Beautiful and poisonous

2001/08/31 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biologia
• Ozeanografia

Although you have
come on holiday today, do not believe that summer is over. Of course! It's still time to tour the mountain or take a swim on the beach. However, if you are encouraged to take off your clothes and bathe, remember that at this time of year you have to pay special attention to plastics that move through the water. Many of them are not store bags, but jellyfish.

Jellyfish are usually seen at the end of summer, as they appear when the water is hot. It has a viscous and almost transparent umbrella body, without head, eyes, bones, or similar. They have tentacles full of poisonous cells, and every time they touch the prey – or your thigh – the cell ‘bursts’ and the poison enters the victim’s body.

On our skin, the burning sensation provided by the poison can last for several minutes or hours. To relieve pain, we advise you to clean the wound with vinegar or alcohol or to mix the bicarbonate with water and place the dough formed on the wound. In any case, do not use water to clean the wound, as more poison can be released.

Ah, and be careful! Jellyfish that inhabit the sands can also be poisonous if they are still wet, as well as the tentacles released from the main body.