While Durban’s weather has been inviting to beach-goers, its waters have not been as welcoming.
Swept in by a north-easterly wind, the sea was dotted with bluebottles on Monday and the hoards of swimmers frequenting the beaches were given a nasty surprise.
Despite countless bluebottles covering the shoreline at Durban’s North Beach, people still played in the water, many of them oblivious to the lurking danger.
Microphone Mthembu said he was in the water when he felt something wrap around his leg, followed by a burning sensation.
He said the lifeguards noticed him and called him to their tower to treat the sting.
Azhar Mayet said his seven-year-old daughter, Zahraa, was stung by a bluebottle after it washed ashore.
The little girl, who was stung on her toe, said she had been walking alongside the water when she felt “a very sore pain”.
Four people were stung within minutes of each other and reported to the lifeguards’ tower where a supply of vinegar was available to treat their stings.
Netcare 911 spokesman Jeff Wicks said bluebottle stings are typically treated with vinegar, after which the person should be kept cool.
However, reaction to a bluebottle sting is dependent on the person, said Wicks, advising that the person should be monitored as, in instances of allergic reaction, a person could go into anaphylactic shock.
Bruce Mann, senior scientist at Oceanographic Research Institute, said bluebottle stings are rarely fatal, but explained that a bluebottle’s tentacles have stinging cells with a firing mechanism.
He said people should remove the tentacle gently rather than rubbing it off the skin because this aggravates the stinging cells.
Mann said bluebottles are commonly found in KwaZulu-Natal waters at this time of the year.
“The north-easterly wind, which is prevalent in Durban during summer, and the coastline’s warm water keep bluebottles on the city’s shores.”
He said a change in wind direction would bring some relief from the bluebottles, as it would sweep it offshore. - Daily News