Expert of this article: Liu Yadan, researcher, deputy secretary-general of China Agricultural Association for International Exchange, chief science communication expert in China
When visiting the aquarium, the elegant and flexible jellyfish always attract the attention of many people.
However, jellyfish is not just a "peaceful" beauty...
On June 10, actor Chen Xuedong posted on Weibo that due to the need to shoot in the sea, he was stung by jellyfish into a sieve, and his legs were all bags, as if 10,000 poisonous mosquitoes had bitten.
On the same day, #Chen Xuedong was stung by jellyfish into a sieve # and also appeared on Weibo hot search.
Source: Chen Xuedong Weibo
Netizens who have seen it said that they can feel the pain across the screen...
In life, people playing on the beach and being stung by jellyfish also occur from time to time.
So, what exactly is jellyfish? What are the symptoms of being stung by a jellyfish? And what to do?
Next, I will answer the questions for you.
jellyfish? Old vinegar sting?
Jellyfish mainly refers to acehnids with jellyfish type, including bell-shaped or disc-shaped spiny animals, and taxonomically includes spiny cell jellyfish, crucifix jellyfish, and cubic jellyfish.
Jellyfish and sand jellyfish are also part of the order Bowl Jellyfish, a specific species in the jellyfish category.
Courtesy of the author
Jellyfish appeared earlier than dinosaurs, can be called living fossil-level aquatic organisms, 650 million years ago in the oceans and rivers and lakes have been found in the figure of jellyfish.
There are many types of jellyfish families, more than 250 known, some have disappeared, and some are emerging. The shape, color and size of different jellyfish vary to a certain extent, and the small jellyfish is only 10 cm in diameter, and the large one is more than 10 times larger than it.
The vast majority of jellyfish live in the ocean, only a few species live in freshwater, last year reported that the peach blossom jellyfish has disappeared for many years and reappeared in Yunnan is a freshwater species, belonging to the world's highest level of protection of "critically endangered organisms", is China's red list of protected animals in the first class of protected animals.
Some jellyfish have edible value, and currently only sea jellyfish and jellyfish can eat. But not all jellyfish can be eaten, and among the four species of jellyfish – jellyfish, macular jellyfish, rod jellyfish and wart jellyfish, jellyfish and macula jellyfish are the jellyfish we often eat.
Pickled jellyfish have become a delicacy on people's tables. The jellyfish skin we often eat is the umbrella of jellyfish, and the jellyfish head is the tentacles of jellyfish. That is to say, the old vinegar sting we eat is an edible type in the jellyfish family.
Jellyfish also have certain medicinal properties. But "it is a medicine 3 poison", jellyfish is no exception. Jellyfish toxins are stored in the stingy sac and must be processed. Therefore, unprocessed jellyfish are not edible!
What are the types of jellyfish that can sting dead people?
Jellyfish are very beautiful in appearance, but they are very fierce carnivores, and their slender tentacles are weapons. The stinging cells of the tentacles will shoot out venom like poisonous wires, and the prey in the water will quickly paralyze and die after being stinged by it.
According to statistics, there are about 30 kinds of jellyfish on the coast of China that sting people. The most common is the sand jellyfish that floats with the cold current in the Yellow Sea, and it is also the main role of the jellyfish "stinging" event in East Asian waters in recent years, and studies have shown that sand jellyfish can secrete peptide poisons.
Sand jellyfish are widely distributed in Coastal waters such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Liaoning in China, floating with the waves in the offshore water depth of 5-15 meters.
Sea wasp jellyfish are also one of the main killers, and their spiny silk can secrete cobra-like venom, which quickly takes human life after stinging, which is the most harmful to humans.
Where do jellyfish generally appear?
Jellyfish are mostly warm-water animals that live in nearshore waters all their lives, and their young stings live near estuaries, generally at depths of 5-20 m, sometimes as deep as 40 m.
Serious outbreaks of jellyfish and sand jellyfish in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea have been going on for more than 20 years, and almost every summer and autumn a large number of jellyfish and sand jellyfish appear in the northern part of the East China Sea and in the coastal and coastal waters of the Yellow Bohai Sea.
Don't think that jellyfish and sand jellyfish mainly live in offshore and offshore waters, just don't swim there. Because the jellyfish themselves have poor swimming ability, they mainly rely on going with the flow.
As the tide rises and falls, some sand jellyfish are also brought to the sea. The peak season for jellyfish growth and activity is in the middle of summer, when tourists gather to swim on the seashore, and the peak period of jellyfish stings is during this period.
Avoiding close contact with jellyfish and sand jellyfish is key to preventing stings. If jellyfish are spotted for swimming or boating in the sea, they should never touch or catch them.
What are the symptoms of being stung by a jellyfish?
After being stung by jellyfish venom, there may be varying degrees of damage. Usually after being bitten by sand jellyfish and jellyfish, a erythematous blood rash appears on the wound, which is itchy and burning.
In patients with high sensitivity, the injured area may present with wheals, erythematoma, ecchymosis, and blisters, and in severe cases, even epidermal necrosis. Some patients with allergic constitutions will have acute edema, and if they are not rescued in time, they will lead to death in a short period of time.
People who are stung by jellyfish, as long as they go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time, they can generally get better and heal faster, and the severity of the injury depends on:
Individual and toxicity size of jellyfish;
the size of the area of the human body that is stung by jellyfish;
The physical constitution of the stung person, especially his ability to react to jellyfish toxins. In general, children are physically weak, sensitive to jellyfish toxins, and have weaker resistance.
What should I do if I get stung by a jellyfish?
1. Go to the hospital for medical treatment as soon as possible. Children, in particular, react strongly to toxins and are advised to be sent for treatment as soon as possible if there is a nearby hospital.
2. Pretreat it yourself. If the hospital is far away or the sting is mild, the initial treatment can be carried out as follows:
Step 1: Wipe the wound and remove the venom. Wipe the wound with a dry towel or other gentle clothing to remove venom and jellyfish tentacles adsorbed on the skin. To go in the same direction, rubbing back and forth may cause the venom to spread. If the spur pack is large, you should find a tool to scrape it in time.
Step 2: Rinse. Rinse the sting with seawater or white vinegar on the spot. Do not use fresh water, as it will accelerate the release of venom from the stinging cells.
Step 3: Apply an alkaline solution, which neutralizes toxins. Use alum water or 1% sodium bicarbonate solution, and soapy water in emergency situations. Apply carefully to the wound without too many times to prevent a second stab.
After initial treatment, the more serious injured person should be sent to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible; if it is not too serious, some anti-allergic drugs can be taken orally to observe the situation, and then decide whether to go to the hospital for medical treatment.
Source: Popular Science China