Ow!! What just stung us at the beach in the Gulf of Mexico? Jellyfish?

Over the years I’ve had a few run-ins with jellyfish.

This year was one of those years that we got stung. If you spend enough time at the shore, any shore, you are going to see wildlife. But what kind of jellyfish live in the Gulf of Mexico, exactly?

Thankfully, I’ve never had any ER trip inducing stings or run ins with sharks, though I did see a shark at Miramar beach once! That’s the upside to crystal clear water. It does make it easier to spot the dangers. In the dark Pacific waters of Monterey Bay, you didn’t have a chance! (For more information about vacationing at Miramar Beach, see this post.)

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I didn’t get a single jellyfish sting this year. Hurray!

But Alan and two of our sons were swimming around when they all began to realize that their legs were stinging, all of them! It wasn’t a terrible run for cover ordeal, just a, “Hey, I’m getting out. My legs are burning.”

“Yeah mine too.”

“Me too.”

Now that has happened to me before, and the stinging sensation lasted for a little while after I got out of the water. It was like something tiny and invisible had been nipping away at me until finally it felt like I had little fire electric stings all over my body. I’m not even sure if I felt mine until I’d gotten out of the water.

What kind of jellyfish do you think that is??? Or is it something else?

That’s been bothering me for a while, the ignorance of it all. I decided to do some sleuthing around ye olde internet and see if I could find some answers to what has been stinging us.

Most likely culprit: Sea Lice

According to my research, “sea lice” can become trapped between your swimsuit and skin, which would explain why the boys all had it in the same area, where their swimming trunks were.

The good news is these are not lice like you think of, in your hair. They are actually teeny tiny jellyfish larva. It’s funny how you have instincts about things. I’ve always called them “tiny invisible baby jellyfish”, and it turns out I was exactly right.

The articles I read all say it can cause a “sea bather’s eruption” (rash) that can last for weeks. Well, I’m here to tell you that none of us had bumps for weeks. Maybe we all got out quickly enough to really only get a couple of stings. Maybe we aren’t all that sensitive or allergic to them. I don’t know, but this problem didn’t last long for us.

Are they all over the coast of Florida? Oh yes they are. They’re usually baby thimble jellyfish, according to several sources like this one and this one, even though you don’t see adult thimble jellyfish, the babies are still there.

So really, don’t sweat it.

Here’s what to do if it happens to you.

Get your swim suit off and get it in the dryer to kill off all those larva, pronto. Next, move on with life, and maybe no more ocean swimming until the next day, to avoid getting more stings.

Now onto my next jellyfish question. Have you seen these washed up on the beach?

What are those condem-looking jellyfish you see washed up on the shore some years?

Those are Portuguese man-of-war. They reportedly hurt BADLY and will leave some serious marks. As soon as these are reported, Florida beaches fly the purple “dangerous marine life present flag.”

The Last Question: About My First Jellyfish Sting

What about that time when I was around 14, and I got stung all over my legs, leaving little red welts all over my calves and shins, but it stung for the next 24 hours. It was miserable!!! What was that? That was more than just sea lice. I felt those tentacles hit me! Yet, it was not as drastic as the Portuguese man of war photos either.

I took everything I could remember about that incident and did more research.

It happened somewhere around Gulf Shores, Alabama. The seaweed was insane that day. It was so thick you couldn’t see through the water well. I was only in knee deep, and I was wading with my brother and my cousin.

We were all getting hit by the seaweed, but then all of a sudden I felt it. Whatever it was! It WHACKED me with what can only be described as THE FORCE. I SCREAMED, and I leaped out of that water as quickly as my legs could carry me. I stayed on the sand and didn’t go back in for the rest of the day.

My grandparents, who had planned for us to spend the whole day there, were quite unhappy with my dramatic display because no one else wanted to go back in the water after hearing my screams and seeing all my little red welts. In fact, my grandparents told me I was overreacting and that it was just seaweed hitting my legs.

My parents, who are waaaaay more sympathetic people, were not there to help. I hobbled around the rest of the day, burning from the stings, and bewildered that I had this horrifying (to young me at the time) injury and no one cared.

And yes, I was fine, but it did hurt! I’m pretty sure I had those red bumps for the rest of the week.

But what kind of jellyfish was that??

It was something more than sea lice because I felt the long tentacles zap my legs– both legs, I think. This was over 20 years ago, so the memory isn’t crystal clear. Yet, it wasn’t the kind of dangerous jellyfish sting that requires an ER visit either.

I will never know exactly what kind that was. My best guess is a hydroid, or several hydroids.

The reason I think that’s what it was is three- fold, and I will explain what the heck hydroids are.

1. That day there was a seaweed invasion. Hydroids are a ton of tiny jellyfish attached to a feather-like sea-weed base. You can see it and think you are just looking at seaweed.
2. The stings were not so serious that I had to go to the ER, as they might have been had I been stung by a larger, more dangerous kind of jellyfish.
3. I found another blogger with a similar story to mine, but she was stung by a great deal less of it than I was, but her research led her to believe it was hydroids too. You can check out her blog here.

Other jellyfish that live in the Gulf Shores/ Florida panhandle area:

1. Moon jellies— stings are not strong enough to penetrate skin
2. Cannonball jellyfish– no tentacles but has venom to give mild sting
3. Atlantic Sea nettle-– This is what you picture in your head with the classic long tentacles. They do have a moderate to strong sting, but the pain doesn’t last long and should not send you to the ER. Maybe that’s what stung me at age fourteen.
4. The Pink Meanie– eats the other jellyfish. It is monstrously large.
5. Portuguese Man O War– extremely painful stings

Can I know for sure what caused these stings?

No, but after a little simple internet research and a few Google docs, I feel so much more informed. That’s a good thing since the beach is a place we frequent each year. We love the beach. Nothing can keep me away. I am one of those people who cannot go to the beach without leaving soaked from head to toe.

I hope you learned something too! My sources are embedded into the article, so just click on the blue words throughout this post to learn more about those topics.