It's an interesting pain, I'm sure we'll have 5 different stories, since five of us were stung. :) I got it on my foot and it was like a pulsating prick/sting. It wasn't all that painful per se, it was more really annoying. But just ask your handy lifeguard and they'll spray you down with their magical bottle which makes it go away almost instantly.
Except for Abby, she appeared to have a pretty unpleasant allergic reaction.
Steve said about 4 hours later
Gina also got stung pretty good, and she had the area swell up like a hive pretty good. She swore that it hurts a lot more than just a bee sting!
Abby said 1 day later
it reminded me more of a wasp sting than much else. I would've been fine if I didn't have to have a wacky reaction.
GJ said 1 day later
And of course, everyone's toleration for pain (and their pain receptor's ability to transmit that pain message to the brain correctly) is different.
Here's what I'd like to know--how long did the stinging sensation last? See, a wasp sting is quick--it hurts, but it's over and done with pretty quickly. I got the impression that the stinging sensation lasted until you all got the vinegar spray from the lifeguards to neutralize the stinging cells. That would make it worse than wasp sting in my book.
Marc said 1 day later
You would be correct GJ, it continues to sting with what appears to be no end. In the water I kept repeating how I can't believe it still stings since it had been several minutes afterwords and I still felt the sting.
The difference with the jellyfish compared to most other things is that it's all external and they leave these exploding cells, according to the lifeguard, that will continue to pop until they are neutralized with the vinegar. This seemed to make sense because my foot looked like I had a bunch of red dots all over it.
In terms of pain though, I would say a wasp sting hurts initially a lot more. So I don't know what's worse.
Abby said 5 days later
I still have red dots on my leg. They've faded again, but they're definitely still there.
