WILLEMSTAD - Recently various people have reported unusual high numbers of portuguese-man-of- war yellyfish near Curacao's shore. They're actually not "true" yellyfish, but siphonophores, i.e., a colony of organisms working together. They look like "plastic bags" floating on top of the water and the "body" can be 1 to 25 cm in diameter.
The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores.
The tentacles are the man-of-war's second organism. These long, thin tendrils can extend 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is more the average. They are covered in venom-filled nematocysts used to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly.
What to do if you get stung?
1. Remove tentacles with a stick or something similar. Don’t touch or rub!
2. rinsing the sting with vinegar then immersing the area in water 113 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter for 45 minutes will deactivate and rinse away the remaining sting cells as well as deactivate the venom already injected
3. Go home if the pain is severe. The victim will likely be out of action for the afternoon.
4. 6. Take at least 3-5 Grams of Vitamin C if you have it. Vit-C is excellent at neutralizing toxin. E.g, crush vitamin C, baking soda and water to create a paste. Apply the paste to the affected areas to pull the poison from the stings.
The high dose of Vitamin C which we have found can stop all sorts of venom/toxin/poison in its tracks. Taking very large doses is safe, and you can spread it out to help with absorption. For example, 500mg every 15 minutes for several hours.
The above treatment seems to work quickly, usually taking about an hour for pain and symptoms to be reduced by 90%.