How do you treat a jellyfish sting, do they have brains and does peeing on it have an effect?

SWARMS of jellyfish flocked to British beaches in the summer as the rising temperature warmed seas which attracts the creatures.

So how would treat a sting if attacked by one of the mysterious creatures – and do they have brains?

Do jellyfish sting and how do you treat it?

Most jellyfish stings are usually mild and don’t require treatment, according to .

If you have been stung by a jellyfish, you should be treated outside the water.

Any remaining tentacles should be removed using tweezers or a clean stick – and wear gloves if they’re available.

Applying a heat pack to the affected area, or immersing it in hot water helps to reduce pain and inflammation.

Vinegar has been shown to help prevent further nematocyst discharge from box jellyfish, which are found in tropical areas – but doesn’t provide any pain relief from already injected venom.

After a jellyfish sting, any pain and swelling can be treated with painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.

A moon jellyfish’s sting is actually not powerful enough to penetrate human skin – so we can’t feel them.

Some people actually keep moon jellyfish as pets as they are relatively easy to keep.

Should you actually wee on a jellyfish sting?

Ignore any advice you may have heard about urinating on the sting – it’s unlikely to help.

It is warned that urine on the skin can cause the injury to burn more.

Dr Peter Richardson told the : “Peeing on a jellyfish sting is not advised.”

He does suggest that some jellyfish stings are alkaline so you can treat them with vinegar.

What is a moon jellyfish?

The moon jellyfish is the most common found around the coastlines of Britain.

They are known for their translucent white colour and gentle swimming movements.

They are opaque in colour and have a saucer-shaped bell about the size of a dinner plate with four bold purple-coloured circular reproductive organs at the centre.

Their tentacles are short, delicate and fringe-like and hang from the bell margins.

They feed on molluscs, crustaceans and worms and if deprived of food can shrink to a tenth of their original size to save energy.

These incredible creatures will then redevelop to their normal size when food is available.

In the past, their numbers were kept down by sea turtles and other jelly-eating fish – but due to a reduction in these sea predators their population is growing at an alarming rate.

Moon jellies are most common in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and they tend to be found near the surface of shallow bays and harbours.

Do jellyfish have brains?

Jellyfish have very simple bodies – and don’t actually have a brain.

Nor do they have a heart, eyes, bones or gills – like fish.

They instead have a basic set of nerves at their tentacles, which detect touch, temperature and salinity.

Jellyfish can sense light and orient themselves via light-sensitive cells along the ridge of their bells.

Without a brain, they depend on the ocean currents to drift – and catching prey is also down to chance as they wait for it to hit their tentacles.

And they don’t need a heart because the outer layer of their anatomy is only a few cells thick, so oxygen simply diffuses into their bodies.