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Prevention of Jellyfish Stings

Field Study of the Prevention of Jellyfish Stings With a Topical Sting Inhibitor

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00114894
Enrollment
12
Registered
2005-06-20
Start date
2004-04-01
Completion date
2006-02-01
Last updated
2026-07-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Bites and Stings

Keywords

Jellyfish, Stings, Marine, Envenomation, Jellyfish stings

Brief summary

Jellyfish stings are a common occurrence among ocean-goers worldwide with an estimated 150 million envenomations annually. Fatalities and hospitalizations occur annually, particularly in the Indo-Pacific regions. A new topical jellyfish sting inhibitor based on the mucous coating of the clown fish prevents 85% of jellyfish stings in laboratory settings. The field effectiveness is unknown. This is a field test to determine the real world effectiveness.

Detailed description

Jellyfish stings are a common occurrence among ocean-goers worldwide with an estimated 150 million envenomations annually. Fatalities and hospitalizations occur annually, particularly in the Indo-Pacific regions. A new topical jellyfish sting inhibitor based on the mucous coating of the clown fish prevents 85% of jellyfish stings in laboratory settings. Clown fish inhabit within the tentacles of sea anemones, which have stinging cells similar to those of jellyfish, yet clown fish are not stung by the sea anemones. In controlled laboratory environments, the jellyfish sting inhibitor, Safe Sea™ when applied to volunteers' arms, prevented 100% of Chrysaora fuscescens stings and 70% of Chiropsalmus quadrumanus stings. Of the C. quadrumanus stings that occurred, their intensity was diminished. The field effectiveness is unknown. This is a field test to determine the real world effectiveness of Safe Sea to prevent jellyfish stings.

Interventions

OTHERSafe Sea ™

Safe Sea ™ applied one time at 2 mg/cm2 coverage

OTHERPlacebo

Placebo Coppertone® SPF15 sunscreen(Schering-Plough) applied at 2 mg/cm2 body coverage

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Healthy volunteers planning on snorkeling for 30 to 45 minutes.

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy * Severe allergy to jellyfish * Allergy to any topical dermatologic product

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Incidence of jellyfish stingsduring recreational saltwater exposure (~30 min)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Occurrence of seabather's eruptionwithin 48 hours of saltwater exposure
impact of body hair on jellyfish stingsafter recreational saltwater exposure

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDavid R Boulware, MD

University of Minnesota

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 31, 2026