With many people rediscovering their love the water over the past few months, more and more people are taking to the sea. However, CEO of Irish Water Safety John Leech has issued a stark warning to swimmers – advising people to be on the lookout for poisonous weever fish when in the water.
Known to cause very painful stings, there have been several reported incidents over the past week with many of those coming from Waterford beaches.
Sandy in colour, the weever fish spends most of its time buried under the sand with only its eyes, mouth and venomous black fin visible. They can be found all along the Irish coast but only in sandy areas where water is warm, shallow and close to the mean low tide line. Weever fish can grow to a maximum length of 15cm and their stings can often trigger more serious issues such as heart attacks or severe allergic reactions/anaphylactic shock.
According to Lola O’Sullivan, chairwoman of Water Safety Ireland:
“The pain is at the worst for about the first two hours. You don’t generally see the fish so you just feel this dart of pain usually that goes into the foot.”
Advising people to go straight to the lifeguard for treatment if stung, she went on to add:
“If you’re in a lifeguarded beach, go straight to the lifeguards and they will treat you by placing the affected area in warm water and gradually heating the water as hot as the person can bear, over a 20-30 minute period.”
“This increases the blood flow and assists the natural healing; the heat helps to break down the poison.”
Water must be heated to over 40 degrees celsius for it to be effective in breaking down the poison. As for how to avoid them? The only foolproof method is to stay out of the water during low tide. Water Safety Ireland has also received numerous reports of Lion’s Mane jellyfish in Irish waters which can also cause severe stings.
Header image via Shutterstock/Kilkee Beach, Co. Clare
