Box jelly fish on Koh Samui and the rest of Thailand

Yes, unfortunately it's true, there's box jelly fish around Samui and the Gulf of Thailand and all of it's islands but also the Andaman Sea has it's share of box jelly fish related problems.

Now to immediately calm everybody down, it's not an epidemic and chances for getting stung by a box jelly fish in Thai waters are rather small. However, it's better to be aware and prepared than to be totally unaware of what can happen and a little bit of knowledge goes a long way. Your first line of defense starts with a stinger or body suit but once you're stung, use vinegar on the wound.

I've written fairly extensively about box jelly fish in Thai waters on my dive blog, please have a look here. Actually, this particular post makes up for the most viewed post on my dive blog and gets around 7% of all page views.

25th May 2012, Bophud beach, an American female tourist is stung by box jelly fish on her leg

The doctors at the local hospital did not identify the sting as a box jelly fish, but over the next 3 weeks the skin on her leg died. Upon returning to the USA, doctors identified the third degree burn as a box jellyfish burn.

I am going for a second surgery this Thursday to finish sewing up my leg. The sting went all the way through the fat tissue and the original stitches and wide 9 cm burn did not close.

As the lady describes; I have been stung by mild jellyfish so I knew what the burning was. I felt the burning continue so I rolled over in the water spastically to get the jellyfish off me. I swam back to shore. When I got to shore, my leg felt like it was on fire and the pain was not subsiding. This local Thai lady brought me over to a plant and started to crush the plant leaves to extract the juice, she mixed the leaves with fresh water. I think it might have helped but the pain was still intense. (Note; this turned out to be morning glory and has no positive effect at all on the wound but vinegar does, more on vinegar later)

Chironex type box jelly fish photographed at Chaweng Beach a few years back by Sakanan Plathong

Over the years various sightings have been reported around Thailand. More specifically sightings have been confirmed around the Samui peninsula (at Sail Rock and Chumpon Pinnnacle among others) and I have personally shot pictures of a Morbakka near Pattaya and during a dive in 2003 one of my IDC students got stung by a box jelly fish. To this date he still has the marks from that sting.

According to a friend of mine runs the Thailand box jelly fish blog states; Research into box jellyfish in Thailand is sort of but not really happening - there is awareness and acknowledgement in scientific circles, there is commitment but there is little money and minimal action. Still, there is slow forward momentum especially at a medical level though there's a long way to go. No clear picture has developed as to habitat and habits. The Australian experience is invaluable but the situation is different. It took many years for action to occur in Australia also, there was a lot of misinformation, resistance and apathy.

Box jellyfish do swim, not float, and while influenced by conditions they have a visual system that can help them navigate around obstacles such as rocks and human legs. There are different types of box jellyfish known in Thailand including the lethal Chironex, Irukandji and Morbakka.

Morbakka, picture taken by me in 2010 in the Gulf of Thailand, a few hours sailing away from Pattaya

On a positive note, the small island of Koh Mak is leading the way and has now vinegar stations installed around it's beaches. Well done and hats off to Koh Mak!

A project I tried to install Koh Samui as well but unfortunately it stranded literally in the sand! I hope that many GM's of hotels around the island and people in the local Samui government read this post and although I understand that stating that box jelly fish exist is maybe difficult to 'admit', with just a little bit of prevention and knowledge many potential future box jelly fish victims can be helped efficiently and maybe we can safe some lives.

I have many dreams but one of them is to have vinegar stations around Koh Samui beaches!

Box jelly fish treatment flow chart

IN CASE OF A BOX JELLYFISH STING:

1. Begin CPR if required and call for medical assistance

2. Immediately pour vinegar over sting area for at least 30 seconds

3. After using the vinegar, place cold packs or ice on the wound to ease the pain and reduce skin damage

4. Seek medical attention

OTHER JELLYFISH SPECIES:

Bluebottle (with single main tentacle)- Remove tentacles, immerse sting area in hot water or apply cold pack*, do NOT use vinegar

All others - Remove tentacles, apply cold pack to sting area

the morning glory plant found along the coast throughout the tropics is at best a mild analgesic and not recommended.

once the vinegar has done its job and the threat of envenomation ceased, the pain can last a few hours and can be managed locally with ice packs.

once the pain has subsided there is a risk of infection so the sting should be treated much like a burn.

depending on the approach you want to take, cortisone based cream, vitamin e cream, calendula, pawpaw etc could all be good in keeping the wound clean, avoiding secondary infection and aiding healing of the scarring.

The vinegar will not stop the the venom already in the wound but will immobilize any other stingers and prevent them from discharging. Try to rub the remaining tentacles off your body with a credit card like object, not with your fingers!

Last month a surfer was stung by a box jellyfish at Laem Pakarang, Khao Lak. A classic Irukandji Syndrome symptoms endured over 3 days. The victim has fully recovered.

Any reports from box jelly fish sightings in Thailand or the South East Asian region can be reported to DAN Asia Pacific who are keen to collect information about these stings in Thailand. Please contact John Lippmann through their website.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille