The hand and chest are full of deep wounds just because they hit a jellyfish while swimming, the doctor notes how to handle to avoid fatal sequelae

The whole chest and arms are covered with wounds

After a vacation in Ha Long, for more than half a month now, NTT’s chest and hand (10 years old) are still full of wounds caused by jellyfish. Worryingly, the wounds are showing signs of infection because the family self-treated before going to the hospital.

At the Central Hospital of Dermatology, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thao Nhi, Department of Treatment of Skin Diseases for Women and Children, said that 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.

Baby T.’s arm is full of wounds caused by jellyfish

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 is getting more and more intense, causing the child to rub and scratch continuously, leading to burst blisters, sores…

The patient was taken to a local hospital for treatment for a week but did not get better, then was transferred to the Central Hospital of Dermatology for examination and treatment.

Here, the doctors cleaned, bandaged and cared for the wound every day, 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.

How to prevent?

Doctors also warned of the risk of jellyfish poisoning when the weather is sunny. After a long time of implementing social distancing to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic, people tend to go on vacation to the beaches. .

Recently, the Central Hospital of Dermatology has received many cases of skin reactions with local manifestations of burning, redness and itching after a collision 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.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Head of the Department of Treatment of 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.

Depending on the type of jellyfish with high or low toxicity, the body will have different symptoms. If mild, the foot injury only has a skin reaction, localized burning, redness and itching a lot. More severe can cause people to touch headaches, 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.

Bathing near jellyfish can also … death, how to prevent?

Therefore, Dr. 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 that are 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, paying attention to avoid rubbing and scratching the lesions.

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, “doctor Thuy noted.

To be proactive, Dr. Thuy recommends that when going to the beach, families should have some antihistamines ready and apply corticosteroid cream to actively handle jellyfish stings.

In addition, before going to the beach, it is necessary to find out more information from local people to know which seas have a lot of jellyfish, so you should limit bathing. When observing jellyfish, especially colored jellyfish, absolutely do not take a bath to avoid being attacked by jellyfish. For children, it is recommended to wear closed swimsuits to limit the risk of jellyfish coming into contact with sensitive skin, preventing the risk of severe allergies.

N. Huyen