Testing by Marine Biologists Concludes That Jellyfish Squish(TM) Completely Eliminates Pain From Jellyfish Stings

PRNewswire -- Peter Verity, Ph.D., is recognized throughout the world as a leading authority on jellyfish, but despite more than 20 years of research he had never identified a reliable treatment for jellyfish stings until he tested several home remedies against a new product called Jellyfish Squish(TM) last year.

Jellyfish Squish is a patent pending, trademarked topical anesthetic that has been endorsed by the American Lifeguard Association and has undergone extensive testing for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The solution immediately and completely eliminates the pain from a sting while also neutralizing any nematocysts left on the skin when a jellyfish tentacle comes into contact with flesh.

Dr. Verity is a faculty member at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SKIO) near Savannah, Ga., and a decorated marine biologist who has published his findings throughout the world. Verity and fellow SKIO faculty member Richard Lee, Ph.D., performed extensive clinical tests on volunteer sting victims to compare the effectiveness of traditional homeopathic treatments for jellyfish stings such as vinegar, ammonia, baking soda, meat tenderizer and urea against the Jellyfish Squish formula.

"In our testing, we found that the formula which would later be named Jellyfish Squish was the only product that provided true relief from the pain and irritation caused by a jellyfish sting," said Dr. Verity, who is the chair of the Scientific Technical Advisory Committee for the State of Georgia Coastal Comprehensive Plan and has done extensive research on jellyfish and the recent jellyfish population boom. "Specifically, our clinical tests proved conclusively that home remedies like vinegar, ammonia and meat tenderizer are completely ineffective in providing relief to a sting victim and in fact can exacerbate the pain. We believe this is due to the presence of acidic pH, which triggers the release of additional toxins."

In addition to the clinical tests conducted by Dr. Verity and Dr. Lee, thousands of field tests performed on jellyfish sting victims on beaches in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina in 2007 supported the findings of the marine biologists.

Many lifeguard teams and emergency service providers have embraced Jellyfish Squish, and the medical division officer for the Okaloosa Island Fire Department on Florida's gulf coast recently decided to place a 4-ounce bottle of Jellyfish Squish in all of his team's medical gear bags and recommend that the product be used exclusively to treat sting victims.

"Immediately, you could tell there was total relief, and I only used a small amount of Jellyfish Squish because it was a kid," said Captain Kevin Carvalho, medical division officer for the Okaloosa Island Fire Department. "I have also used the product on adults who said it felt much better within moments and walked away from the truck to go back on the beach."

Growing coastal populations and heavier tourist traffic to the beaches means an increased frequency of jellyfish stings, and research released in 2007 documented hundreds of thousands of stings in Florida and Virginia's Chesapeake Bay area. Changing oceanic conditions are contributing to the proliferation of jellyfish worldwide, and record numbers of jellyfish have been reported in media stories throughout the Atlantic seaboard, the Pacific Coast, the Gulf Coast and Hawaii. In Europe, the jellyfish infestation has become so severe that Mediterranean beaches have periodically been forced to close.

"Several factors, particularly increased bacteria levels along with overfishing and higher water temperatures, have resulted in an increased number of jellyfish in the water and that will mean more people are going to suffer stings," Dr. Verity said.
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