Researchers at NUI Galway have made a major breakthrough in the treatment of jellyfish stings.
The study, conducted with the University of Hawaii-Manoa, found that most treatments typically associated with stings are entirely useless.
Seawater, ice packs, and even a friend urinating on your leg – all treatments commonly associated with the treatment of jellyfis- stings.
However, a new NUI Galway led study has found that not only are such anti-dotes completely useless, they can actually make stings worse.
It examined the standard practice in Ireland of treating strings by the Portuguese man o’ war Jellyfish – which is to scrape away tentacles, rinse with water and apply ice.
However, the international study discovered that the best treatment is in fact the complete opposite to what’s been advised over the past decade.
The use of a vinegar rinse to release tentacles followed by immersion in hot water, or the use of a heat pack, proved the most effective method.
The new method inhibits further stings and de-activates already released venom – a major u-turn on previous best practice which scientists now realise only makes things worse.
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