SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY CONTACT WITH JELLYFISH. 333 



pain suggests the possibility of an absorbable substance, as does also 

 the case of death in which a depressing effect was noted. 



The part which such a cause might play in drowning is also of interest 

 aside from that of diagnosis. A person when stung generally strikes out 

 for the shore or a boat, but should he be very far away from either, and 

 symptoms of the severe type come on while he is still beyond his depth, 

 I doubt if he would be able to reach the land safely. 



The particular variety of jellyfish that causes these symptoms so far 

 is unknown to me. I made inquiries among the fishermen along the 

 shore near the hospital concerning the nature of this fish, but although 

 they disagreed as to which variety caused the sting, they agreed that 

 there was one which made a man sick when he was stung, and mentioned 

 vomiting as one of the symptoms after the sting. Some said it was 

 the red variety, which is the most common in the water thereabouts 

 through the summer months; while others said the white variety was 

 the factor. Several attempts were made by men at the hospital to 

 23roduce these s_ymptoms artificially by rubbing the fish, both the red and 

 the white varieties, on their arms and legs, but with no result. I do 

 not believe that the sting comes from the common variety, but from 

 one less frequently seen. Some of the men said they were stung by the 

 red fish, others by the white, but none of them waited to capture their 

 tormentor. 



I used some alkaline solution locally and morphine sulphate hypo- 

 dermically for the treatment of such cases. The alkaline solution was 

 employed on the basis that the irritant was of an acid type, as formic 

 acid has been generally looked on as the agent in the different kinds of 

 stings, including those of ants, bees, jellyfish, etc. As the patients 

 seemed to suffer a great deal and were so anxious about their condition, 

 morphine sulphate was resorted to. 



I hope that should any such cases be seen during this coming summer 

 by the members of the Philippine Islands Medical Association they will 

 be able not only to locate the culpable variety of this particular kind of 

 fish, but also be able to determine the nature of the irritant or poison 

 secreted. 



