For some reason, unknown to me, the San Pancho beach has been covered with Portuguese man-of-war for the last week. These creatures of the ocean are beautiful and very small and apparently travel in groups of 1,000 or more. Their tiny blue bodies are the only part that stands out on the beach, the rest of their body and tentacles are clear and almost impossible to see in the sand.
So yesterday, after a much needed swim in a friends pool, Karen and I decided to take a walk on the beach. And as soon as we got closer to the waters edge we had to start dodging the dead man-of-war stranded on the beach. I asked Karen if we were okay walking through them and she said we had nothing to worry about. This statement from Karen kind of surprised me because I knew she had been stung by this tiny creature in Hawaii and had a pretty bad scare with the pain traveling up her leg.
So we walked on. Made it to the rocks on the south end of the beach and headed back constantly watching our step to avoid the dead man-of-war. Halfway back I suddenly felt this stinging sensation on my left foot so I looked down but saw nothing. Then the stinging started traveling across my foot up to my ankle and that's when I realized I had one of the clear tentacles wrapped around my foot. My first reaction was to kick it off, which was a mistake because it was a long tentacle and the flicking motion whipped it up in the air and it swiped my right inner thigh and then my right ankle. Luckily Karen knew what to do after her experience in Hawaii, and she said "Grab a sea shell and scrap the tentacles out. Just don't rub." I was in luck because I had just picked up two sea shells so I handed one to Karen and I sat down and we started scrapping. But the burning sensation was getting worse, and it wasn't until a few minutes later I realized the tentacle was still wrapped around my foot--it was so clear I couldn't see it for the longest time. So I continued to scrap it off and as soon as it was gone the burning wasn't as bad. Karen then asked "Do you have to pee?" Of course I didn't, I was in pain!
What are you always told to do if you get stung by a man-of-war or jelly fish? Pee on it! It sounds pretty disgusting, but the burning sensation is so bad that you are willing to try anything. So we walk as quickly as we could back to Karen's house for a homemade remedy. There is nothing like getting closer to your mother-in-law than having her pee into a jar and pour it all over your feet. I must admit, it did make me gag, but as soon as the urine hit my feet the burning stopped and the little white bumps started to disappear. Urinating on it really works! She then poured some vinegar on it and we later put baking soda on it and within an hour the burning was gone and you wouldn't even know I had been stung if you looked at my feet today.
So, if you ever get stung by a Portuguese man-of-war take my advice and urinate on it. Thanks Karen!
