Some visitors to the beach have been stung by these poisonous marine creatures over the past few days.
Visitors to Juhu beach over the past few days would have noticed bluebottles washed up on the shore. But many may not have been aware about the danger if they came in contact with this marine creature.
On Thursday, a 14-year-old boy was stung by a bluebottle and suffered serious rash and pain, according to a lifeguard at the beach, in suburban Mumbai. The lifeguard said that the boy, Surya Matheshwar, suffered pain for a couple of hours. He was treated at a hospital nearby and allowed to go home.
According to the lifeguard, quite a few people have suffered stings in the past few days when they either came in contact with the creature on the sand or tried to pick it up, unaware of the consequences.
Bluebottles are common in tropical and sub-tropical waters. They cannot move about on their own, but are moved about with the wind and tides. They vary in size and the severity of the sting usually depends on the amount of contact the skin makes with the tentacles.
Vishal Rasal, who works with the Central Fisheries Institute, said, “This is a fairly common occurrence at beaches. A lot of these creatures are swept ashore.
Generally people should stay away from water and be careful.”
The symptoms, like in the case of the boy who was stung, is itching with pain that can continue for a couple of hours. “Certain sea creatures on stinging can cause allergic reactions, including itching and red rashes on the skin,” said Dr Vivek Pai, a dermatologist.
“In severe cases, such a reaction can cause swelling of lips, eyelids and breathlessness. In an extremely rare event, breathlessness may occur as a victim slips into an anaphylactic shock. We immediately administer antihistamine and steroids to resolve swelling and itching complaints,” Dr Pai said. (Although quite unlikely, it is possible that a bluebottle sting could trigger an anaphylactic reaction, caused by a severe allergic reaction, and can be life-threatening.)
The doctor advised administering first aid immediately to avoid exacerbation of the symptoms. While immersing the affected area in hot water can help reduce the pain, it is necessary to pick the tentacles out by gently washing in
salt water.
Bluebottles, also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, is often mixed up with jellyfish. It differs from jellyfish in that it is not a single organism, but made up of many minute bodies that are physiologically integrated and cannot survive separately.
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