10 of 12 subjects and diminished the pain of the jellyfish
sting in the other 2 subjects. No visible sign of sting was
noted in any of the arms treated with the inhibitor lotion,
but erythema, edema, or both were present in all 12 arms
treated with the placebo. The inhibitor also diminished
the frequency and severity associated with the more severe
sting of the C quadrumanus jellyfish. Three of 12
subjects experienced discomfort in the inhibitor-treated
arm compared with 10 subjects in the placebo-treated
arm, and only 1 inhibitor-treated arm had clinical evidence
of a sting compared with 9 placebo-treated arms.
As has been noted in previous experiments, the maximum
discomfort associated with the sting of the jellyfish
was not always apparent immediately after the sting but
rather at a short time (approximately 15 minutes) later,
and the clinical signs of the sting reached their maximum
at approximately 30 minutes.
Stings from isolated jellyfish tentacles do not cause
stings with the same frequency or intensity as live jellyfish
in an open-water setting. It is possible that in an
artificial setting, the effectiveness of the inhibitor might
be overestimated because of an infrequency of stings.
However, subjects did demonstrate signs and symptoms
of the sting in all placebo-treated arms, suggesting that
the jellyfish tentacles used in this study were capable of
reliably causing stings and that some inhibition was
clearly achieved. Anecdotal evidence suggests efficacy
in open water, but future studies will be required to demEfficacy
of a Jellyfish Sting Inhibitor Lotion