Nettlesome Visitors Bring Surprise Sting for Swimmers

Heading for the beach for the Fourth? Don’t forget to pack your beach towel, sunscreen and vinegar.

Vinegar?

A surprise invasion of jellyfish along the Southland coast just in time for summer’s kickoff is forcing thousands of beachgoers to seek a refreshing splash of vinegar to treat painful stings.

Although in ocean waters for 600 million years, jellyfish have been almost nonexistent along local beaches for the last quarter-century, according to experts.

Lifeguards at Huntington City Beach counted 89 stings this weekend after 290 in June.

“I’d say it’s more than we’ve seen in quite a while,” Marine Safety Lt. Steve Davidson said. “If it continues like it did last weekend, we’re going to have more people stung today.”

Though lifeguards at other county beaches do not keep track of stings, stations all along the Orange County coast have reported far more jellyfish than usual. The influx appears to be lessening in South County, while northern swimming spots like Sunset County Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach are still seeing large numbers.

In most cases, lifeguards have treated the stings, which can develop into large welts, with seawater and vinegar.

“It’s certainly been a nuisance,” said Lifeguard Capt. Jim Turner of the Newport Beach Fire Department. “We’re stocking up on vinegar.”

Lifeguards say that on the list of beachgoing perils, jellyfish rank near the bottom. However, the invasion comes during what is shaping up to be a particularly hectic summer. In addition to jellyfish, record numbers of stingrays have been zapping swimmers, and warmer-than-usual waters have drawn great numbers of swimmers to the beach.

“It’s going to be a crazy summer for lifeguarding,” said Tony Sholl, operating manager for U.S. Ocean Safety, the company the county contracts with for lifeguard services. “The warm water is going to attract a lot of people who don’t usually go to the beach.”

Already, Sholl said, lifeguards have dealt with many cases of inexperienced swimmers being overwhelmed by riptides or slammed against the shore, a situation that can result in head, neck and back injuries.

“I’m happy to deal with jellyfish as opposed to someone who may have a broken neck,” Sholl said.

Mark Klosterman, marine safety chief for the city of Laguna Beach, said beachgoers reported eight to 20 stings a day for more than a week last month, but incidents fell to zero this weekend.

Klosterman said that was the most jellyfish stings he has seen in 10 years.

“I’ve been doing this for 26 years, and jellyfish were always fairly common during the spring and summer. But then they just dropped off. I don’t know why.”

Marine scientists can’t say for sure why Southern California beaches are experiencing an onslaught of the nettlesome blobs, nor can they say why the creatures seemed to be much more common 10 years ago. That hasn’t kept them from guessing.

Mike Schaadt, a marine biologist at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, said that it might have to do with El Nino, which may have kept cold and nutrient-rich offshore waters from moving to the coast for almost two years. Now that water is finally reaching the beaches with a prolific crop of jellies. Why more of them are plaguing northern county beaches has to do with ocean currents, he said.

“It’s odd for there to be such an impact,” Schaadt said. “This could go on all summer.”

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At Zuma Beach in Los Angeles County, “We’ve got a bumper-crop this year,” said lifeguard Capt. Jim Dolman as rescuers were kept busy Monday administering vinegar to stings and burying washed-up jellyfish in the sand.

“I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw one, it’s been so long,” said Bob Janis, who has worked as a Zuma Beach lifeguard for 25 years. “I certainly can’t remember it ever being this bad.”

Although jellyfish stings are not fatal, twice last week paramedics were called to Zuma Beach when swimmers suffered allergic reactions and had difficulty breathing. Lifeguards there treated 150 sting victims Saturday and another 130 Sunday. They figure many other stings went unreported.

In the South Bay, lifeguards have all but given up trying to keep a tally of those lining up at towers for help. “Everybody’s alarmed. What do we do?” said Hermosa Beach lifeguard Capt. Robert Moore, a 33-year veteran.

Los Angeles County officials supplied all lifeguard towers with vinegar last week.

Lifeguards have been instructed in a flyer how to remove tentacles, rinse affected area with seawater and use vinegar “to prevent the firing of undischarged nematocysts (stinging cells) and the injection of more venom into the victim.” Use of fresh water worsens the stinging.

Malibu lifeguard Nick Steers, a 35-year veteran, turned to his daughter, marine biologist Julianne Steers, for more information about the purple-striped jellyfish, the pelagia colorata.

“There’s a whole generation of beachgoers who haven’t seen them,” Steers explained Monday. “For that matter, there’s a whole generation of lifeguards who haven’t seen them and don’t know how to treat the stings.”

Both groups are learning fast.

Fourteen-year-old boogie-boarder Scott Zeller of Simi Valley was stung on the back of his leg Sunday. On Monday a jellyfish became entangled on one of his swimming fins. He escaped injury this time and brought the jellyfish ashore for lifeguard Jon Van Duinwyk to bury in the sand.

Minutes later, Van Duinwyk was pouring vinegar on Tiyana Aber’s sting. “It hurts bad,” moaned the 10-year-old from Westlake Village.

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How the Jellyfish Stings

1. Tentacles contain thousands of stinging cells (cnidocytes) that activate automatically when something brushes against them.

2. Stinging cells burst upon contact, launching barbed, harpoon-like stingers (nematocysts) into the victim’s skin.

3. Venom is injected into the victim through threat-like tubes attached to barbs.

Source: Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific