Should You Pee on a Jellyfish Sting?

Look, we all love natural home remedies that offer a quick and easy solution. But peeing on a jellyfish sting is not something you should ever do. In fact, urine can actually make matters worse by increasing your level of pain. It can also provoke jellyfish stingers to release even more venom than if you were to rinse the sting with good ol’ seawater.

Plenty of studies have shown peeing on a jellyfish sting does nothing to solve the situation. So then, what does? Emergency medicine specialist Thomas Waters, MD, explains what you should do if you get stung by a jellyfish this summer.

Why you shouldn’t pee on a jellyfish sting

There are more than 10,000 species of jellyfish around the world. Of those, only about 100 species are responsible for the majority of human jellyfish stings. But that number has been increasing steadily over the years as jellyfish populations continue to grow and thrive in greater numbers as they migrate to more populated areas. All of this has led to an increase in jellyfish stings and people looking for a quick solution for when it does happen.

But the long-time mythical cure of peeing on a jellyfish sting to decrease the pain and help remove its stingers is just that — a myth. It’s been used as a convenient plot twist in sitcoms like Friends and you’ll find it riddled among popular Reddit threads where people have tried it in the past. But peeing on a jellyfish sting is more of a problem than a healing salve and here’s why.

How jellyfish sting

Jellyfish are umbrella-shaped gelatinous blobs with long trailing tentacles that propel themselves through the water with a pulsing, rhythmic motion. Each tentacle is covered with thousands of specialized “stinging” cells. And inside each cell, there is a harpoon-like barb filled with toxic venom. When these stinging cells are impacted by an outside source or they’re stimulated by the slightest touch or chemical imbalance, their poisonous barbs explode out of the cell, injecting their venom into whatever it comes into contact with.

This can happen in the water or on a beach. And even touching or rubbing up against a jellyfish after it’s already dead can result in the activation of these poisonous barbs.

So, if you get stung, it hurts. It hurts a lot.

The ‘logic’ behind the myth

Somewhere along the way, a theory grew that peeing on a sting could neutralize the venom and make the intense pain go away. The logic is based upon the idea that ammonia, urea and other compounds found in your urine can break down the stinging cells and get them to detach from your skin.

But the truth is that your urine is made up of mostly water, so there isn’t enough ammonia and other chemicals to have the desired effect of stopping the stinging cells and their barbs. And because these stinging cells are responsive to any external stimuli, the velocity of urine is likely to agitate or move the barbs, causing more venom to release into your skin. And because these stinging cells can also be responsive to chemical imbalances, fresh water-based urine can actually increase a venomous response.

“Jellyfish stings are painful enough without amplifying the symptoms,” warns Dr. Waters. “You might mean well by peeing on a sting, but putting the wrong substance on it can really make things worse.”

What to do instead

If peeing on a jellyfish sting isn’t an option, what is? Well, try not to panic, keep your towel on and follow these steps:

1. Remove jellyfish tentacles: Use seawater to wash off the tentacles right away, but avoid any vigorous rubbing. The reason? Rubbing can cause the jellyfish’s stinging cells to fire, which means the poisonous barbs could release more toxin into your skin. And you only want to use seawater on the affected area while removing barbs. “Do not use fresh water, such as bottled water or from a faucet,” cautions Dr. Waters. “If you do, that can cause the stinging cells to activate and worsen the sting.”
2. Look for barbs: If you see any barbs left in your skin, use fine tweezers to carefully pluck them out. If you don’t have tweezers available, you can gently scrape the area with a credit card or similarly shaped plastic object to get them out of your skin, but try not to irritate or scratch the area as this can worsen your sting.
3. Pain treatment: Once you remove the tentacles and barbs, apply vinegar or rubbing alcohol to where you were stung. This can help relieve the pain and release the toxin. Vinegar is especially helpful for treating venomous stings by specific kinds of jellyfish, like the box jellyfish (found along the West Coast of the U.S. and in tropical or subtropical Atlantic and Mediterranean waters) and the compass jellyfish (commonly found in regions of the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean, including the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea). But be careful: Vinegar has the opposite effect for Portuguese man-of-war stings and can cause more venom to be released.
4. Shower or soak in hot water: Immersing the affected area of your body in hot water is another option, but only after all the barbs have been removed, says Dr. Waters. Place the sting in a hot bath or under a hot shower for 20 minutes. The water temperature should be 104 degrees Fahrenheit to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a thermometer, use the hottest water temperature you can tolerate. (If you’re treating a young child, always test the water temperature first.)
5. Use topical solutions or oral antihistamines: Later, you can apply acetic acid (which is found in vinegar), calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream to dial down the pain. Additionally, an ice pack can help reduce swelling, and antihistamines can limit itching and any skin rash.
6. Go to the hospital: If you think you’ve been stung by a box jellyfish, go to the hospital immediately, as this is the only kind of jellyfish that has antivenom medication available. Stings from some jellyfish, like the sea wasp (found primarily in the coastal waters of Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific) and the Irukandji (found near Australia, Japan, Thailand and as far as Florida and the British Isles), can cause serious symptoms and even be fatal. Seek medical help right away if you have chest pain, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, muscle cramps, you’re sweating profusely, your heart is beating slower or faster than normal, or you feel something is just not right.

Jellyfish stings 101

While jellyfish stings are quite unpleasant, most don’t require attention from a doctor. Moon jellyfish, for example, are quite common on the coasts of North America and Europe but only cause a mildly irritating reaction. Sea lice and seabather’s eruption are similar in that respect and tend to cause stings in areas covered by your bathing suit.

In most cases, stings typically improve within a few hours. Sometimes, a rash with red, purple or brown splotches may linger for a few weeks and you may also develop some scars. But as long as you remove the stingers quickly and carefully, submerge the area in seawater or vinegar and rinse off with hot water, and you don’t experience any new or lingering symptoms beyond 24 hours, you should be in the clear

In any case, wherever you find yourself stung by a jellyfish, urine should never be a solution that you turn to. If you do find yourself in need of medical attention and are experiencing serious symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain or heart-related issues, contact emergency services right away.