Record # of Jellyfish Stings on Tybee Island

Usually our biggest concern when we head to the beach is if we remembered the sunscreen.
We all know how badly a burn hurts, but there's another danger lurking in the water this time of year, jellyfish.

News 3's Randi Hempel was with Tybee Island Ocean Rescue as they treated sting after sting after sting.

"30? I went down to the water, before I could come back to the tower, I already had 12 people just waiting on me,” Lt. Hunter Robinson with Tybee Island Ocean Rescue talks to one of his guards.

One of those who needed help was Austin White.

"It stings like needles. I was in the water swimming with my dad and my family and we were just swimming around all the sudden something came by and stung us,” explains Austin.

“And what were you thinking as soon as that happened?” I ask.

“It hurt, I was thinking. I was thinking I might have gotten shot or something,” continues Austin.

"We were just out swimming, having fun, but we got into a school of jellyfish. I just kept him up out of the water as far as I could,” says Austin’s dad, Barney White.

That's because Austin is allergic to bee stings and they feared the same would be true of jellyfish stings, so they got help from Ocean Rescue and Med Star.

Austin certainly isn't the only one who got stung.

"It’s unbelievable. I've been here 4 years and I've never seen the jellyfish this bad. The total for July was almost 3400, which was about 100 more than August ’07, which was our worst year," explains Robinson.

(SOT AMANDA HELMEY, FROM ROSWELL GA)[Duration:0:12]
"It just latched on to my leg so I actually had to grab it and pry it off,” says Amanda Helmey, who’s visiting from Roswell, GA.

“What was going through your head?” I ask.

“It hurts really bad. That's pretty much it. Get it off as fast as possible because I knew exactly what it was at the time,” adds Amanda.

"Anybody else who needs spray let me know now," Robinson asks over the radio.

Lt. Hunter Robinson of Tybee Island Ocean Rescue delivers bottle upon bottle of “Jellyfish Squish” to lifeguard after lifeguard so they can treat the stings.

“I almost hate to say it but if you get in the water, you have probably about a 90% chance of getting stung," advises Robinson.

That's why the lifeguards are flying purple flags, which mean dangerous marine life. It's a danger Austin is taking very seriously.

“I’m not getting in the water again," he exclaims.

If you get stung go to the lifeguards. They have two different sprays to treat you with, their ammonia and salt water mix or Jellyfish Squish that was donated by the company.
To put it in perspective, Ocean Rescue was given 20 cases. They go through a case every few hours.

You can purchase your own spray. Just ask lifeguards where it's sold on Tybee Island.