Australian quick reference
Insect and marine stings
First-aid steps for common insect stings and Australian marine stings.
The short answer
Move away from the source and get help. For breathing difficulty, a swollen tongue or throat, collapse, widespread allergic symptoms or severe illness, use an adrenaline injector immediately if available and call 000. Marine first aid depends on the species and location: do not rub the sting or use vinegar unless the relevant Australian guidance says it is appropriate.
Species and location matter
Choose the safest sting pathway
Move away from the source and call 000 for anaphylaxis, collapse, severe pain or a serious tropical marine sting. Do not use one treatment for every sting.
| What you find | Do next |
|---|---|
| Breathing trouble, swollen tongue or throat, collapse or widespread allergy | Use an adrenaline injector immediately if available, lay flat unless breathing is difficult, call 000 and start CPR if unresponsive and not breathing normally. |
| Bee, wasp or ant sting | For a bee, scrape or flick out the visible stinger without squeezing it. Wash the area and use a wrapped cold pack; escalate any anaphylaxis. |
| Bluebottle or non-tropical jellyfish | Wash tentacles away with seawater, not fresh water. Use comfortably hot water for 20 minutes. Do not use vinegar. |
| Tropical, box jellyfish or Irukandji concern | Call 000 and get lifeguard help. Follow local advice; vinegar may be used for potentially lethal species, not bluebottles. CPR if needed. |
| Fish, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus, cone shell or sea snake | Call 000 for serious marine envenomation. Follow the species pathway; pressure immobilisation is for selected bites, not jellyfish or fish stings. |
Four things to remember
See the next decision
These visual cues are a memory aid. In a real emergency, call Triple Zero (000) and follow the call-taker's instructions.
Move away from the insect or marine animal and, if in the water, get the person out. Get a lifeguard or other local help when available.
A local sting may cause immediate pain, redness, swelling or a visible insect stinger.
Do not rub a jellyfish sting or wash it with fresh water.
Call 000 for breathing difficulty, a swollen tongue or throat, wheeze or persistent cough, dizziness, collapse, widespread allergic symptoms, severe or worsening pain, suspected tropical stinger, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus, cone shell or sea-snake injury.
Illustrated field notes
See the situation, then choose the next safe action
These original illustrations support recall. They are not a substitute for the written steps, a current first-aid course or the Triple Zero (000) call-taker.
Visual memory cue
See the pattern before you practise
Use this simple visual reminder alongside the written steps. In a real emergency, call Triple Zero (000) and follow the call-taker's instructions.
- 01Move awayLeave the water or source and make it safe.
- 02Check allergyAdrenaline if available, then 000 for anaphylaxis.
- 03Match the routeSpecies and location change the advice.
- 04Watch closelyCPR if unresponsive and not breathing normally.
01
What to do first
- Move away from the insect or marine animal and, if in the water, get the person out. Get a lifeguard or other local help when available.
- If there are signs of anaphylaxis, lay the person flat unless breathing is difficult, use their adrenaline injector immediately if available and call 000. If they become unresponsive and are not breathing normally, start CPR.
- For a bee sting, scrape or flick out the visible stinger without squeezing the venom sac. Wash an insect sting with soap and water and use a wrapped cold pack for pain or swelling.
- For a bluebottle or other non-tropical jellyfish sting, wash tentacles away with seawater, not fresh water, and use hot water that is no hotter than can be comfortably tolerated for 20 minutes. Do not use vinegar for these stings.
- For tropical or potentially lethal jellyfish, call 000 and follow local lifeguard advice; vinegar may be used for 30 seconds for those species, not bluebottles. Fish, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus, cone shell and sea-snake injuries need their species-specific emergency pathway.
02
What to avoid
- Do not rub a jellyfish sting or wash it with fresh water.
- Do not use vinegar as a generic treatment: it is not for bluebottle stings and is only considered for potentially lethal tropical jellyfish under the relevant local guidance.
- Do not use pressure immobilisation for jellyfish or fish stings; it is a different pathway for selected venomous bites such as blue-ringed octopus and sea snake.
- Do not delay 000 for breathing difficulty, collapse, severe symptoms or an unknown tropical marine sting.
03
When to call 000
- Call 000 for breathing difficulty, a swollen tongue or throat, wheeze or persistent cough, dizziness, collapse, widespread allergic symptoms, severe or worsening pain, suspected tropical stinger, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus, cone shell or sea-snake injury.
04
What to monitor
- Stay with the person and keep watching breathing, response, swelling, pain and delayed symptoms. Follow the local species pathway and start CPR if they become unresponsive and are not breathing normally.
Recognition cues
What you may notice
- A local sting may cause immediate pain, redness, swelling or a visible insect stinger.
- Anaphylaxis can cause difficult or noisy breathing, swollen tongue or throat, wheeze, dizziness, collapse or abdominal symptoms after an insect sting.
- Marine stings range from painful bluebottles to potentially lethal tropical jellyfish, venomous fish and envenomation that needs pressure immobilisation.
Avoid these traps
Common mistakes
- Rubbing a jellyfish sting, using fresh water or applying vinegar without knowing the species and local advice.
- Treating a bluebottle as a tropical jellyfish or using pressure immobilisation for jellyfish or fish stings.
- Ignoring breathing, collapse or delayed severe symptoms because the skin reaction looks small.
- Removing a bee stinger by squeezing the venom sac or delaying 000 for anaphylaxis.
Children can deteriorate quickly after anaphylaxis or a marine sting. Use the same 000-first escalation, keep hot water comfortably tolerable rather than scalding, and in tropical northern waters treat an unknown jellyfish sting as potentially serious and get lifeguard help.
When help is on the way
Keep the handover useful
- Stay with the person and keep watching breathing, response, swelling and pain while help is coming.
- Tell responders where the sting happened, when it happened and what the animal or insect looked like if known. Do not handle or catch it.
Common questions
Quick answers
Are all marine stings treated the same way?
No. Bluebottle, tropical jellyfish, fish, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus and sea-snake injuries have different first aid. Species and location matter, so follow local Australian guidance and call 000 for serious symptoms.
When should vinegar be used?
Only when the relevant Australian guidance says the sting may be from a potentially lethal tropical jellyfish. Do not use vinegar for bluebottle stings; follow lifeguard or local advice.
What should I do for a bee sting?
Scrape or flick out the visible stinger without squeezing it, wash the area with soap and water and use a wrapped cold pack. Use adrenaline immediately and call 000 for anaphylaxis.
What if I do not know what caused the sting?
Move away, get a lifeguard or other local help and call 000 for severe pain, breathing problems, collapse or an unknown tropical marine sting. Do not guess a one-size-fits-all treatment.
Are all marine stings treated the same way?
No. Bluebottle, tropical jellyfish, fish, stonefish, blue-ringed octopus and sea-snake injuries have different pathways. Species and location matter.
When is a sting an emergency?
Call 000 for breathing difficulty, a swollen tongue or throat, wheeze, dizziness, collapse, severe or worsening pain, suspected tropical stinger or a serious venomous marine injury.
Species-specific marine emergency
When the sting is not a jellyfish
Blue-ringed octopus, cone shell and sea-snake injuries need an emergency pathway that is different from a jellyfish sting.
Open the bites and stings decision guide -> Read the blue-ringed octopus steps ->
Added species and location boundaries, anaphylaxis recognition, bee-stinger care, tropical versus bluebottle jellyfish cautions, handover prompts and Australian reference checks.