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Using Urine To Treat Jellyfish Stings (Urban Legend)

fluffle9

Abominable Snowman
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This and subsequent related posts transferred from the Urine Drinking / Urine Therapy thread:
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...-medicine-urine-drinking-urine-therapy.16342/


one urine remedy [involved] jellyfish stings. it's a fairly well-known one, thanks especially to being featured on US t show Friends - where it worked, which apparently it doesn't in reality!

according to my mother, who's been stung, a jellyfish sting is so painful that you'd try anything to cure it. i should note that she didn't know about the piss treatment at the time, and so didn't test it!

as an aside, i notice that someone quoted in the article mentions the urea content of urine as being a reason for scepticism about its medicinal value, but i notice that many cosmetics contain urea.
 
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Re: piss

benjo said:
piss is meant to be good for jelly-fish stings!

i already mentioned that, along with the fact that apparently it's not true.
 
apologies

So you have, sorry pal, should read the threads in more detail rather than skimming through!
 
fluffle9 said:
one urine remedy [involved] jellyfish stings it's a fairly well-known one, thanks especially to being featured on US t show Friends - where it worked, which apparently it doesn't in reality!

according to my mother, who's been stung, a jellyfish sting is so painful that you'd try anything to cure it. i should note that she didn't know about the piss treatment at the time, and so didn't test it!
Use seawater or vinegar to treat jellyfish stings, not urine
It has long been thought of as the best treatment for jellyfish stings, if a little awkward to apply on a crowded beach.
By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent
7:00AM BST 22 Jul 2011

But according to the British Red Cross, the widespread belief that urine can lessen the pain of venom injected by the marine creatures is misplaced.
It says the substance has the wrong chemical make-up for the job, and that seawater or vinegar is more effective.

The advice comes after conservationists claimed that the number of jellyfish off the coast of Britain is on the rise.
Last month swarms of moon jellyfish led to the closure of a nuclear power plant in Scotland by blocking its cooling water filters.

As families head to the seaside this weekend at the start of the school summer holidays, Joe Mulligan, head of first aid at the British Red Cross, said: “A sting from a jellyfish can be extremely painful, but trying to treat it with urine isn’t going to make your day any better.
“Urine just doesn’t have the right chemical make-up to solve the problem.”

He went on: “If people have been stung, they need to get out of the water to avoid getting stung again. Once out, slowly pouring seawater over the sting will help ease the pain.
“Doing the same thing with vinegar can be even more effective as the acid helps neutralise the jellyfish sting. But, unless you’re near a chip shop, seawater will probably be easier to find.”

Although described by some as an “old wives’ tale”, the belief that urinating on a jellyfish sting will lessen its pain became far more widespread after it featured in an episode of the American sitcom Friends.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healt ... urine.html
 
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Can't decide if this is funny or crass:

jelly.JPG
 
Thanks to that episode of "Friends", I guess being prepared to pee on your jellyfish-stung mate is probably now held to be the pinnacle of true friendship.

And of course, some people would probably do it anyway, jellyfish or not.
 
Thanks to that episode of "Friends", I guess being prepared to pee on your jellyfish-stung mate is probably now held to be the pinnacle of true friendship.

And of course, some people would probably do it anyway, jellyfish or not.
Many years ago there was a long serious discussion on t'Board about the supposed benefits of urinating on a jellyfish sting which as usual deteriorated into vulgar speculation.

Members debated the ethics of peeing on a hated ex to provide pain relief; was the satisfaction of the act worth the disappointment of knowing you'd saved them from pain?
A tricky one, that, which provided scope for enjoyable speculation. :pipe:

The original thread is sadly long gone but I mentioned it last December -

Reminds me of a thread on'ere many moons ago called something like 'Egregious Exes and their Vile Behaviour' wherein suggestions were made regarding fitting punishments for said former partners.

There was a long and frankly disturbing discussion about the jellyfish sting scenario. It centred on whether it would be crueller and therefore more satisfying to allow a badly-stung ex to suffer the full effects of the sting or to encourage strangers to pee on them, which would be humiliating but might relieve the pain.

Some wag suggested appealing for pee-ers with serious urinary infections to assist, which was a good compromise. We were happy with that.

As for peeing on the jellyfish - no. It deserved a reward like a gift basket of the finest plankton.

Posted in response to this from @Swifty -

ajellyfish001.jpg
 
Actually, peeing on a jellyfish sting does nothing to help, and depending on the species, may make things worse.
Whoever started that one off has probably got a lot answer for!

Maybe if the stingee thinks it will ease the pain, it has some kind of slight beneficial placebo-y effect? Or maybe just the weirdness of having your mate pissing on you offers a degree of distraction? The human mind is a strange thing.
 
The problem is that fresh water - or urine that isn't particularly full of chemicals that would have the right effect on the species of jellyfish, which is most of the time - can actually make the stingers sting more.
 
The problem is that fresh water - or urine that isn't particularly full of chemicals that would have the right effect on the species of jellyfish, which is most of the time - can actually make the stingers sting more.
I thought that the acid in the urine counteracted/neutralised the alkali-based toxin?
 
I always thought it was due to it being warm and warm water tea or cofeeeee would work just as well.

:omr:
BPee.gif
 
I was told the same about Weever fish wash in sea water then soak in the hottest water you can stand a weever sting, they have venom in spines on their back, a weever sting won’t kill you but you are likely wish it had.
 
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