Jellyfish Sting Lotion

JellyFish Facts
Jellyfish Safety
Jellyfish Sting Lotion

The jellyfish is a marine creature which is made up of more than 90% water. The solid is only a gelatinous mass, which is devoid of any skeletal structure or muscles. The jellyfish has no brain, and has a very basic response system to certain stimuli. Its tentacles are equipped with numerous stinging cells filled with venom which it fires on any predators or to capture its food. When anything touches the jellyfish, it responds by firing this stinging cells. It is just a reaction to a stimulus and it cannot specifically attack anything.

Out of the many species of jellyfish only a few have a venom that is detrimental to humans. But the ones that are harmful can cause a very nasty sting which is very painful and certain jellyfish stings can even cause death. It is necessary to protect oneself while swimming in waters which are known to have jellyfish. The stinging mechanism on the tentacle of the jellyfish consists of stinger cells called Nematocytes. These cells have shafts containing the venom, which are fired into the skin of the person coming in contact with the jellyfish. These shafts are barbed and will stick to the skin as the venom gets injected.

Jellyfish are widespread in the ocean and seas and it is impossible to totally have a jellyfish-free area. Many jellyfish are translucent and very difficult to detect while swimming. To totally stop going into the waters is also not an option. The solution lies in a jellyfish sting lotion which prevents the person from getting stung.

The jellyfish sting lotion has to applied all over the body especially the exposed parts which are not covered by any protective gear. This lotion does not let any of the stinging cells attach to the skin, because of it slippery nature. The lotion is totally waterproof so it wont come off in the water.

Jellyfish sting lotion takes in all the secretion of the skin and so when a jellyfish comes in contact, it senses an object which is not a predator or prey. The lotion has chemical inhibitors which will block the chemical reaction to the process of stinging.

The stinging cell of the jellyfish fires a barb-like needle into the skin, with the help of a pressure build-up in the cell. Jellyfish sting lotion will reduce this pressure in the stinging cell, thus deactivating the firing mechanism, and hence the venom cannot get injected.

Studies show that the jellyfish tentacle is able to release more than 2000 stinger cells per square millimeter of skin, when coming in contact. The jellyfish sea lotion has powerful inhibitors which render most of the stinger cells ineffective. The best part about the lotion is that it is not harmful to any sea creature in any way. It also provides protection from the sun's rays.

Jellyfish sting lotion although waterproof has to be re-applied once in 80 minutes. It also depends on your activity, and if you are swimming continuously you might need to re-apply it more often.

Find jellyfish sting protection and relief products on Ebay (best price) or your local diving supply store.

For more info on jellyfish stings and jellyfish sting lotion, check out or sections on Jellyfish Stings and Jellyfish Sting Safety

Learn more about Jellyfish, different Jellyfish Species, general Jellyfish Information, Jellyfish Pets and Jellyfish Safety

Written by Nathan Dickerson and Sudarsana Sinha.