A mother is warning swimmers to be “vigilant and careful,” after her son was stung by a bluebottle at Napier’s Ahuriri beach last week.
Ahuririri, Haumoana and Ocean Beach have all been cited on social media as places where the marine hydrozoan has been spotted, with some commenters sharing stories about their unfortunate encounters and stings.
However, the appearance of the creature isn’t an unusual occurrence, and there hasn’t been a noticeable increase from previous years, said Surf Life Saving NZ central region lifesaving manager Justine Fleming.
“There were no more bluebottles than usual and certainly not like the amount that were around on the West Coast,” she said.
“If there are bluebottles on the beaches, the surf lifeguards will add it as a hazard on the Patrol App, and that then shows up on safeswim.org.nz. They will also usually add it to the beach conditions signage and warn the public as they approach the red and yellow flags.”
Bluebottles, also known as Portuguese or Pacific man o’ war, can vary in size and shape and are known to come into NZ waters during warmer weather. Their tentacles can even sting after they have died.
“They can be found at any time of year and may have been washed up onto the shore by rough seas or swells,” National Aquarium general manager Rachel Haydon previously told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Bluebottles live at the ocean surface and can be found around the world, except for polar and subpolar regions. They can be found all around New Zealand.”
Harry Machiela of the Pacific Surf Life Saving Club at Ahuriri Beach said the team had noticed the bluebottles starting to make their way to the shore, and a warning was put in place last week.
He said whether the creatures came in depended on the prevailing winds on the day.
“We have seen a slight increase. On Sunday, we didn’t have any, but on Saturday, they were still around, and on Friday, there were a few stings.”
Napier woman Meg Weston was with her whānau at Ahuriri Beach last Friday when her 9-year-old grandson was stung.
Her grandson came up to the shore soon after entering the water in a state of pain.
“He still had the tentacles on his hand when he came up. He said he thought it was a little kid toy or something like that which was blue.”
The family removed the tentacles and flushed the sting with water.
“Then we took him home and put it in some warm water for a while. We also gave him some antihistamine at the beach and had Ibuprofen and Panadol on hand just in case.
“He got over it pretty quickly. By the next day, he was no worse for wear, so it’s all good.”
Sarah Louise also had a similar experience with her son at the same beach last Thursday night with her 10-year-old.
He was stung on the foot, with the pain going all the way up his leg.
“I heard all this swearing and cursing and carrying on. I thought someone was being murdered,” Louise said.
She took her son to the doctors, who soaked his stung foot in hot water and prescribed antihistamines and topical ointment.
Her advice was for people to be “vigilant and careful” and also learn about the best way to deal with a sting.
Many wrongly believe the myth that urinating on a sting helps ease the pain.
However, SLSNZ medical director and emergency medicine specialist Dr Gary Payinda said this isn’t the case.
Instead “pluck and heat” was the key.
“Pluck off the tentacles by hand. Don’t scrape the skin with a credit card, as this actually makes the stinging cells discharge, and makes the pain worse,” he said.
“Once the tentacles are quickly removed, heat the affected area to as warm as the patient can tolerate. You don’t need a thermometer, but just for reference, the ideal temperature will be around 40 to 45 degrees celsius.”
Payinda said while it was acceptable to flush the area with seawater, it was more important to pluck and heat quickly.
“Don’t waste time. The one thing that the science is most clear about is to not flush or wash the sting with fresh water, or urine for that matter, as this will only cause the remaining stinging cells to discharge, again increasing the pain.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community.