Jellyfish Sting Scar

JellyFish Facts
Jellyfish Safety
Jellyfish Sting Scar

Jellyfish is an amazing marine creature and is known to be there on our planet since the time of the dinosaurs. Jellyfish are found in all the oceans of the world and also in many freshwater bodies. They have the typical bell shaped bodies with tentacles dangling at the edges. Jellyfish come in a variety of colors and sizes, and range from the smallest which will have a bell diameter of half a centimeter to the huge ones which can be several meters across. The jellyfish is a delicate creature having no brain, or skeletal structure. Their main behaviour consists of reactions to different stimuli, and they gather food by immobilising their prey with stings from their tentacles.

The jellyfish has an interesting stinging mechanism on its tentacles. It has thousands of stinger cells called nematocysts, which are shaped like tiny harpoons, and are fired into the flesh of the prey to inject the venom. These stinger cells are activated by a chemical process when the jellyfish detects certain chemicals on the skin of its prey. Almost all jellyfish are non-aggressive, and they just float below the surface of the water. When it comes across a prey it wraps the tentacles around it and immobilises it with its venom.

Many swimmers get stung every year by jellyfish as they inadvertently brush past these creatures in the water. The toxicity of the venom of each type of jellyfish is different and so is their reaction on humans. Out of the many species of jellyfish, only about 70 different types are known to sting and have a deadly venom. Most jellyfish have a translucent color and are very hard to detect in the water. A swimmer most of the times is caught unawares and only knows that he is stung when he feels the excruciating pain of the sting. Most stings are nasty and painful and depending on the toxicity of the venom there is a range of symptoms, which the person will suffer.

Due to the barb-like stinger cells which puncture the skin, the jellyfish sting will usually leave a scar, after it has healed. A jellyfish sting scar is permanent, and can be only removed surgically or by certain creams and medications. Usually when the tentacle of a jellyfish wraps around a particular area, the stings forms a raised welt on the skin. The toxicity of the venom damages the skin tissue and leaves a scar behind.

When there is damage to the skin by a jellyfish sting, the skin has a natural process of healing itself by producing fibrous tissues, which cause the scarring. The scar is nothing but this tissue that has formed in order to repair the wound left behind by the sting of the jellyfish. Depending on the wound caused by the sting the scarring can be deep or just on the surface. If the toxicity of the venom is high, the welt which is formed can remain for many days and ultimately when it heals it will have a deep scar tissue.

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Written by Nathan Dickerson and Sudarsana Sinha.