Can Jellyfish Sting People to Death? A Risk Analysis After Being Stung
After a jellyfish's venom stings the human body, it can cause varying degrees of injury. The stinging threads of the sea wasp jellyfish (box jellyfish) can secrete a cobra-like venom, making it the most dangerous to humans; a sting can cause death within 5 minutes. The Portuguese man o' war contains a "hypnotic toxin," and after stinging a person, the patient may take many days to recover from the pain. Let's take a look below at whether jellyfish can sting people to death!
Is jellyfish venom very toxic?
After a jellyfish's venom stings the human body, it can cause varying degrees of injury. For example, the sea wasp jellyfish (box jellyfish), whose stinging threads can secrete a cobra-like venom, is the most dangerous to humans; a sting can cause death within 5 minutes. The Portuguese man o' war contains a "hypnotic toxin," which is composed of polypeptides, proteins and small-molecule nitrogen-containing substances; after stinging a person, the patient may take many days to recover from the pain. Along China's coast, the sand jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum), which commonly drifts with cold currents in the Yellow Sea area, can secrete a peptide toxin. Jellyfish toxins are stored and distributed within the nematocysts; 1 gram of nematocysts contains 55 million individual nematocysts. Generally, after harvesting and processing, their toxicity can rapidly disappear.
Can jellyfish sting people to death?
Yes, jellyfish can sting people to death. The thin, delicate areas of human skin are most easily stung. Generally, an electric-shock-like stinging pain appears within a few minutes, and after several hours the injured area gradually develops linearly arranged red patches with blood spots, accompanied by itching and burning pain; mild cases can heal on their own in about 20 days. In highly sensitive patients, the local area may show red patches, swelling, wheals, blisters, ecchymosis, and even epidermal necrosis. Systemic manifestations may include restlessness, chills, abdominal pain, diarrhea, low spirits, and chest tightness with shortness of breath. In severe cases, there are often bouts of coughing and wheezing, expectoration of white or pink frothy sputum, accompanied by rapid and weak pulse, cyanotic skin, and falling blood pressure, among other signs of anaphylactic shock. If rescue is not timely, such sting patients can die within a short time.
Statistics on jellyfish stings
China's sea area is vast, and every year from July to September a considerable number of jellyfish sting cases occur. Previously, these were mainly fishermen catching jellyfish, as well as patients stung while swimming and playing at the seaside. For example, in recent years the Qinhuangdao seaside has had more than 3,400 sting patients. According to statistics from the Beidaihe seaside hospital, a tourist resort, over 5 years since 1989, a total of 3,030 sting patients were admitted, of whom those with fulminant anaphylactic pulmonary edema accounted for 0.3%, and there were 4 deaths (all accompanied by severe shock).
How to prevent being stung?
The most important thing in preventing jellyfish stings is to avoid contact with jellyfish, especially for working fishermen, who must take personal protection and must not be careless. When fishing, try to use tools rather than directly touching the jellyfish tentacles; people with a specifically sensitive constitution should be prohibited from going into the sea to work. Seaside tourist areas should set up buoy-marked barrier nets during the jellyfish season, establish eye-catching warning signs along the shore, and combine this with popular-science education broadcasts on injury prevention to improve tourists' knowledge and ability for self-protection. If swimmers in the sea or people on boats in the sea discover jellyfish, they must absolutely not touch them, much less catch them, because once an accident occurs at sea, rescue is even more difficult. Once stung by a jellyfish, the injured person must not panic; as long as they go to a hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time, they can generally improve and recover fairly quickly. Conversely, if the stung person acts inappropriately or is careless and negligent, drowning, falls, or danger due to delayed treatment and worsening of the condition can easily occur.