For many, there’s nothing more relaxing than spending a day on the beach sunbathing and splashing around in the cool water on a hot day.
It’s a timeless tradition enjoyed by families, couples, solo beachgoers, and friends, but a fun and relaxing beach day can quickly turn dangerous if you’re not careful.
Dangers sometimes lurk just beneath the water’s surface.
Dangers like dangerous marine life and tourists in Tulum are being warned to watch out for one kind of dangerous marine life right now, the Portuguese Man O’ War.
What Is The Portuguese Man O’ War?
Often mistaken for a jellyfish, the Portuguese Man O’ War is a marine organism called a siphonophore.
They’re actually an organism made up of a bunch of smaller organisms.
Portuguese Man O’ War are similar to jellyfish in that they also deliver painful stings to humans with their tentacles when they feel threatened because they release a venom into the body.
Those tentacles can be as long as 65 feet or more.
How Dangerous Is It?
While the stings delivered by the Portuguese Man O’ War can be extremely painful, for most people the symptoms don’t go much beyond that.
Most will experience some redness and swelling along with that pain, but not much more.
In rarer cases, a Portuguese Man O’ War sting can also cause muscle aches, difficulty breathing, nausea, and even death, but the latter is very rare among healthy individuals.
What To Do If You Get Stung By A Portuguese Man O’ War
You’ve probably heard many “suggestions” about what to do if you get stung by a jellyfish or a Portuguese Man O’ War.
Not all of those recommendations are ones that you want to follow.
The most important thing is to immediately get out of the water so that you don’t suffer repeated stings.
Next Steps To Treat A Portuguese Man O’ War Sting
After getting out of the water you’ll want to rinse the area in which the sting occurred.
Then it’s important to get the stinger out of your skin with either tweezers or by lightly scraping the area with a clean object.
A hot or cold pack can then help relieve the pain and over-the-counter painkillers and hydrocortisone cream can be used to further reduce the pain.
If you experience more serious symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention.
How To Tell If Dangerous Marine Life Is Present When Visiting Tulum
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to tell if dangerous marine life is present at Tulum beaches without having to risk getting into the water.
A beach warning flag system is used, and one of those warning flags is specifically used to relay the message that dangerous marine life may be present.
If a white flag is posted, you’ll probably want to avoid going in the water.
Other Beach Warning Flags To Watch Out For
There are several other beach warning flags to watch out for in Tulum that can also help to keep you safe at the beach.
The only time the beaches are without any real danger is when the green flag is posted.
If a yellow flag is posted, you should swim with caution.
If you arrive at the beach and a red or black flag is posted, it means that swimming is currently prohibited, the latter meaning that the beach is completely closed as well.
How Long The Danger Will Last
It’s hard to tell how long the Portuguese Man O’ War will hang around in Tulum.
Jellyfish season in Mexico typically runs from around May through October, so they may follow a similar schedule.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be there constantly during those months, but it is during this time that you want to be extra cautious and be sure to look out to see if that white flag is posted on whatever Tulum beach you’ll be visiting.
↓ Join the community ↓
The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean
Subscribe to our Latest Posts
Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.