Plan a “jellyfish sting free” Hawaii vacation with our updated 2018 calendar of Hawaii Jellyfish sting warning dates and suggestions. When you are evaluating cheap flights to Hawaii and the Cheapest Time to Fly to Hawaii, you may want to keep this information handy.
Jellyfish are fascinating, and are themselves comprised of nearly 95% water. Their needle-like stingers are located on their tentacles. When activated, the stinger shoots into the victim, releasing the venom. This all happens in a millionth of a second.
Jellyfish Sting Tips
Location. South facing Hawaii beaches are most impacted by jellyfish eight days after a full moon. These include Waikiki, Ala Moana Beach Park, Haunama Bay and the Waianae Coast on Oahu. Kauai can have warning signs posted at Poipu Beach. Maui beaches and Big Island beaches are also affected but typically have fewer problems.
Timing. You’ll usually find jellyfish on impacted beaches eight days following a full moon. The problem can persist for three days. If you’re here during a jellyfish invasion, talk to the lifeguard for advice. Also check the beach to see if any jellyfish are present.
Awareness. Check with a lifeguard for sure and look for jellyfish washed up on the sand as an indication of a problem.
If you are stung. First, you’ll find some good news below. There is much ongoing research in the area and the University of Hawaii has developed a topical treatment in the works for a jellyfish sting. Jellyfish have long been a problem in Hawaii and they only seem to be getting worse here and globally.
Jellyfish in Hawaii. Here in the islands, jellyfish types seen include the box, moon and lagoon varieties.
2018/2019 Hawaii Jellyfish Sting Warning Dates
While a jellyfish sting can happen at other times, these are the most likely dates when problems may occur. Also be on alerts the days immediately preceeding and following the caution dates.
November 1 to 4 2018
November 30 to December 3 2018
December 30, 2018 to January 1
January 28 to 30
February 27 to March 1
March 28 to 30
April 27 to 29
May 26 to 28
June 24 to 26
July 24 to 26
August 12 to 15
September 21 to 23
October 21 to 23
November 20 to 22
December 19 to 21
Jellyfish Treatments and Prevention
Searching online will yield a wide range of suggestions for what to do in the event of a jellyfish sting. Some of the best suggestions we’ve seen include the following:
1. Seek medical attention as soon as possible if in shock or if you have any complications.
2. Rinse the site with vinegar to deactivate the toxins and help remove the remaining tentacles and nematocysts. Others say to wash the area with seawater to deactivate stinging cells. Or you can remove tentacles by scraping with a credit card or other plastic object.
3. Use hot water or ice packs to reduce the pain duration and intensity. Others suggest after removing the tentacles, immerse the affected arm or leg in hot water of 104 to 113°F for at least twenty minutes. If other body parts are impacted, a hot shower can be used instead.
4. Friends recommend and we have been using After Bite itch eraser
5. Read the comments below for others’ recommendations.
Suggestions From Mayo Clinic.
1. Carefully pluck visible tentacles with a fine tweezers.
2. Soak the skin in hot water. Use water that’s 110 to 113 F (43 to 45 C). If a thermometer isn’t available, test the water on an uninjured person’s hand or elbow — it should feel hot, not scalding. Keep the affected skin immersed or in a hot shower for 20 to 45 minutes.
3. Avoid the following: scraping out stingers, rinsing with seawater, rinsing with human urine, rinsing with fresh water, applying meat tenderizer, applying alcohol, ethanol or ammonia, rubbing with a towel or applying pressure bandages.
Have you been stung by a box jellyfish, and if so, what has worked in terms of treatment? Please let us know in comments below.
Beat of Hawaii photo at Waikiki Beach.
Updated 10/19/18.
Kiki D. says
I was stung by a little blue box jelly at Waimanolo Bay on June 18, 2019 (yesterday). The pain was intense, like burning, stabbing shocks. A lot like a tattoo feels! The lifeguard told me it would calm down in about an hour. It was at least 3 hours of intense pain and took 6 hours before it wasn’t at a distracting level. The lifeguard sprayed it with (I assume) vinegar solution. Rinsing it with seawater after actually helped (but only while I was pouring it over my leg). I checked the water carefully for visible tentacles. The hot shower when I got back to the hotel helped much more- it actually felt better while I was in there but as soon as I got out it came back. I had some stomach cramps and some nausea all afternoon and just felt…weird.
We went back to Waimanolo today and the sign was up >_<
Still a beautiful day though, this is truly paradise. Thank you for this forum/article too. We were reading while I sat there burning with neurotoxins on the beach that day.
Maholo!
Maggie R says
The jellyfish in Australia are deadly because they eat a different diet than what they eat in Hawaii. Australia has many deaths. each year. Even with a protective suit for snorkeling, your face, head, neck, hands and feet are exposed. I’d avoid snorkeling in Australia during their Jellyfish season. Best to visit their aquariums and swim in a pool and return home alive! There is a homeopathic remedy called Apis Mellifica that could save your life from a bee sting or spider bite and is easy to carry with you. Many people who are allergic to bee stings and insect bites will react strongly to a jellyfish sting.Increasing Vitamin C can also be helpful to decrease the inflammation. Thanks
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Maggie.
Thanks.
Aloha.
Abe says
I got stung on my swim to Mokolii island right next to Kualoa ranch May 10, 2019. I was stung on my left hand finger, neck, and right armpit area. Armpit got the worse of it. It took about an hour for it to finally calm down and for the pain to be a 2 of 10.
Solution: I used my own body heat to keep it warm. I put on my shirt and didn’t use the sleeve for my right armpit that go stung. I just kept my arm and armpit touching to keep the stung skin warm using body heat. Just be careful about running the stung area with anything.
Emily says
DON’T RINSE WITH FRESH WATER that actually makes it worse! You want to spray with vinegar to deactivate the toxin-releasing barbs, then scrape away the tentacles (use tweezers if you can see them but usually they’re not visible so scraping is the best alternative), then cover with vinegar-soaked bandages.
If you get dizzy, have chest pains, muscle spasms, difficulty breathing, etc. get to a hospital. The toxins can cause anaphylactic shock.
Source: medical clinic in Maui, took a trip there after being stung by a box jelly on the calf, thigh, and forearm.
Judy M says
Maui, Ulua Beach, March 28th and Po’Oleneanna March 31; got stung both times. Especially Ulua. Irritating and awful looking, but don’t have big after affects, like nausea, heart issues, etc…It felt like electrical shocks. Today, I knew exactly what is was.Vinegar, antihistamines, itch cream. My husband says I have ocean war wounds. I hope they don’t leave marks. Still plan to go in water while I am here. I was unlucky.
Norm says
Over New Years scuba diving off Waikiki beach after coming up from a night time unfortunately many box jellyfish were around our boat entrance and another diver kicked one right into my face. They were small though with the body being six inches or so. Stingers actually cut my cheek. Hurt for four days. Made me nauseous all night as well. Maybe in Oahu they aren’t lethal because they are generally too small ? Only hot shower reduced the pain but as soon as I’d get out of shower it would come right back
Neil says
Having experienced the electric shock feeling from jellyfish larvae while snorkeling in Indonesia, I know that jellyfish stings are no joke. While snorkeling in Australia, we learned that folks all wear stingsuits, a lycra garment that covers a person head to toe. These suits completely protect the snorkeler. Now we always recommend them whenever jellyfish might be present.
Dan says
I got stung on Lawa’i Beach on Kaua’i on Sept 25th 2018 (last week). I was snorkeling and all of a sudden felt burning/stinging all over my head (I have a shaved head). I grabbed the jellyfish and threw it so my hand got stung a bit as well. I poured vingar all over my head and also used some cortizone cream. The stinging went away after about an hour. It hurt pretty bad, sort of like a whole bunch of wasp stings all over.
Tania H says
I was stung by a jellyfish on July 7, 2018 while on a boat tour/snorkeling expedition out to Niihau and the Napali Coast. The sting was around and above my ankle. It stung like heck and I felt the poison go up my leg. A little later my chest tightened and I felt like I had extreme heartburn. None of the crew from the ship seemed concerned much and told me to just spray this “solution” they had in a spray bottle on deck. I don’t know what it was but suspect it was probably vinegar. I later went to a doctor on the island of Kawaii but he also was not concerned much and said unless I had an immediate allergic reaction it was no big deal. People in my home state of California say it must not have been a box jellyfish as I would be dead. Still, all the pics I look at on line that resemble what I saw are of box jellyfish. SO what is the deal? You don’t die from a sting of a box jelly, or it wasn’t that type of jellyfish? Would like to know.
Jessica T says
I’ve been doing some research into box jellyfish for an upcoming trip and it looks like there are several varieties with only one or two varieties being deadly. And even with the deadly ones, your chance of survival depends on your size, size of jelly fish, surface area contacted by tentacles. It is true though that if you were going to have a serious reaction it would have been immediate. Death occurs in 5-20 minutes after being stung due to heart failure. So far I haven’t read anything about Hawaii having the deadly variety, so that could account for the crews lack of concern?
David P says
You don’t die from a Box jellyfish sting, it hurts a lot but it is not lethal.
As the Doctor said, “unless you have a serious allergic reaction” you just going to fell the pain!
Maggie r says
You don’t die from a box jellyfish (most of us who live here in Hawaii would be dead if you did!) Not sure if you could possibly die- probably if allergic like with bees…You probably have a small curved “whip” scar if it was a box jelly and the pain might have lasted a few days depending on the severity of the sting… hope this helps!
Meshelle A says
Today on the beach of Waikiki,my family and I had a morning swim and during the swim my daughter complained of itchiness I did not take notice brushed it off thought it might be ocean fleas,then I started itching ,again thought it was fleas,then a hour went by went on swimming.Then all of a sudden a burning sensation goes all over my arm my back my face I screamed yelled try to take off this jelly like thing,then I finally make it to shore the lifeguard starts running to me sprays vineagar,tells me you be okay will go away in fifteen min,Im crying shaking almost passed out,walked away and all I could here was it’s confirmed jelly fish in water put the sign up,I was so furious thanks kinda too late your sign.Next time I hope and pray for better precautions from lifeguards.Thank you for the Vinegar! Much Mahalos Excurciating Civilian