Early signs of paralysis include ptosis, blurred vision, diplopia and difficulty swallowing.Systemic envenoming is characterised by a rapidly progressive symmetrical descending flaccid paralysis, which usually presents within minutes.The bite is usually not painful and local symptoms are minimal.Descending flaccid paralysis with respiratory failure – if present will require intubation and ventilation.Scarily you will will become paralysed soon after the bite but will be fully aware like a locked in syndrome. Bites usually occur if you are hanging around Bond villains or you pick these up and play with them, the venom comes from a beak under the body of the octopus and not the tentacles. Most of the time, blue-ringed octopuses look sandy-coloured to help them blend in with their environment, but they put on flashing displays of colour to warn off predators.Blue-Ringed Octopus – famous from the James Bond Film Octopussy – the BRO contains tetrodotoxin which is a potent sodium channel blocking neurotoxin resulting in rapid paralysis. With a body just several centimetres wide, a blue-ringed octopus can look really cute, especially when they start showing off their stunning iridescent blue markings.īut beware: this is a sign they are feeling threatened and might inject you with venom, as Mr Hodgson learnt the hard way. How do I know if I've found one and what do I do? Octopuses come out at night to hunt so if you're doing a bit of nocturnal swimming, keep an eye out then too. It's also a good idea to be careful when exploring rock pools and not disturb them too much. They can also hide in discarded bottles and cans in the water, so be wary of collecting these. This is because the animals are very vulnerable to predators and hide during the day, tucking themselves behind rocks or, as Mr Hodgson discovered, among shells. "But unless you're looking for them, encounters tend to be rare," Professor Seymour says. In the worst case, a dose of the venom can shut down muscles such as those that keep you breathing and cause death within 30 minutes. Like other octopuses, blue-ringed octopuses have a beak, and their venom is secreted from its salivary glands. Mr Hodgson copped what turned out to be a mild dose of blue-ringed octopus venom, which contains a highly dangerous chemical called tetrodotoxin that paralyses muscles. "She gets really worried when I go in the water," says Aaron who is a keen surfer.īut it could have been a lot worse. "Any time I close my eyes and I'm not in bed, she tries to come over and wake me up because that's how I was on the beach. It's pretty weird."Īnd his three-year-old daughter has been particularly affected. "I've got like PTSD with a big octopus crawling on my face suffocating me in the night. "I've been having nightmares about it since," Aaron says. Months later he's having to see a psychologist as a result of the event. He ended up in hospital for the rest of the day and it took the best part of a week for him to fully recover from the bite. Then his vision went blurry, his heart started pumping hard, he felt faint and he thought he was going to die.Īaron couldn't move or talk, not even to comfort his distressed children, and just had to focus on surviving.
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