British tourist has painful brush with Portuguese man o' war in South Beach

MIAMI - A tourist from the UK, who does not want to reveal her identity, had a painful brush with a Portuguese man o' war.  

"I stood up and viciously got tentacles all over me. On the arms, a little on my torso. I was screaming in agonizing pain I never experienced before," she said.

It all began when she and her boyfriend went for a swim at 5:30 in the afternoon on Friday in South Beach.  

They raced out of the water screaming for help. 

"The hotel got vinegar and started pouring it on my arms. The paramedics came, they started cutting stuff off me.  I don't think anyone realized how vicious it was. My hand started really swelling up," she said.

She also applied hot water, which is recommended, but that may have left these blisters behind. She was treated at the hospital for a severe reaction.

CBS4 saw numerous Portuguese man-o-war on South Beach. 

Gerry Falconer with Miami Beach Ocean rescue says this time of year we see a lot of them. 

"During the winter month, predominately November through March, we have what's called 'man-O-war season,' when the wind blows from the ocean to the land, it blows them in from the ocean," he said.

When you see a purple flag flying that means jellyfish or man-o-war are around. 

When the British tourist was stung there were no flags up at the time, the lifeguard stand was closed and the flags were taken down. 

She and her boyfriend hope to raise awareness. "A little bit of basics, basic first aid recommendations, a board on the beach, if you see somebody stung on the beach, what to do," her boyfriend said. 

Ocean rescue said vinegar and warm water or heat packs can help alleviate the pain. Discomfort normally lasts anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. 

Ocean rescue recommends swimming only near a manned lifeguard stand and noting which flags are flying.  

If there are no lifeguards or flags around, many city websites give current beach conditions, like this one in Miami Beach.