Your Pee Won’t Make The Sting Better

Hello there! I’m Visshaael Patel. Conservation has long been a passion of mine. There’s a lot I’m still learning! But questions like “Why does this matter?” or “So what?” are valuable questions worth answering. I aim to learn and share that in the best way possible so we can all make a difference.

Nothing beats a sunset at the beach after a day of acting like you’re Percy Jackson, eating cold fruits to offset the heat, and creating the best possible sandcastle. And you bet I mean for both kids and adults! Who doesn’t like building a sandcastle and making a state-of-the-art moat?

I think for a lot of us, we know going to the beach also means cleaning up after ourselves and respecting the ocean. But there are smaller things that we should all know and do each time we visit the ocean, or any body of water. These are just some tips to help us be mindful as visitors to the beach.

Watch For The Flags

When you get to the beach, keep an eye out for purple flags. These tend to indicate that there is “dangerous” marine life present. And frankly, I’m not super in love with the use of “dangerous,” because sure, a jellyfish could sting you, but wildlife aren’t hired hitmen to come and get you either. So, remember that purple flags indicate marine life is present. This way, you know not to get yourself into any trouble. While it can put a damper on going into the water itself, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy the beach.

Purple flags tend to indicate the presence of marine life. However, their exact meaning can vary from place to place. (Courtesy of WSAV-TV)

Leave Your Pee For The Restroom

If you are stung, start by washing the area with seawater, not fresh water! Fresh water has been known to irritate the area even further. The idea is to try to remove as many stingers as possible. Jellyfish, for example, can leave a bunch of stingers, or nematocysts, behind. The goal is to reduce irritation by washing out the area. Additionally, keep something handy like tweezers to pull off anything larger left behind. 

But…for the love of all that is good in this world, DO NOT START URINATING ON YOURSELF. This is a myth and has been known to make things worse. And no…as one friend put it to me, that doesn’t mean you get your friend to do it instead. As much as we all want to be a good friend like Joey Tribbiani, this is not the way to step up and be one. 

Treatments for each sting can vary. With any sting after an initial cleanse has been done and the visible stingers removed, a quick online search will help take you to the next steps. Now, if someone has extreme, excruciating pain or is enduring a strong reaction, they should be taken to urgent care as soon as possible.

Some shells can cause a lot of pain, or worse

Something about admiring the way shells are formed, and how they look with all their ridges and captivating colors, can make for a great day at the beach. But as with anything, it’s important to be cautious. 

The first reason is that some shells are shaped like cones. If you haven’t heard of it before, here’s a good rhyme to remember: if it’s a cone, leave it alone! Cone-shaped shells look incredible, but they can often house cone snails. 

While the extent of it varies, all cone snails are venomous. Without knowing much about which snail is which, it can be risky to go around picking up any random cone-shaped shell. Some cone snails are so venomous that they have been known to cause human fatalities, like the textile cone snail or the geography cone snail. Their venom is so complex that, to date, there is no antivenom available for any cone snail sting. 

A textile cone snail has some of the most potent venom. (Courtesy of NSF via Aquarium of The Pacific)

They are found all across the world, including the coasts of the United States, Australia, India and Africa. So if you live near a coast or are vacationing at one, always be cautious. 

There are a lot of avid shell hunters out there so I think it’s important to consider that empty shells are used as homes and even tools by so many animals of the ocean. Shells will be more valuable left where they are than in our homes, where they might just sit collecting dust.

Destroy Those Beautiful Creations

Ah, the birth of small, cute, tiny baby sea turtles. What a beautiful thing new life can be. Oh…but wait, what’s that? They’re headed toward the sea and there’s a giant sand castle of doom in their! And for others lies a huge abyss that has been dug out by beachgoers. Way to go, Jared! Your sand castle and giant sand pit have gotten in the way of these new hatchlings and now they’re easy prey to predators or dehydration. Sorry if your name is Jared, it’s the first one that came to mind.

But! Regardless of whether you’re a Jared, a Samantha, or a whoever, all of us should keep a few things in mind for the sea turtles. 

Female sea turtles dig fairly deep holes and lay their eggs further inland to give the best chance of survival to their young. They are laid more inland to avoid the chances of high tide pulling the eggs out to sea or exposing areas to predators. But even if a beach puts a sign or closes off an area to protect the eggs, human activity can still get in the way. See, there’s not much wrong with building beautiful sand castles or making small pits (don’t dig too deep though). The issue is when we’re finished and we just walk away at the end of the day. 

New hatchlings are up against the clock to get to the water. They must exit the egg, dig toward the surface, and start the rush toward the water. If they’re not quick enough, prey can start picking them off one by one, or they can die of dehydration. So then imagine if a huge sand castle gets in the way, or they have to go down into a pit and climb back out. 

And before anyone gets all smart saying “just go around,” that’s not how it works, for anyone…not even your newborn at home, Jared. Ok, sorry, sorry, enough picking on people named Jared. The best way to help is after your fun in the sand, reset the levels. Crush those sand castles and fill up any holes or pits. You never know what is beneath the sand, waiting to step out into the living world. 

New hatchlings are up against the clock to get to the water and start their lives.

It may hurt to destroy your hard work, but there is also some satisfaction in destroying that work. Whether it’s your work or someone else’s, I would recommend leveling out the sand. If you really want to make a difference for the turtles beyond the surface-level campaign of not using plastic straws, then these are ways to help make that difference. 

Side rant: I’m not completely hating against plastic straws, but to say, “I don’t use plastic straws for the turtles,” and just stop there is incredibly superficial. More on that another time, before people start clacking on their keyboards like the warriors that they are.

Enjoy what’s left of the summer and any beach trips you have planned! Stay safe and always remember, we’re visitors to the beach. We should aim to leave it in a better condition than when we came to it.