Jellyfish are back in the waters off Cape Cod. And that means jellyfish stings for some unfortunate swimmers. But swimmers in Popponesset have a remedy close at hand.
That’s largely thanks to Nicole Corbett, herself an open water swimmer. She also runs the Popponesset Water Stewardship Alliance, a nonprofit addressing environmental problems around costal Nantucket Sound.
Corbett suffered a bad jellyfish sting during a swim off Popponesset Beach several years ago, that landed her at Falmouth Hospital. It was a memorable experience for her.
“They weren’t really sure what to do with it, Corbett said. “They put me on a Benadryl IV and tried to get some of those symptoms to subside. But there wasn’t really a good direct treatment there.”
So Corbett set out to make jellyfish sting remedies more readily available. She researched jellyfish sting first aid and crowdsourced funding to put some first aid kits together. Now the lime green kits can be found on private beaches throughout Popponesset, as well as some beaches in New Seabury and Cotuit. Corbett said, during this time of year, the kits get used daily.
Each kit has an acidic spray to neutralize stings, a copper sulfate-based cream to kill any stinging cells left on the skin, and a reusable heat pack.
“Recent research suggests that jellyfish venom degrades at 115 degrees Fahrenheit,” Corbett explained. “So the heat packs get to that temperature. You leave it applied for about 30 minutes – it really helps to calm the skin down that got stung.”
There’s also a QR code on the kits, where users can report that they need a refresh.
The program is growing, and Corbett hopes public beaches will reach out to the Alliance to get kits for their beaches for next season.
As for the home remedy of peeing on a jellyfish sting, Corbett says that doesn’t actually work. And, she adds, “Please don’t. It makes it awkward for everyone.”
