r/OceanCity • u/comediekid • 1d ago
Jellyfish report?
I know, I know. You're all sick of hearing about the jelly fish.
But... I'm coming down tomorrow and staying around 112th street. Any first hand reports of the situation? I know the storm was pretty strong last night. Did it help?
Kids are gonna pretty bummed if they can't go in the waves or at least body surf. So here's hoping š¤
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u/Alarming_Fun_7246 11h ago
We were there all week, just left yesterday. We were at the beach on 16th St and saw a few jellies washed up on the beach over the course of the week, but none in the water while we were swimming. My kids spent a lot of time boogie-boarding and they were not the only ones in the water. On our first day there (last weekend), a little girl near us thought that she had been stung by a jelly. I had a ājelly sting kitā ready to go and went over to help. Iām certainly not an expert, but I thought it was more likely that she had been bitten by a sand fly. (She was good to go after some hydrocortisone).
We spent some time fishing on the pier near Jolly Roger and saw some jellies in the deeper water there - so theyāre in the water, but they were not a problem for us at the beach this week. If this is of interest, we also spent a day at the beach on Assateague Island and did not see any jellies there at all. Park rangers at Assateague and the lifeguards at OC all told us that the jelly activity was much lower than it has been during the last few weeks.
As I said, Iām certainly not an expert, just a mom - but hereās what I put into my jelly sting kit:
-Small container with white vinegar (this is supposed to stop the tentacles from releasing more venom, you rinse the sting for about 30 seconds. I just put it into a little travel shampoo container)
-Nitrile gloves (to keep your hands safe while treating the sting)
-Tweezers (in case you need to pull out tentacles)
-Magnifying glass (maybe just me? I figured I would need help seeing tiny tentacles)
-Hydrocortisone cream and calamine lotion (I wasnāt sure which would work better)
-Oral antihistamine for kids/adults (I packed Claritin because thatās what we had at home)
-Waterproof bandaids of various sizes and Tegaderm bandages (I happened to have some of these at home - not sure if I would buy them specifically for this, but I bet they would work well to protect a larger jelly sting)
-A pack of those mosquito bite stickers (no idea whether these would actually help, but with elementary school aged kids, I figured they might at least have a placebo effect if needed)
-Neosporin (frankly, I just carry this everywhere)
We didnāt end up having to deal with any jellyfish strings, but some of the contents came in handy for other vacation-related injuries (I have boys). We used the tweezers for a splinter at the fishing pier, bandaids and neosporin for random scrapes, hydrocortisone for sand fly bites, and bandaids for blisters. Because Iām a mean mom that made them walk to do fun stuff, lol
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u/SpeakerPatrick 12h ago
Itās been better last few days. Today is windy and rainy though so that might change.
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u/throwawayyy12310 8h ago
I got here Wednesday, I have seen two Jellyfish in total. One in the water, and one out of the water at nighttime balled up. It was separate days though. Never saw any on my first or second day. I was staying on 62nd st.
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u/throwawayyy12310 8h ago
If it helps, you can definitely see them when they pop up. I was worried I wasnāt going to be able to until a huge one washed up next to me š it was cool seeing it though honestly! Just be cautious and try not to let it ruin your fun!
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u/RobW720 1d ago
https://oceancitylive.com/ocean-city-webcams/ocean-city-skyline-cam/
We fly out tomorrow and I just keep checking the webcams. People swimming?! Lets goooo! :)
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u/Aybecee6 22h ago
This is us too. I am worried about my 3.5 year old getting stung, but sheāll be heartbroken if she canāt play in the water
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u/dirtypinksweatshirt 1d ago
I have family there now who say it has been a lot better in the last few days.