Jellyfish

In 2010 at a New Hampshire beach, pieces of a single dead lion's mane jellyfish stung between 125 and 150 people. Jellyfish kill 20 to 40 people a year in the Philippines alone. In 2006 the Spanish Red Cross treated 19,000 stung swimmers along the Costa Brava.
• Treatment
The three goals of first aid for uncomplicated jellyfish stings are to prevent injury to rescuers, deactivate the nematocysts, and remove tentacles attached to the patient. Rescuers need to wear barrier clothing, such as pantyhose, wet suits or full-body sting-proof suits. Deactivating the nematocysts (stinging cells) prevents further injection of venom.
Vinegar (3 to 10% aqueous acetic acid) is a common remedy to help with box jellyfish stings, but not the stings of the Portuguese Man o' War (which is not a true jellyfish, but a colony). For stings on or around the eyes, a towel dampened with vinegar is used to dab around the eyes, with care taken to avoid the eyeballs. Salt water is also used if vinegar is unavailable. Fresh water is not used if the sting occurs in salt water, as changes in tonicity can release additional venom. Rubbing wounds, or using alcohol, spirits, ammonia, or urine may have strongly negative effects as these can also encourage the release of venom.