Modulation of jellyfish nematocyst discharges and management of human skin stings in Nemopilema nomurai and Carybdea mora

Even though jellyfish sting is common today, its first aid guideline has never been clear enough in a scientific point of view and the use of vinegar appears to be not accepted in common throughout the world. In the present study, to develop rational first aid guidelines for the stings of Nemopilema...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxicon (Oxford) 2016-01, Vol.109, p.26-32
Main Authors: Pyo, Min-Jung, Lee, Hyunkyoung, Bae, Seong Kyong, Heo, Yunwi, Choudhary, Indu, Yoon, Won Duk, Kang, Changkeun, Kim, Euikyung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bites and Stings
Carybdea
Cnidaria
Cubozoa
Ethyl alcohol
First aid
Guidelines
Human
Humans
Jellyfish
Modulation
Nematocysts
Rinsing
Rinsing solution
Scyphozoa
Sea water
Sting
Vinegar
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Summary:Even though jellyfish sting is common today, its first aid guideline has never been clear enough in a scientific point of view and the use of vinegar appears to be not accepted in common throughout the world. In the present study, to develop rational first aid guidelines for the stings of Nemopilema nomurai (scyphozoa) and Carybdea mora (cubozoa), the modulatory effects of various kinds of rinsing solutions have been assessed on nematocyst discharge and human skin tests. Among the solutions tested, vinegar (4% acetic acid) immediately caused significant nematocyst discharge in N. nomurai but not in C. mora. On the other hand, ethanol (70%) notably stimulated nematocyst discharge in C. mora and relatively less in N. nomurai. Moreover, isopropanol, a widely used solvent in pharmaceutical products, caused extensive nematocyst discharges in both N. nomurai and C. mora. Whereas, seawater did not elicit any nematocyst discharge in both jellyfish species. In human skin test, the rinsing with seawater also ameliorated the stinging-associated symptoms (pain and redness) in C. mora as well as N. nomurai. From this study, seawater appears not to induce any nematocyst discharge and can be safely used as a first aid rinsing solution for the jellyfish stings. •Attempt to development of rational first aid guidelines for the stings of jellyfish.•Several rinsing solutions were tested for nematocyst discharge and human skin tests.•Seawater can be safely used as a first aid rinsing solution.
ISSN:0041-0101
1879-3150
DOI:10.1016/j.toxicon.2015.10.019