Jellyfish

A jelly fish bite can be very annoying and painful. Jelly fish exist for 98% out of water and have many stinging cells that gets itchy and painful when you touch it. At the Dutch and therefore Scheveningse coast you will not find the deadly type of jelly fish.

When are there jelly fish?
When the wind comes from the east the jelly fish arrive to the coast line. With the Dutch coast line this means that when the wind comes from land inwards, over the dunes, you have to watch out for jelly fish.

What to do with a jelly fish bite?
When you have been stung by a jelly fish you will notice that your skin becomes red, itchy and painful. When this happens to you do the following:

• Rinse the spot with salt water (do not use fresh water, this makes the itching worse).
• Dab the spot with a cloth rinsed in fresh water and vinegar. If you have noting of this around and the pain does not go away a trick is to urinate on the spot.
• After the bite there are often still cells of the jelly fish on your skin. Remove this with for example a tweezers, plaster or a piece of tape. Clean afterwards with alcohol.

If the bite is very serious, painful see the doctor who can prescribe an attenuating cream.

Jelly fish myths
There is a myth that suggests that wearing a red bathing suit or swim trunks scare away jelly fish. The black variation would do the opposite. For as far as we know it is a urban myth. Have you experienced different? Let us know…