Chances are, if you’re faced with a jellyfish sting right on the beach, someone in your group of friends will quickly suggest an eschatological solution: piss on the sting. This advice is, without a doubt, one of the most widespread home remedies in popular culture and on internet forums. Much of the blame lies with one of the most successful comedies in the history of television.
In 1997, the series Friends aired the episode titled “the one with the jellyfish.” In an unforgettable scene, Monica is stung by a jellyfish and Joey quickly suggests that someone pee on her leg, claiming that he saw it on a Discovery Channel documentary and that ammonia would numb the pain. Faced with Joey’s “stage fright,” it is Chandler who finally performs the unpleasant task, leaving the trio deeply traumatized by the experience. The anecdote made millions laugh, but it also burned a supposed medical cure into the collective imagination.
Fact or fiction on the seashore? Despite its television fame, science is blunt: Urinating on a jellyfish sting is an absolute myth and doesn’t work. Far from alleviating the bather’s suffering, this bodily fluid can drastically worsen the situation and increase the victim’s pain level. Various scientific studies and medical specialists completely rule out this practice. In fact, the prestigious publication Scientific American He already took care of denying this false remedy in 2007, warning of its dangers.
The anatomy of a mistake. To understand why Joey’s advice is so dangerous, you first have to understand how does this animal attack. Jellyfish have thousands of specialized cells in their tentacles called cnidocytes or nematocysts. These structures work like tiny harpoons loaded with venom that, upon sensing a mechanical stimulus (such as the touch of a leg) or a chemical change, are fired in fractions of a second, injecting their toxins.
The logic behind the myth is based on the fact that urine It contains compounds such as ammonia and urea, which could theoretically neutralize pain. However, human urine is composed mostly of water, so the amounts of ammonia are ridiculous and insufficient to stop stinging cells.
Because it’s not a good idea. Urine is a freshwater-based liquid, and that sudden change in salinity causes the “harpoons” still attached to the skin to activate, injecting even more poison into the bloodstream. Additionally, the force and speed of the urine stream acts as a physical stimulant that agitates the residual tentacles.
As jellyfish biologist Lisa Gershwin explainsthe poison is neutralized with acids, but the acidity of human urine is variable; If the pH is alkaline, it will cause 100% of the stinging cells to fire, turning this remedy into a dangerous “urinary roulette”.
So what should we do? If urine is discarded, how should we act in the sand? Experts and medical institutions recommend following this first aid protocol:
- Wash with salt water: The area should be rinsed immediately with sea water or saline solution. Fresh water should never be used, as the change in osmotic pressure will burst the remaining stinging cells.
- Removing the tentacles: Remove visible remains using fine tweezers or the edge of a plastic credit card. It should never be rubbed with bare hands or rubbed with a towel or sand.
- Apply temperature: To relieve pain, it is very effective to immerse the area in hot water for about 20 minutes. You can also apply cold using ice, but always wrapped in a towel or plastic, never directly on the skin.
- Use of vinegar (with caution): The acetic acid in vinegar helps neutralize the tentacles of certain species, such as the dreaded sea wasp (Cubozoa) or the compass jellyfish. However, it is totally contraindicated in bites from the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis), as it will make the reaction worse.
- Immediate medical attention: If things get complicated and symptoms appear beyond simple stinging, such as difficulty breathing, pressure in the chest, nausea, vomiting or muscle cramps, then you should seek medical help or go to the emergency room as soon as possible.
The idea was a joke that looked good on screen. Pop culture is a wonderful tool for entertainment, but shows like Friends They should not be used as clinical survival manuals. When faced with a jellyfish sting, science asks us to forget beach myths, stay calm and trust in sea water, tweezers and heat.
As Dr. Elias Hyams humorously summarizesa urologist at Brown University, warning about the ineffectiveness of this false home remedy: “It is always better to urinate in a bathroom than on a friend on the beach.”
Image | Photo by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash
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