A baby boy is injured after a collision with a jellyfish

More than half a month after the cruise in Ha Long, but on the chest and hands of the 10-year-old NTT, there are still wounds from starfish cause. It is worth mentioning that due to improper treatment, the wounds showed signs of infection, the patient was transferred to the Central Hospital of Dermatology for treatment.

According to Doctor Nguyen Thi Thao Nhi, Department of Treatment of Skin Diseases for Women and Children (Central Hospital of Dermatology), a few days ago, the patient was admitted to the hospital in a state of many deep wounds, concentrated in the lower part of the body. chest and left arm. The child’s family said that about 2 weeks before being admitted to the hospital, the patient went to the beach in Quang Ninh and touched a jellyfish floating near the beach. Immediately after, the baby showed signs of burning, sharp pain in the chest and arms.

Young’s arm has many deep wounds after 2 weeks of collision with jellyfish – Photo: Thao Nguyen

The patient was immediately washed with clean water and given first aid on the spot, then the family bought medicine to apply to the child but it did not help. The itching became more and more intense, causing the child to rub and scratch continuously, leading to blistering, sores… The patient was taken to the primary hospital for treatment for a week but did not improve, then was given treatment. transferred to the National Hospital of Dermatology for examination and treatment.

Here, the doctors cleaned, bandaged and cared for the wound daily, actively treated it with antibiotics, antihistamines, etc. to help the children relieve itching and improve their health gradually. According to doctor Thao Nhi, if not treated in time, the patient’s lesions are more and more serious, prone to superinfection, abscesses, the risk of bad scars, and possibly even sepsis. , life threatening.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Head of the Department of Treating Women and Children’s Skin Diseases, National Hospital of Dermatology, warned that jellyfish poisoning causes very strong skin irritation, because jellyfish’s tentacles come into contact with the body. The human body secretes toxins and when exposed to this poison, the body will feel a lot of itching, burning of the skin at the contact site. So if you accidentally touch a jellyfish while swimming, these toxins will stick to the skin, and enter the body immediately.

Image of patient’s injury when admitted to hospital due to collision with jellyfish

Recently, the hospital received many cases of skin reactions with local manifestations of burning, redness and itching after contact with jellyfish. There are even cases where people just need to bathe near this jellyfish can also get poison from the jellyfish’s body, causing the skin to itch.

Depending on the type of jellyfish with high or low toxicity, the body will have different symptoms. If it is mild, the foot injury only has a skin reaction, with burning, redness and itching at the site. More severe can cause people to touch headache, chest tightness, cyanosis, sweating, dry vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea many times, fast, small pulse, low blood pressure, … can lead to apnea, kissing coma and death.

Therefore, Doctor Thuy recommends, when encountering jellyfish stings, it is necessary to quickly remove the patient from the jellyfish area, then quickly assess the patient’s condition for fatigue, dizziness, sweating or heart palpitations. is it fast. If so, call 911 immediately.

For milder cases, first aid can be given by removing the tentacles still attached to the body with a clean tool. Wash the wound directly with sea water, vinegar or baking soda… within 15-30 minutes. Absolutely do not use drinking water, fresh water to wash the jellyfish sting because it can increase the release of toxins, causing burning. Then bandage the wound, taking care to avoid rubbing and scratching the lesions.

Jellyfish can cause serious skin damage on impact

It is possible for people with jellyfish stings to take more pain relievers, antihistamines and cream containing corticosteroids according to the doctor’s instructions. Patients should consult a doctor for timely advice and treatment if they see any abnormal signs.

“If the jellyfish stings are treated early and properly, the patient will recover within a few days, no need to worry. However, there are many cases of wrong self-treatment causing serious consequences, the wounds Although the ulcer is not large, it is deep, easy to leave scars, worse consequences can lead to skin necrosis, very dangerous osteomyelitis or infectious complications that must be removed from the lesion …” – Doctor Thuy noted.