If you get stung by a jellyfish it can ruin a good day at the beach. Dr Lisa Gershwin, jellyfish expert, busts some common myths about treatment for stings.

Dr Lisa Gershwin, a world-renowned expert on the jellyfish, is the director of the Australian Stinger Advisory Services at the CSIRO.

In Dr Gershwin's career, she has discovered and named 196 different species and says, to her, all jellyfish are fascinating.

A common perception is that stings are treated with either vinegar or urine. However, she says those solutions are not as straightforward as they seem.

"A lot of people misunderstand the role of vinegar," Dr Gershwin told 720 ABC Perth.

"Vinegar isn't meant to relieve the pain. If you think about it, what's the pain-relieving quality of a salad?" she said.

According to Dr Gershwin, vinegar has a much more important role than pain relief when it comes to jellyfish stings.

"If you get an irukandji or box jellyfish sting, the vinegar might actually save your life.

"It doesn't help with the pain but for the species that are more likely to kill you or cause ongoing problems the vinegar neutralizes the stinging cells that haven't injected venom yet, so that they're not able to inject the venom.

"When you get a sting you only take on about 10 per cent of the venom capacity at that point, so what you're trying to do is prevent the other 90 per cent from entering your body and that's the role of the vinegar," she said.

The urine myth

"People always ask me, what about peeing on it?

"Don't do that."

Urine can be either acidic or alkaline, and it is impossible to tell which without carry litmus paper.

"If your urine is in an acidic phase it will only work about twenty five per cent as well as vinegar. If it's in an alkaline stage it will cause a massive discharge of the stinging cells, which will increase the effect of the venom.

"So it comes down to a Clint Eastwood 'are you feeling lucky?' moment, and you can't tell".

There are other common remedies that can help for less potent stings from stingers. Ice works or hot water can be effective.

However, in the case of something like a Box Jellyfish or Irukandji where getting the right treatment can make the difference between life and death, Dr Gershwin warns against using hot water or ice.

"The problem is the fresh water in the ice and hot water will cause a mass discharge of the stinging cells that haven't fired yet, so you'll take on the extra venom".

Water also dilates the capillaries and basically "opens the floodgates so the venom can travel around the body, which obviously is not what you want when you're dealing with a potentially dangerous venom," she said.

Prevention is better than cure

"If you rock up to the beach and you see them, you know they're around, it's a good day to give it a miss.

"Things like bluebottles are really obvious," she said.

"With Irukandji jellyfish there are certain conditions and certain winds.

"You can see what's going on and tip the odds in your favour.

"A full body lycra suit, or even pantyhose can make a big, big difference."

So next time you're packing your towel and sunscreen, take some vinegar with you too.