Surviving a Box Jellyfish Attack | Something Bit Me!
After surviving a box jellyfish attack, Dr. Yanagihara recovers at home. The process is slow and painful. After three days of brutal agony and a week total, there was no sustained relief. My skin became, you know, terribly inflamed. All along these different tracks around my neck was like rope burns. I tried the topical steroids and some other things, and nothing worked. Nothing worked.
I felt really curious: What happened to me? Why did it hurt so bad? What's the physiology of this? What's the biochemistry of the venom? Okay, you box jellyfish, you brought the game to me, so now, you know, let me see what makes this tick.
Following the incident, Dr. Yanagihara dedicates her life to studying the creature that nearly killed her. She makes breakthrough discoveries that are crucial to public safety. There are not many researchers in this particular species. Angel has done amazing work and established that the jellyfish move with the lunar cycle. Every month, eight to ten days after the full moon, along Waikiki, these animals would show up like clockwork, exactly on the lunar calendar.
Purposefully triggered in the pre-dawn hours to spawn, her research not only helps prevent jellyfish stings but has led to the creation of a topical treatment currently used by the U.S. Navy's special ops teams. For anyone who gets stung by a jellyfish, the remedy is simple.
The best first aid is two steps: first, flood the sting site with vinegar to inactivate these little capsules so that they can no longer fire, and that keeps things from getting worse. Second, apply heat. Forty-five minutes at 42 to 45 degrees Celsius, which is basically 112 to 115 Fahrenheit, will irreversibly inhibit the venom and change the course, and now your body can repair itself, and you can recover.
One of the things that concerns me is when folks want to think of jellyfish as nuisances or sinister, or they're out to get me. I was crossing paths with something that's been going on for 600 million years. Looking back on all that I know now, I understand that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I entered the water, I was entering their world, and I crossed their path. So that was not their fault, but. [Music] You.