bearable enough to just have someone say “put it back in your pants, I’ll just bite the bullet.”

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