First Aid

Stings & Scrapes - Part 1

While the most exotic of these potentially dangerous organisms are fairly well known, the more mundane sometimes cause uncertainty. Know what’s most likely to cause an injury on your next dive so you can relax and enjoy making bubbles.

In part one of this two-part series we’ll refresh your knowledge of wound care and treating common marine stings; next month we’ll cover injuries that involve scrapes, bites and penetrating wounds.

Heat the best option for treating jellyfish stings

Jellyfish stings: Hot water better than ice

After combing through more than 2,000 articles and conducting a systematic review of the evidence for the use of heat or ice in the treatment of cnidarian envenomations, the team concluded that the majority of studies to date support the use of hot-water immersion for pain relief and improved health outcomes.