Symptoms are the visible physical or mental conditions that may occur due to some abnormality in the body or a disease. Though symptoms may help in diagnosing a particular disease yet they are only regarded as warning signs for presence of a disease not as a final verdict for the diagnosis. The proper diagnosis of box jellyfish envenomation is done by testing typical clinical features and sighting the box jellyfish responsible for it. The diagnosis is further confirmed after the examination of the nematocysts injected by the box jellyfish. We have list down the complete Box Jellyfish Sting Symptoms, the occurrence of which might indicate that the person might be stung by a box jellyfish. However, do keep in mind that these symptoms cannot be regarded as a diagnosis.
Box Jellyfish Sting Symptoms
- The box jellyfish injects its venom into the skin, which directly affect the muscles and the nerves underneath. It further affects the immune system by causing long term complications in it.
- Though most of the box jellyfish do not impose any medical threat but still they are nuisance.
- The bigger the size of the box jellyfish, the more dangerous is its sting. Box jellyfish with a bell larger than 150 mm are classified as highly dangerous.
Effects of Box Jellyfish Stings
- Box jellyfish sting is Neurotoxic and it can cause severe
respiratory distress that leads to a cardiac arrest.
- Severe stinging and rapid reddening of skin.
Box Jellyfish Sting Symptoms on Skin
- Box jellyfish sting symptoms occurs instantly after being stung. These symptoms are:
- Intense burning pain in the sting area along with itching and welts.
- Box Jellyfish tentacles sticked to the skin
- Skin exhibit signs of savage and multiple whip weals
- Sting marks has as a frosted ladder pattern.
- Formation of blisters after few minutes of being stung.
- Bleeding Lesions (wound).
- 10 mm wide welts with brownish-purple colour.
- Occurrence of dead skin after 1 or 2 weeks.
- The skin may become more paler than normal afterwards.
- The box jellyfish sting symptoms on skin varies from person to person as it depends upon the person’s skin ability of getting rid from the box jellyfish exoskeleton.
Box Jellyfish Sting Symptoms on Systematic Features
- A person may exhibit the following systematic symptoms after being stung:
- He may feel difficulty in breathing.
- He may also feel restless and irritated.
- His blood pressure may drop than normal.
- He can also faint.
- His heart beat might become irregular, either too slow or too fast.
- Heart attack or heart failure can also occur.
- A sudden and painful death may occur in 5 to 20 minutes, if the length of welts is over 700 mm.
How does a box jellyfish kill you?
- Box jellyfish injects nematocysts into your skin which can cause death. Death occurs mostly due to the heart failure that is caused by pore-forming toxins.
- A congestive heart failure occurs as the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently. As a result blood gets accumulated in the tissue and air spaces of the lungs due to increased pressure. This may cause respiratory failure and ultimately cardiac arrest.