Children covered in 'mysterious' red spots after swim at Hot Water Beach

Zoe (11) and Hugo Atkinson (6) covered in mysterious red spots after swimming at Hot Water Beach. Photo / Supplied

A summer swim turned into a mother's horror yesterday when her children came out of the surf at Hot Water Beach covered "in over 100" mysterious red spots.

Auckland mother-of-three Genevieve Atkinson said she wanted to warn beach-goers to tread carefully this summer, especially in shallow water as that's where her children had been playing.

She said it wasn't until her children had been complaining about itchiness after they had left the Coromandel Peninsula beach that she noticed the spots.

"My youngest, who is 6, has about 25 bites on his face alone and we counted about 100 on him in total. They won't stop itching, I have to keep getting them to stop," she said.

Atkinson believed they were sea lice but Auckland University marine biologist professor
Andrew Jeffs said they sounded more like jellyfish stings.

"Sea lice have sharp little jaws and bite. You feel them straight away because they bite through the skin.

"But with jelly fish - and there are many different types - they inject poison into the body leaving a sting that is often not felt until a few hours later as that's how long it takes to get into the body," Jeffs said.

He said if the spots were half-raised lumps and quite itchy it was most likely jelly fish stings.

"Itchiness from jelly fish usually lasted a few days but if it was serious I'd recommend going to a doctor straight away," Jeffs said.

Atkinson's 11-year-old daughter Zoe said: "I just want to tear my skin off it's so itchy".

The family - who had never been to Hot Water Beach - had friends staying with them from Ireland and wanted to take their overseas visitors to some of "New Zealand's most beautiful hotspots".

"We've had a lovely time but they are a bit apprehensive about swimming in New Zealand waters now," Atkinson said.

She said, interestingly, the three other children who were with them were swimming deeper into the surf and didn't get stung.

Jeffs said that was because jelly fish liked warmer water.

Luckily, her husband was a doctor and they had given the kids some antiseptic cream to help stop the itch.

Top tips on how treat jelly fish stings:

• Apply baking soda on the spots.

• Rub vinegar solution on the spots.

• If serious, try urinating on the sting to relieve instant pain.

• Apply anti-inflammatory cream to the spots.

• If serious or the itchiness doesn't go away after three days, visit a doctor.