Anyone doing Key West?

Hi there, I feel compelled to respond to this, having had a significant jellyfish experience last year. I do the St. Croix 5-mile swim every year. It's a great race, for those who have not done it, in a beautiful spot. Last year, the race began, I felt strong, and about 500 yards in, felt an ungodly pain on my arm. I looked down and saw a set of black tentacles wrapped around my arm. The pain was pretty excrutiating. I ripped the tentacles off, threw the jellyfish away, and debated what to do. (At that moment, two gorgeous sea turtles swam underneath me. Amazing!) The pain was intense. For the first hour, I felt like I could barely lift my arm. I kept going--and all of us were stung by sea lice as well. It was my best time at that race, and we made many jokes about the power of poison as a doping tool. The pain continued and people kept telling me it was just the sea lice. I was pretty sure it wasn't, especially because of the black lines on my arm. By that night, I was sure. It was intense. Benedryl, Vinegar, Aloe, you name it--nothing worked. The itching, pain and burning were a nightmare. By lunchtime, despite the benedryl, I was starting to spasm from the pain. My husband said I looked like a drug addict going through withdrawal and he was getting pretty scared. (Meanwhile, I was trying to stay calm for our 6-year-old who was totally freaked out.) My arm was starting to bubble and was significantly swollen. (I wish I had listened to my gut and gone to the emergency room earlier.) My husband put me in a taxi to the ER. By the time I got there, the ER Doc said that I was starting to go into shock. I had to get two painful shots in my butt, and oral steroids. He also gave me Atarax, which was the reduce the itching but took 24 hours to take effect. The quality of care, by the way, was terrific. They took my insurance, were really great--and i paid less than 20 dollars for the ER, the pharmacy, etc. (Even my taxi driver was so kind. He stayed with me, and I had to force him to take a tip!) I guess the bottom line for me, is that I now feel like it's incredibly important to make sure you have meds or whatever you might need with you when you go. I do not plan on racing open ocean without prednisone or atarax in my dopp kit. Obviously, I am highly allergic and need to be attentive to that. I have a big reminder every time I look at my arm. I have a permanent scar--a series of black trails that cover a portion of my arm. My open water badge of honor! For me, it also really emphasized the importance of good race support. I did feel more confident knowing that if I needed to drop out, I could do so safely. I've done races where the level of swimmer assistance was not as good, and after this experience, I am much more careful in my research about it. After all that, am I going back again this year? HELL YES! I wouldn't miss it for the world. Okay, that's my two cents. Listen to your gut. Sorry for the long post! And now, I'm off for a fresh water pond swim--which frankly, creeps me out much more than anything that might be in the ocean...

Hi there, I feel compelled to respond to this, having had a significant jellyfish experience last year. I do the St. Croix 5-mile swim every year. It's a great race, for those who have not done it, in a beautiful spot. Last year, the race began, I felt strong, and about 500 yards in, felt an ungodly pain on my arm. I looked down and saw a set of black tentacles wrapped around my arm. The pain was pretty excrutiating. I ripped the tentacles off, threw the jellyfish away, and debated what to do. (At that moment, two gorgeous sea turtles swam underneath me. Amazing!) The pain was intense. For the first hour, I felt like I could barely lift my arm. I kept going--and all of us were stung by sea lice as well. It was my best time at that race, and we made many jokes about the power of poison as a doping tool. The pain continued and people kept telling me it was just the sea lice. I was pretty sure it wasn't, especially because of the black lines on my arm. By that night, I was sure. It was intense. Benedryl, Vinegar, Aloe, you name it--nothing worked. The itching, pain and burning were a nightmare. By lunchtime, despite the benedryl, I was starting to spasm from the pain. My husband said I looked like a drug addict going through withdrawal and he was getting pretty scared. (Meanwhile, I was trying to stay calm for our 6-year-old who was totally freaked out.) My arm was starting to bubble and was significantly swollen. (I wish I had listened to my gut and gone to the emergency room earlier.) My husband put me in a taxi to the ER. By the time I got there, the ER Doc said that I was starting to go into shock. I had to get two painful shots in my butt, and oral steroids. He also gave me Atarax, which was the reduce the itching but took 24 hours to take effect. The quality of care, by the way, was terrific. They took my insurance, were really great--and i paid less than 20 dollars for the ER, the pharmacy, etc. (Even my taxi driver was so kind. He stayed with me, and I had to force him to take a tip!) I guess the bottom line for me, is that I now feel like it's incredibly important to make sure you have meds or whatever you might need with you when you go. I do not plan on racing open ocean without prednisone or atarax in my dopp kit. Obviously, I am highly allergic and need to be attentive to that. I have a big reminder every time I look at my arm. I have a permanent scar--a series of black trails that cover a portion of my arm. My open water badge of honor! For me, it also really emphasized the importance of good race support. I did feel more confident knowing that if I needed to drop out, I could do so safely. I've done races where the level of swimmer assistance was not as good, and after this experience, I am much more careful in my research about it. After all that, am I going back again this year? HELL YES! I wouldn't miss it for the world. Okay, that's my two cents. Listen to your gut. Sorry for the long post! And now, I'm off for a fresh water pond swim--which frankly, creeps me out much more than anything that might be in the ocean...