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From wikipedia:
Portuguese Man o' War The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war, or bluebottle, is a jelly-like marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae. The name "man-of-war" is borrowed from the man-of-war, an 16th century English armed sailing ship. Despite its outward appearance, the man-of-war is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore, which differ from jellyfish in that they are not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals called zooids.[1] Each of these zooids is highly-specialized and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are attached to each other and physiologically integrated to the extent that they are incapable of independent survival. The man-of-war is found in warm water seas floating on the surface of open ocean, its air bladder keeping it afloat and acting as a sail while the rest of the organism hangs below the surface. It has no means of self-propulsion and is entirely dependent on winds, currents, and tides. It is most common in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, but can drift outside of this range on warm currents such as the Atlantic Gulf Stream. Venom The Portuguese Man o' War is responsible for up to 10,000 human stings in Australia each summer, particularly on the east coast, with some others occurring off the coast of South Australia and Western Australia. The stinging venom-filled nematocysts in the tentacles of the Portuguese Man o' War can paralyze small fish and other prey. Detached tentacles and dead specimens (including those that wash up on shore) can sting just as painfully as the live creature in the water, and may remain potent for hours or even days after the death of the creature or the detachment of the tentacle. Stings usually cause severe pain to humans, leaving whip-like, red welts on the skin that normally last 2 or 3 days after the initial sting, though the pain should subside after about an hour. However, the venom can travel to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, a more intense pain. A sting may lead to an allergic reaction. There can also be serious effects, including fever, shock, and interference with heart and lung action. Stings may also cause death, although this is rare. Medical attention may be necessary, especially where pain persists or is intense, if there is an extreme reaction, the rash worsens, a feeling of overall illness develops, a red streak develops between swollen lymph nodes and the sting, or if either area becomes red, warm and tender. Research suggests that in the normal course the best treatment for a Portuguese Man o' War sting is: *To avoid any further contact with the Portuguese Man o' War and to carefully remove any remnants of the creature from the skin (taking care not to touch them directly with fingers or any other part of the skin to avoid secondary stinging); then *To apply salt water to the affected area (not fresh water, which tends to make the affected area worse). Follow up with the application of hot water (45 °C/113 °F) to the affected area, which eases the pain of a sting by denaturing the toxins. If eyes have been affected they should be irrigated with copious amounts of room temperature tap water for at least 15 minutes and if vision blurs, or the eyes continue to tear, hurt, swell, or are light sensitive after irrigating, or there is any concern, a doctor should be seen as soon as possible. Vinegar is not recommended for treating stings. Vinegar dousing increases toxin delivery and worsens symptoms of stings from the nematocysts of P. physalis, the larger man-of-war species. Vinegar has also been confirmed to provoke hemorrhaging when used on the less severe stings of nematocysts of smaller species. The Portuguese Man o' War is often confused with jellyfish by its victims, which may lead to improper treatment of stings, as the venom differs from that of true jellyfish. |
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