Perth teen lucky to be alive after making innocent beach mistake
A teenager is lucky to be alive after making an innocent mistake on a beach that landed him in hospital.
Jacob Eggington, 18, swam in the water to collect shells at Shoalwater Beach, in Rockingham, WA, on Sunday.
After emerging from the water, the teen emptied his pockets to show his toddler niece the shells he found for her.
What happened next has resulted in a timely warning to all beachgoers for the upcoming summer season, with millions expected to end up on the sand.
Jacob Eggington, 18, (pictured) had unknowingly put a shell containing a blue-ringed octopus in his pocket. It took doctors more than six hours to stabilize him
The blue-ringed octopus that almost killed the teenager. The species' powerful venom only takes about 26 minutes to kill someone and there is no antivenom
Mr. Eggington had unknowingly put a shell in his pocket with a highly venomous blue-ringed octopus hidden inside.
The unfortunate teen noticed the creature moments later and fortunately prevented his niece from holding the shell, possibly saving her life.
After discovering the venomous creature, which was no bigger than the palm of a hand, the 18-year-old realized he had a small, painless bite wound on his leg.
Emergency services were called to the beach and he was immediately taken to a local hospital.
There is no antivenom available for deadly blue-ringed octopuses, and it took more than six hours to stabilize the teen.
The venom of blue-ringed octopuses is so powerful that the teen could have died within 30 minutes if he had not noticed the bite.
“That's probably one of the most dramatic thoughts to think about what could have happened,” his brother Joshua Eggington said 7News.
“He was bitten, but probably also saved the life of one of his nieces or nephews.”
The dangerous sea creature is a master of camouflage (stock image)
One of the most venomous creatures in the world, the blue-ringed octopus, is found throughout Australia and as far south as Tasmania (stock image)
The highly venomous sea creatures can kill someone in about 26 minutes, and what adds to the danger on our beaches is their ability to camouflage.
They can be found all over Australia, even as far south as Tasmania, and the creatures use their 'extremely powerful venom' to kill crabs and small fish.
“They can hide very well, so normally we don't see them that often, but they are there,” says marine scientist Jennifer Verduin.
She said she never went to the beach without her reef shoes because blue-ringed octopuses were common in Perth.
Shockingly, a video on social media captured an Australian unknowingly interacting with the dangerous creature last year.
“Someone could die doing this,” Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts told Yahoo at the time.
He also labeled the social media trend of people touching the poisonous octopus as “alarming stupidity.”
If you or someone you are with comes into contact with a blue-ringed octopus, it is advisable to remain completely still and call Triple-0 immediately.