Contact your local emergency services. Wash the area with fresh water. Remove any debris, such as sand, at the wound site. Soak wound in the hottest water the person can tolerate for 30 to 90 minutes.
Signs and Symptoms
A bluish tinge may be seen around the envenomation site. Localised swelling around the envenomation site. In extreme cases, whole limb swelling may occur.
The stonefish sting is excruciating, causes swelling, and could be potentially deadly if not treated. The inflammation spreads to the entire leg or arm within a few minutes. As oxygen decreases in the area around the sting, the skin color will turn lighter.
An Australian man says he managed to survive a sting from the world's most venomous fish with just red wine to get him through it. Photographer Adam Clancy's night in April was derailed after he accidentally stepped on a stonefish, but it didn't unfold exactly the way you might expect.
Did you know that the Stonefish is the most venomous of all fish? To prevent a stonefish sting, wear sturdy footwear on reef flats, or while wading on soft-bottom substrates adjacent to rocky or weedy areas.
Symptoms of a stonefish sting are severe pain that quickly travels up the limb and swelling. The person may go into shock. Call triple zero (000) for an ambulance and soak the affected area in hot water (no hotter than can be easily tolerated) for 20 minutes to relieve the pain.
Stonefish stings in Australia
The stonefish is the most venomous known fish in the world and stings can cause death if not treated. Most stonefish stings occur as a result of stepping on the creature which forces venom into the foot, while it is less common for the fish to sting when it is picked up.
Heat treatment is widely recommended as effective initial treatment for envenomations by Scorpaenidae, as well as echinoderms, stingrays, and other venomous spine injuries. The affected limb should be immersed in water no warmer than 114ºF or 45ºC.
They can attack their prey in as little as 0.015 seconds. You might assume that, as the most venomous fish in the sea, stonefish kill their prey using the venom in their spines, but this is not the case – instead, they capture their prey with speed.
Stonefish live in coastal shallow waters, estuaries and creek mouths along the Australian coastline, including on the Sunshine Coast. Stonefish grow to 30cm, and are among the most venomous of all fish species. True to their name, stonefish look like rocks.
In terms of a perfect combo of pain and lethality, the homely stonefish's sting may take first prize. The stonefish, found in the rocky, shallow waters of tropical oceans, has several extremely sharp spines along its back.
The most venomous known fish is the reef stonefish. It is an ambush predator which waits camouflaged on the bottom. The beautiful and highly visible lionfish uses venomous barbs around its body as a defence against predators.
The venom of stonefish is stored in the dorsal fine spines and contains a proteinaceous toxin, verrucotoxin (VTX). The stings produced by the spines induce intense pain, respiratory weakness, damage to the cardiovascular system, convulsions and paralysis, sometimes leading to death.
Of the estimated 1,200 venomous fish species on Earth, the stonefish is the most lethal – with enough toxin to kill an adult human in under an hour.
Sooty Grunter are a tropical freshwater species present in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Sooty Grunter are fiercely aggressive and dirty fighters that are arguably one of Australia's most powerful fish. Pound for pound, these tropical terrors would pull almost any fish backwards!
Stonefish are thought to be relatively common throughout their wide distribution (Figure 55) but their remarkable camouflage makes it difficult to estimate population size.
Being tropical creatures, stonefish are found in the northern half of Australia, in shallow waters in coastal areas. Their highly developed camouflage is all about their mode of capturing prey.
There are roughly 800 to 1,000 stings reported every year in Australia alone, and stonefish are the likely cause of death for many people living on the shores of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The best ways to prevent contact with a stone fish are to wear water shoes and shuffle your feet when wading in shallow waters. Water shoes may provide a barrier to the dorsal spines or reduce the depth of a puncture.
Predators of the Reef Stonefish include sharks and rays. Jeff Johnson, Fish Collection Manager at the Queensland Museum stated: "I have seen stonefishes in gut contents of large sharks (tigers and white sharks). Also small stonefishes are taken by Stokes Sea Snake, Astrotia stokesii.
The most painful
Another common introduced stinger in Australia is the European wasp, Vespula germanica. This wasp's sting doesn't get stuck in our skin, so they can inflict multiple stings when annoyed or provoked.