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View Full Version : Diver wanted to die after suffering deadly irukandji jellyfish sting



greenturtle
01-13-2010, 01:22 PM
Small but deadly. Full suit will give some protection but there will always be small exposed areas. Any jelly repellent available out there?

:rolleyes:
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January 4, 2010

CAIRNS, Australia — The victim of Saturday's irukandji jellyfish sting at Wangetti Beach has told how the pain was so intense he wished he was dead.

"It was lucky there was not the option of euthanasia because I would have used it," experienced Far Northern diver Dugald Gray told reporters from his hospital bed yesterday.

"There is no doubt it was the worst pain I have experienced in my life."

The 25-year-old recounted how he had been swimming at the unpatrolled beach with his girlfriend when the tiny but often deadly jellyfish struck on his neck, just above the top of his full-body stinger suit.

He started having kidney and back spasms about 15 seconds after the sting and the pain only increased from there.

Mr Gray sprinted to his nearby car with his girlfriend and splashed vinegar on the sting, but the pain still increased.

"I knew it was an irukandji as soon as it hit me because I have been stung before - but nowhere near as bad," he said.

Mr Gray made an agonising 15 minute drive to Ellis Beach while his girlfriend sat next to him, speaking on the phone to ambulance officers who were talking them through the ordeal.

Mr Gray was given oxygen by Ellis Beach lifesavers before an ambulance arrived and took him to Cairns Base Hospital.

Mr Gray described himself as "off-his-face" with panic and pain at that point.

"The morphine did nothing," he said. "Apparently, they gave me enough to kill a horse.

"I honestly thought I was going to die in that lifesaver hut. I thought I was dead."

James Cook University jellyfish expert Jamie Seymour said Mr Gray did the right thing by applying vinegar and seeking help, saying he had about 20 minutes before "things went pear-shaped".

Dr Seymour said it was common for people to experience spasms, as Mr Gray did, but said it often depended on how bad the sting was and where on the body it hit.


Painful experience: Experienced Far North Queensland diver Dugald Gray has spoken about being stung by an irukandji at Wangetti Beach.

Dr Seymour said he did not advocate someone driving a car following a serious irukandji sting.

After getting out of hospital yesterday afternoon, Mr Gray said he wanted to give "a massive thanks" to the Ellis Beach lifesavers, ambulance officers and the staff at Cairns Base Hospital.

He said his ordeal would not stop him going back in the water and he reminded those using Far Northern waters during the stinger season to always wear a stinger suit.