It has been 3 years since my last Jellyfish sting in PD, and boy it did have a lasting impact on me.
Apart from the scars on my arms, it left another lingering scar in my mind.
I was scared of getting into the Open Water for a good part of the year, especially in murky waters where visibility is limited and I can't see any further than 3m ahead.
Nonetheless, subsequent races in open waters went pretty safely so I gradually managed to get over the fear.
That was until the recent Open Water race in Hainan, China, where my relay team had to swim across the Qiongzhou Straits from Hainan Island to China mainland.
To be honest, the swim wasn't too difficult, since each of us only had to swim for 1 hour for each leg, and we get to rest for 3 hours in between.
However, my worst fears were confirmed when our 1st swimmer got stung by jellyfish just as he was completing his first leg. We ran into a sea of jelly fish...
The 2nd swimmer then jumped into the water, teeming with jellyfish all over the place. Soon he racked up lots of jellyfish stings, and our guide instructed for all swimmers to swim as close to the boat as possible, while he started to scoop jellyfish out of the way of the swimmer from the bow of the boat. Despite best efforts, we still ran into more jellyfish as there were too many to clear.
I was worried for my team member as he was much younger and inexperienced, and probably a much lower pain threshold than me. By the time for me to take over, I jumped immediately into the sea of jellyfish and took over the mantle from him. It was my turn to suffer.
True enough, I started to get stung almost immediately when I started to swim. Can't remember how many times I got stung. On both arms, chest, legs, basically all over the body. It hurt, but I was mentally prepared so it wasn't as scary as the time I got stung in PD. That was, until I was finishing up my leg, and I got a direct hit in the left goggle and all over my face. It was way worse than getting it on the limbs.
Soon after I finished off my leg, got onto the boat and had my team mate to apply vinegar on my face. It was hurting so much that I couldn't open my eye for quite some time. Was really worried that it may affect my vision or leave a huge scar like the previous one.
Nonetheless, everyone in the team persevered, and we managed to complete the swim over around 9 hours.Of course I had to swim another 2 times.
Went straight to the hospital after I got back to mainland, not even bothering to wash up first, as I didn't want to repeat the same mistake of waiting too long before seeking medical assistance. Did and cleared my blood test, was put on drip with medication. Pain was mostly limited to the stings on my face.
Went to the doctor again after returning to Singapore, but was only given antibiotics and anti-histamines as jellyfish stings are uncommon in Singapore, and the doctor wasn't sure on the specific treatment, except to treat it as a normal animal bite. Subsequently stayed away from seafood for 2 weeks on my own accord.
Some scars still remains visible on my face today, just hope that it will gradually fade away on its own.
My heart was not scarred this time. Saw the 70.3 Desaru race open, and Dear gave the green light, so I signed up without hesitation this time.
However, if I'm so unlucky to hit another jellyfish in the upcoming Perhentian race, then it probably means that I'm not fated to do any more racing in Open waters and I'll just give it up.
Just pray hard for a safe race...
Apart from the scars on my arms, it left another lingering scar in my mind.
I was scared of getting into the Open Water for a good part of the year, especially in murky waters where visibility is limited and I can't see any further than 3m ahead.
Nonetheless, subsequent races in open waters went pretty safely so I gradually managed to get over the fear.
That was until the recent Open Water race in Hainan, China, where my relay team had to swim across the Qiongzhou Straits from Hainan Island to China mainland.
To be honest, the swim wasn't too difficult, since each of us only had to swim for 1 hour for each leg, and we get to rest for 3 hours in between.
However, my worst fears were confirmed when our 1st swimmer got stung by jellyfish just as he was completing his first leg. We ran into a sea of jelly fish...
The 2nd swimmer then jumped into the water, teeming with jellyfish all over the place. Soon he racked up lots of jellyfish stings, and our guide instructed for all swimmers to swim as close to the boat as possible, while he started to scoop jellyfish out of the way of the swimmer from the bow of the boat. Despite best efforts, we still ran into more jellyfish as there were too many to clear.
I was worried for my team member as he was much younger and inexperienced, and probably a much lower pain threshold than me. By the time for me to take over, I jumped immediately into the sea of jellyfish and took over the mantle from him. It was my turn to suffer.
True enough, I started to get stung almost immediately when I started to swim. Can't remember how many times I got stung. On both arms, chest, legs, basically all over the body. It hurt, but I was mentally prepared so it wasn't as scary as the time I got stung in PD. That was, until I was finishing up my leg, and I got a direct hit in the left goggle and all over my face. It was way worse than getting it on the limbs.
Soon after I finished off my leg, got onto the boat and had my team mate to apply vinegar on my face. It was hurting so much that I couldn't open my eye for quite some time. Was really worried that it may affect my vision or leave a huge scar like the previous one.
Nonetheless, everyone in the team persevered, and we managed to complete the swim over around 9 hours.Of course I had to swim another 2 times.
Went straight to the hospital after I got back to mainland, not even bothering to wash up first, as I didn't want to repeat the same mistake of waiting too long before seeking medical assistance. Did and cleared my blood test, was put on drip with medication. Pain was mostly limited to the stings on my face.
Went to the doctor again after returning to Singapore, but was only given antibiotics and anti-histamines as jellyfish stings are uncommon in Singapore, and the doctor wasn't sure on the specific treatment, except to treat it as a normal animal bite. Subsequently stayed away from seafood for 2 weeks on my own accord.
Some scars still remains visible on my face today, just hope that it will gradually fade away on its own.
My heart was not scarred this time. Saw the 70.3 Desaru race open, and Dear gave the green light, so I signed up without hesitation this time.
However, if I'm so unlucky to hit another jellyfish in the upcoming Perhentian race, then it probably means that I'm not fated to do any more racing in Open waters and I'll just give it up.
Just pray hard for a safe race...