bitten or stung by something at Corallia Beach

[PhotoLady]

Sounds like it could possibly be you stumbled across the tentacles of a jellyfish...

After all the bad weather in Portugal and the Atlantic islands jellyfish have turned up in some pretty unexpected places. Cyprus does get them from time to time but usually in shoals similar to Malta.

[Anarita John]

I would say it looks like jellyfish stings. We saw lots when on a cruise from Cyprus. in the Eastern Med.

[exodus]

I would say it looks like jellyfish stings. We saw lots when on a cruise from Cyprus. in the Eastern Med.

Correct. We used to get them in Israel at this time of year. Run vinegar (brown) on it straightaway after being stung. We used to take some in a small bottle when we went swimming there.
The actual jellyfish in this region are often colourless and quite small, but the tentacles can be a metre or more long!
Amos.

[Dominic]

Here's something I found while checking my previous answer which turned out to be wrong.


Those 24 hours, though, could be uncomfortable without any treatment, which can be administered on the beach. Both Burnett and Holstege recommend washing the area with saltwater. Such rinsing will deactivate those pesky nematocysts that are still hanging on.
A freshwater rinse will have the opposite effect. Any change to the balance of solutes, such as the concentration of salts inside and outside of the cnidocyte, sets off stinging. Adding freshwater to the sting site dilutes the salts outside the cell, unbalancing the solutes. In reaction to this change, the nematocysts in the cells release more venom--and cause more pain.
But what about urine? It contains salts and electrolytes. "I can think of many other things I'd rather have on me," Holstege notes. The concentration of salts and other compounds people have in their urine changes, he explains. If it is too dilute it will be similar to freshwater and cause those stingers to fire.
Other liquids and compounds, however, can help. Most stings in North American waters can be assuaged by vinegar, or 5 percent acetic acid. For stings from a few species, Cyanea capillata and Chysaora quinquecirrha, a baking soda and seawater paste is even better.
Once rinsing deactivates all the nasty nematocysts, the attached bits of tentacle can be removed by coating them with shaving cream or a slurry of seawater and sand followed by shaving with a razor or even a credit card.

[WHL]

If you see any rash spreading , go straight to your Doctor ...wife was bitten by spider, spent a week in clinic with a drip full of antibiotics three times a day, serious stuff

[PhotoLady]

They say you should always swim against the current to avoid being stung in areas where jellyfish may be present. They always swim with the current....

[exodus]

does anyone know if any particular time of the year has more jellyfish than others - i.e. spring, autumn - or time of the day, eg high tide versus low tide.
Never thought about them before but now I know how painful they are I want to avoid - might even swim away from a plastic bag now !!!
As I say this is the 2nd time it's happened in the last 3 weeks, but last time, there were only a couple of little blister type marks & only uncomfortable for half an hour or so, but the initial occurrence was the same, i.e. felt like I had been slashed with a knife or barbed wire, so I know it was the same thing.

As per my earlier post: "this time of year".
Amos.

[PhotoLady]

This, from July 2012....
I'm on my phone so can't share the text as well as the link but this is about a sting in the summer in Ayia Napa...

https://www.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh ... -1-2460799

[Ams]

That's funny, I was stung there too last month, it sounds like in the same place as you (I was snorkelling around the breaker rocks). However although I could see the marks for around 24 hours, it wasn't really bothering me, so doesn't sound as bad as yours.

It's the only time I have been stung in Cyprus and I swim a lot (still swimming now ), in different places. I've done a lot of snorkelling over the last 10 years here and have only seen one jellyfish in that whole time. I didn't see the one that stung me, I had a look but couldn't see anything at all. May have just been a loose tentacle.