29 July 2024 : Review article
Jellyfish Stings: A Review of Skin Symptoms, Pathophysiology, and Management
Xiao Peng1CDEF, Ke-tong Liu1CEF, Jing-bo Chen123CDEF, Zi-hao Yan1CF, Blessing Danso1CD, Ming-ke Wang
4ACDEF*, Zhao-yun Peng123ACDEF, Liang Xiao123ACDEF
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.944265
Med Sci Monit 2024; 30:e944265
Table 1 Geographical distribution and skin effects of the stinging jellyfish.
| Species | Geographical Distribution | Skin effects | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and New Guinea | Immediate pain, line or border erythema, urticaria, edema, wheals, blister, superficial necrosis and wide, ladder-like rash | [–]68 | |
| Tropical Indo-Pacific region, Japan, Philippines | Pain, skin eruptions, combined with urticaria; vesicles, hemorrhaging or necrotizing lesions; delayed reactions such as pruritic urticarial lesions | []71 | |
| East Asian marginal seas, principally along the coasts of China, Korea, and Japan | Redness, oedema, itching, immediate pain and inflammation | []72 | |
| Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Levantine Sea, Italy, Tunisia and Sardinia | Immediate redness, burning sensation and skin eruptions; severe delayed skin reactions such as erythema with papulovesicular eruptions and urticaria-like eruptions | [,]73 | |
| Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Benin, Brazil, Cuba and Bahamas | Seabather’s eruption, erythematous papules, macules, especially in the areas covered by swimwear; intense itching, acneiform type lesions; some progressed to pustules | [,]20 | |
| Philippines, Malaysia and Madagascar | Seabather’s eruption, intensely pruritic erythematous papules, urticarial and vesicular papules | [,]22 | |
| A global distribution, common in the northern and eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and North Pacific | Redness, immediate pain, itching, urticaria, edema, a burning sensation, vesicles, papules and/or scabs | [–]75 | |
| Eastern and western Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Tunisian waters and Black Sea | A medium-severity sting, erythemas, urticaria, ulcerous lesions, small blisters, a burning sensation and recurrent cutaneous eruptions | [,,]44 | |
| Globally between ca. 70°N to 55°S, nearshore distribution in temperate regions of Europe, North America, and Japan | A burning pain, oedema, erythema, urticaria, ulceration, necrosis and recurrent cutaneous eruptions | [,]17 | |
| Worldwide, common in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans | Atrophy of subcutaneous tissue, blister, edema, erythema, keloids, linear plaques pain, necrosis, pigmentation, pruritus and recurrent rash | [,–]16 | |
| Worldwide, more common in North Sea, North Atlantic, Arctic Sea, North Pacific | Edema, a burning sensation, erythema, pain, redness, wheals | [,,,,]18 | |
| Caribbean Sea, Hawaii, tropical and subtropical areas of Atlantic Ocean, North and South Pacific Ocean | Immediate pain, itching, persistent skin lesions, erythematous dermatitis that may be papulovesicular, hemorrhagic, or necrotic | [,–]12 | |
| Pacific Ocean, primarily in the sea along the coast of Japan and Australia | Pain, erythema, wheal and papulo-vesicular lesions with pruritus | [,,]75 | |
| ca. – circa; N – north latitude; S – south latitude. |