Jellyfish In Maryland And Delaware Sting Beachgoers

OCEAN CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- Mid-Atlantic beaches are feeling the burn, not from the sun, but from jellyfish.

WJZ reporter, Alex DeMetrick, reports the number of people experiencing jellyfish stings has jumped in the past few days, with one notable exception.

Jellyfish are this week's collectable at Dewey Beach in Delaware. Although, the collectors are paying a price.

Lifeguards are reporting hundreds of stings along the Delaware Coast.

But just down the coast in Ocean City, jellyfish are not a problem.

Butch Arbin is the captain of Ocean City's Beach Patrol and he says geography might be the reason.

Jellyfish come in all shapes and sizes, with pain levels to match.

Most jellyfish along the Mid-Atlantic have no stingers at all, and are harmless. Sea nettles, however do, and they account for most of the stings along the coast and in the Chesapeake.

"The ones we do see that sting, usually it's a mild sting, a surface sting. And once it dries out and you wipe it off, the stinging stops," said Butch Arbin.

One treatment is to apply shaving cream and then scrape-off the area, to remove microscopic barbs. Or better yet, watch where you step and swim.

While the vast majority of jellyfish stings are considered minor, people with allergies to things like bee stings, are at considerably more risk.