Boot Key Harbor
"Marathon- the Heart of the Florida Keys"

An On-Line Cruising Guide for the Florida Keys & Cuba
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MARINE STINGS OR BITES
and Hazardous Marine Life
(Caution: This is NOT a medical advice page)
Gregory Absten

Branching Hydroid
 

HYDROIDS - Stings

Brushing against these delicate white or silvery tentacles can be painful. This is one of the most common injuries to divers on reefs - stinging hydroids. They may be very small, from 1 to 5 inches, and come in different shapes. Mild to severe stinging occurs with possible welts on the skin. It's not serious and will go away. Try vinegar, or a 50% solution of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol).  Apply a hydrocortisone cream or lotion to the area twice daily. Don't rinse the area with fresh water! (causes more firing of nematocysts and stinging), and don't rub the area with your hand. Do NOT apply an ice pack. All of these will only make it worse.

Feather Hydroid

Plate Fire Coral

FIRE CORAL - Stings

This stuff really burns after you touch it! That's why they call if fire coral. It has a light reddish brown appearance and can take different forms. It can also vary from a light beige to a mustard color. The plate fire coral shown at the left is distinctive, and the tips are often lighter than the main formation. It frequently grows on many of the heavier corals. this type tends to be in shallow areas close to the surface. The fire coral tentacles are quite small but can give the coral a "fuzzy" texture. It also encrusts around other structures such as the bottle shown below, or encrusts over other dead coral. It often will cover large areas of steel or concrete on shipwrecks and underwater structures. This encrusting fire coral takes on many different shapes so it's harder to identify.  I've gotten stung myself by simply hauling in the anchor rode on a small boat - it must have dragged through fire coral and I got stung just by handling the line. The sting is similar to the hydroids - use vinegar or 50% rubbing alcohol, and apply hydrocortisone cream twice daily. The same Don'ts apply:  Don't rinse with fresh water, rub it in, or apply ice packs.

Encrusting Fire Coral

We just took a "tourist" friend out snorkeling recently and he found a floating sponge encrusted with fire coral. He grabbed it and squeezed it as hard as he could to "feel" the sponginess. What he got was painfully intense burning and welting that lasted a few days.

Fire Coral Tentacles - Closeup

Fire Coral Formation
 

Staghorn Coral

SHARP CORALS - Things that Cut
The small flower coral shown above is razor sharp and easily cuts if you rub up against it. The branches of the Staghorn coral at left have sharp pointy tips that can puncture dive suits and penetrate deeply, where than can break off and embed in the flesh. One of the more common reasons for snorkelers to get coral cuts is when they swim over coral heads that are very close to the surface. Any wave surges or boat wakes can slam them hard into the coral. OUCH! These types of cuts become easily infected in a tropical environment. The wounds should be cleaned with soap and water and inspected to ensure that no coral pieces remain embedded. An antiseptic or topical antibiotic is applied and the wound bandaged.

Bristleworm
This is a small worm that grazes on the surface of corals or algae. It sometimes hides under rocks. They're fun to watch. the segmented body has two rows of bright white tufts along its length - these white tufts are what hurts! They cause an intense burning sensation and tend to stick to your skin like little fiberglass. strands

When stung, you must remove all the bristles you can see. You can try to pick them off gently with tweezers (don't rub or scrape!). Once you have those off then dry the area - use a hairdryer or something if you have one. Gently apply sticky tape to the area and peel it very slowly away. Hopefully most of the remaining bristles will stick to the tape. Apply the vinegar or alcohol (discussed previousl) for some pain relief. The meat tenderizer or diluted ammonia solution (sometimes found in your own urine) also works. If you really welt up you might try some hydrocortisone cream.

Longspined Sea Urchin

Not all urchins have as long and sharp of spines as the one shown on the left. Some, such as pencil urchins, have short stubby spines and are easy to hold in your bare hand. The longspined ones though are extremely sharp and VERY brittle. They'll break off in your skin immediately and sting like heck! Don't touch or mess with unless you know how. For someone with the experience it is possible to pick them up and let them walk on your hand by their lower walking spines, which aren't as sharp or long - but if you mess up you'll pay the price. These can be EXTREMELY painful. They used to be very prevalent in the Florida Keys in the 70's and 80's, but you don't see many of them around here anymore, though they are starting to come back. We always caution divers to keep their hands at their sides (don't dive or snorkel using hand motions - use your fins) so they don't stick themselves. They come out of their hiding cracks at night so the risk is higher then. When you're walking in shallows look ahead so you don't step on urchins. The smaller ones with less pointy spines don't hurt if you gently pick them up, but if you step on them they can penetrate right through your water shoes.  I can tell you from personal experience that urine is the quickest remedy available - even if it does gross out the ladies - it works immediately. You can't really get the spines out. Remove any visible pieces with tweezers but don't try to dig out the embedded ones. Immerse the area in as hot of water as you can stand (or as hot of vinegar) without burning yourself. Once dry you should use an topical antiobiotic to guard against infection. Spines may work themselves out so don't bandage it tightly. Eventually the spine will break down and dissolve naturally. If you get one in a joint it becomes more serious and can even involve surgery. I did get a small one in my knuckle joint once, but eventually it did break down, the pain went away, and I have full use of the joint.

Irritating Sponge
 

IRRITATING SPONGES

Most of the sponges on the reef are harmless. The one shown at left though is the exception. It is a Caribbean species that causes extreme irritation and will make you miserable for a long time. It's been called the "Dread Red Sponge", the "Irritating Sponge", and the "Do-Not-Touch-Me Sponge" (pretty self explanatory name).  It gets big and has an irregular shape. It's a dark reddish brown and rather bland aesthetically. It has numerous tiny spicules that will stick to your skin and burn for days. The same applies with the other stings:  Use the vinegar or alcohol and don't rub or scrape. You can also try the same trick used with the bristleworm tufts:  dry the area and use sticky tape to gently and slowly peel away the tiny spicules. Use the hydrocortisone twice daily. If it gets really bad, and you develop an allergic reaction, you might have to be treated with Benadryl or other antihistamine.  If you've rubbed up against this sponge with clothing or gloves then be very careful in handling them. The little spicules are easy to transfer this way. You can soak the material in the vinegar solution, then wash them.

Bulb Tentacle Sea Anemone

Sea anemones sting. That's how they paralyze small fish, then digest them in their tentacles. There are many different varieties, but the small soft looking tentacles are typical of most. Do not touch.

Caribbean Sea Wasp
These rise into the shallows at night and get close to shore

JELLYFISH - Float and Sting

Sea Nettle
One of the most common dangerous jellyfish in the Caribbean

Cassiopeia - Upside Down Jellyfish
(This is how they swim)
some people say it's a mild sting

Moon Jelly (Aurelia)
Very common in season in the Florida Keys. Some people claim they are harmless, but they do sting.

Lion's Mane Jellyfish
Largest jellyfish in the world. The sting even causes blisters. - Nasty stuff.

Portuguese Man-Of-War
These frequently wash up on beaches. It's important to caution kids not to "pop" them with their bare feet - the stinging burn from this would be intense. These are nasty (but pretty) jellyfish.

SEA LICE:

I'm including this here because I don't know where else to put them, and they sting like a mild jellyfish sting. Sea lice are microscopic and you can't see them. They hang around in sea weed on the surface, among other things, so try not to let the seaweed drag across your skin. These things are like chiggers for the northerners that know about this - and they'll concentrate around areas of your clothing that are tight to the skin. You get bunches of stings at once and they'll drive you nuts with itching. They start like a very subtle itch and then get worse until you see the red welts that will appear. It's a microscopic zooplankton that stings you. It is not a jellyfish larvae and does not get under your skin. It's a sting. Hot water, hot vinegar, meat tenderizer paste - the meat tenderizer worked the best on me with a recent case of very bad sea lice stings (see below). You can use an oily lotion before you get in the water to help keep them off you. The season is generally between mothers day and fathers day here in the Keys. You can't predict when you'll get them - just have to take your chances. Some days are fine and others not.

Box Jellyfish
Very Nasty

SEA LICE WELTS - Left & Right
These things drive you NUTS with itching. - Spring 2003

STINGING FISH

Southern Stingray
Common here in the Keys - graceful and elegant

Stingray City - Grand Cayman Island
Stingrays often get a bum rap and are really harmless - unless you accidentally step on them or try to hurt them. These divers are feeding the rays by hand. The problem with stingrays is usually when you're walking through the surf or shallow water. If they don't sense you coming and you step on them they'll instinctively thrust their barb into you just out of self defense. Otherwise they're not a problem.
http://www.cayman.org/divesite/stingray.htm
 

This closeup of the stingray tail shows the barb at the base of the tail. It's used much like a knife and can be thrust deeply into you - but only out of self defense. It's a poisonous barb that can leave parts of the stinger or sheath in you. It's more serious than some of the other marine stings because it makes a deeper and larger wound.  Rinse this wound with fresh water (unlike stings from nematocysts), then immerse the area in as hot of water as you can tolerate without burning yourself. You may need to do this for 30-90 minutes and repeat when the pain comes back. Remove all visible portions of the stinger or sheath and wash with soap and water. Try to flush the wound as much as possible. Bandage it lightly and apply topical antiobiotics if there is any sign of an infection. This might rate seeing a doctor.

Yellow Stingray
This small ray also has a stinger, but is similarly harmless unless provoked.

Manta Ray
Some rays like the Manta ray, don't even have any stingers. They are very graceful in the water.

Spotted Eagle Ray
The stingers on these rays are very short and close to the tail - hard to see but there.
 

Scorpionfish (right)
These suckers are just plain ugly, and very hard to spot. The natural camouflage blends right in with the reef. It usually sits motionless on a coral head or the bottom, and there are several varieties of Scorpionfish. The poisonous spines are like hypodermic needles and will inject a very toxic venom. Each spine has a long groove that connects to a venom sack at the base of the fin - kind of like a fish version of a rattlesnake. These wounds are excruciatingly painful but generally not considered deadly. Immerse it in the hottest water you can stand (break down the toxin). Inspect it to gently remove any remnants of the spine or sheath. Apply topical antibiotics once it is cleaned if there is any indication of an infection.

Scorpionfish
The spines along its dorsal fin are poisonous - and can be raised defensively.

Lionfish

Nassau Grouper

Closeup of Grouper Teeth
 

BITING FISH

YellowTail Snapper

OK - you'd expect sharks and barracuda for biting fish -- but Groupers & Snappers? - Yep. Usually what happens here is that snorkelers or divers will be hand feeding the fish and get their fingers nipped in the process. This is especially true when they go into a frenzy during fish feeding. Have you ever looked at the 2 sharp fanglike teeth in snappers? The Grouper's teeth are small but their jaws are massively strong and will crush your finger. Wash the wounds with soap and water, and use a disinfectant and/or topical antibiotic.

Jewfish

Goldentail Moray Eel

Reef Shark

There are all kinds of varieties of sharks. Any shark bite could be nasty, but the truth is that they are not a problem for snorkelers and divers. Sharks are very cautious and they're even hard to approach if you try. Swimming at night, in murky water (including surf lines) or chummed water can be a different story though. Most of the beachfront shark bites are because they couldn't see it was really a person - they took one bite to find out, then spit them back out. Some consolation though if it was you that got bit! Avoid feeding times of dawn and dusk for swimming and NEVER swim in a fish mud (huge school of fish).

SHARKS!

OK - here it is - what you've been waiting for - JAWS!
 

Hammerhead Shark
Ocean going sharks like the hammerhead are not commonly seen on Keys reefs.

To read the shark joke we tell tourists before taking them out snorkeling, CLICK HERE and scroll down to the SHARK ATTACK story.

Treatment of shark bites of course depends on the severity. Clean it, control bleeding, and treat for shock (and gather up spare body parts on ice for re-attachment if needed)   :-)

Nurse Shark
These are commonly seen on Keys reefs and are harmless. If they do bite though they clamp on and won't release - but you really have to bug them to do this. A couple years ago here in Marathon a teenage tourist boy was harassing a small 2 footer and swam down to yank on its tail. The shark reflexed backwards and locked on to this bruiser kids shoulder and wouldn't let go. They took him to the hospital where they had to kill the shark to get if off. The kid was minimally damaged. Poor shark!