USVI-On-Line

Warning: there is something in the water at haulover north that is stinging people right now. Too small to see, maybe someone can say what it is. I got stung on my head first and when I put my hand up to investigate my arm got stung. I ended up with about 40 welts on my arm-- it was pretty painful. John got stung on his back and foot. Other people were being stung too--it was a mass evacuation! My arm is still a little prickly and sore. Though it felt ok enough to snorkel again after an hour or so.

Tip: don't miss snorkeling at Great Lameshur. We swam all the way to tektite and back, which might be too far for some folks, but there is really great stuff along the left side, not too far out. We found multiple eagle rays and turtles, reef sharks, too much to type on my tiny iPod. Check it out and see for yourself!

Becky , maybe it's those broken off tentacles that got Margo, Syd and Kellee...But it sounds like a larger area is involved. Margo said the welts stung but disappeared quickly...

Wow! That one picture was nasty..

Pia wrote:Yes it could be that or it could be Sea Lice (also known as Sea Bathers Eruption)
I have included a few links to see if that is what the welts look like, but this usually happens under your bathing suit.

Pia

http://www.buysafesea.com/sea_lice.php
http://dermnetnz.org/arthropods/sea-bathers.html

I'm with Pia on this one.

It sounds like it might be confined to Haulover North per Liamsaunt - anyone hearing about it at other beaches? Mosquitoes and no seeums like me and I am certain that I would be a prime candidate for these nasty things too! They always seem to find me!

We've encountered them a time or two in our many trips over the years. Not pleasant, thankfully they rarely appear during our trips.

Not fun. I've encountered them many times in Florida. They weren't painful, but ooooh so itchy!!

liamsaunt, Thank you for posting to keep us all informed. Hope to see you both at the BB on Sunday.

I think most people just get a small mark and it itches.

Best bet is to snorkel sans clothing

it was not itchy, at all. It hurt! It was a sharp stinging pain and it felt like there were little eletrical shocks going through my arm for a couple of hours. I can't see images on my iPod so am not sure if the pictures pia posted were accurate. It looked like poison ivy--raised white welts. But, it's 100 percent gone today.

Bob and Anita we are coming Sunday so see you then!

Thanks for the tip!

I just googled some stuff...becuase almost always someone in our group gets stung by something. I know there are not supposed to be a lot of things out there...but our kids are in the water for probably 7 hours a day...so odds are...

Anyways, very interesting. It might be your instinct to pour some water, say out of a water bottle on it. Or ice. But apparently fresh water causes the stingers of many of these species to swell and lodge in.

So not a good idea to pour water on it. Pee or vinegar. Anyone else try anything that works?

We experienced slight stinging sensations occasionally even at Gibney when the water was very calm. We couldn't see any evidence of jellies so Pia's info must be the explanation. We were there in mid-late April and the stinging was not as intense as Liamsaunt describes. It makes sense that if they are the larva that as the summer progresses they'd get more intense.

This may be a type of small jellyfish sting. Since they are transparent and may be very small, you may not be able to see them. I know that "sea lice" is said to be jellyfish larva, but they do not give a sharp sting, more of just a rash and usually only around your bathing suite area.