Urine no good for jellyfish stings: What is?
(CBS) Stung by a jellyfish? Forget the familiar advice about trying to pee away the pain. A medical expert from across the pond is warning that the one thing that will do is give you a smelly leg.
"A sting from a jellyfish can be extremely painful," Joe Mulligan, head of first aid at the British Red Cross told The Telegraph. "But trying to treat it with urine isn't going to make your day any better."
What should you do if you're stung by a jellyfish?
Mulligan recommends getting out of the water immediately and slowly pouring seawater on the wound to ease the pain. "Doing the same thing with vinegar can be even more effective as the acid helps neutralize the jellyfish sting," he added.
Dr. Ryan Stanton, spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians, agreed.
"If you're going to a beach, it's not a bad idea to take a little bottle of vinegar," he told MSNBC. "It's super cheap and it can be very helpful."
But there's good reason why someone would want to treat a sting fast. Besides intense stinging pain, if a person gets stung by a venomous jellyfish, they risk getting welts, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea - even coma or death in rare cases, according to WebMD.
If experiencing any extreme symptoms like intense pain or difficulty breathing, see a doctor immediately.
And tell your friends to keep their pants zipped up.
