Section IV. INJURIES FROM MARINE LIFE
2-27. MARINE LIFE
There are over one thousand species of marine animals that are poisonous to
eat or are capable of inflicting injury upon humans. Actually, there are only six major
types of injury mechanisms. Trauma from bites and lacerations, stings from tentacles,
puncture from spines, poisonous bites from fangs, poisoning by ingestion, and
miscellaneous injuries such as shock and skin rashes. Usually, emergency treatment
results in a definitive cure with the exception of fish poisonings. Complications may
arise, however, so anyone receiving an injury from a marine animal should receive
follow-up care by a physician. Injuries from marine animals are uncommon since these
animals are not usually aggressive. In cases where the patient has swam into the
tentacles of a jellyfish, stepped on a stingray, or fallen onto a sea urchin, there is a self-
inflicted injury. Additional emergency supplies should be available in those areas where
marine animal injuries are likely to occur. Some items are quite out of the ordinary for
treatment, i.e., bottle of meat tenderizer, drying powders such as talcum or flour, a
spatula or knife blade, and water heating arrangements (pan and can of Sterno). If the
victim has eaten a poisonous fish, further treatment may be required.
2-28. DIAGNOSIS AND EMERGENCY TREATMENT OF MARINE ANIMAL
INJURIES
As a Medical NCO, you should familiarize yourself with unusual marine animals
in the area and be prepared to treat victims and administer antivenins for injuries
inflicted by these marine animals.
a. Trauma from Bites and Lacerations. In the treatment for major wounds
caused by a shark, barracuda or alligator gar, take measures to control bleeding,
prevent shock, give basic life support, splint the injury, and secure prompt medical care.
The possible complications from this type of injury are shock and infections. For the
treatment for minor wounds caused by a moray eel, turtle or corals, it is necessary to
cleanse the wound and splint the injury.
b. Sting by Tentacles. This type of wound may be caused by a jellyfish,
Portuguese man-of-war, anemones, corals or hydras. The treatment in this case is to
inactivate the area with alcohol and sprinkle the wound with meat tenderizer (coalesce
with powder) and scrape the area. The cause for the intense burning pain that occurs
from the sting of the jellyfish is from nematocysts (stinging cells) found on the jellyfish's
tentacles. For several days, these cells remain potent when the sea creature is washed
up on shore. To prevent further stinging from the wound, apply 95% alcohol; to
neutralize the protein toxin of the nematocyst, apply the meat tenderizer. After the
powder dries the area, the stings will stick together and you can remove the stings by
scraping the area. The complications from this type of wound may be allergic reactions
or respiratory arrest. (An alternate treatment is the use of hot water as explained in the
following paragraph.)
MD0588
2-13