[ricki]

One of our members came up with the following treatment comments:

The article in was in emedicine, and was "updated last year by a professor and director of emergency medicine at the University of California. Essentially avoidance... of applying fresh water to the sting, treating with 4-6 % acetic acid (vinegar) for 20-30 minutes, removing remaining nematocysts with either shave foam or baking soda paste and a scraper - a credit card works nicely, heat to inactivate the venom, and eventually some topical lidocaine and or antihistamine, and systemic analgetics such as ibuprofen. People have even used CocaCola which would seem to be more prevalent at the beach than vinegar. If you are having your morning margarittas and lime or lemon juice is available, this is a good source of acetic acid."