16 March 2023 , 09:17
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A woman was bitten by the deadly blue-ringed octopus while swimming off a popular beach in Sydney.
The woman, who is in her 30s, was nipped after the tiny creature fell out of a shell she picked up at Chinaman's Beach in Mosman, Australia at around 2.45pm local time Thursday (03.45am GMT).
The tiny 10cm-long creature fell out of the shell and stung her twice, it was reported.
On arrival, paramedics administered first aid after she reported feeling excruciating pain around the affected area.
An ambulance rushed her to Royal North Shore hospital for further treatment.
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She was reportedly in a stable condition and being monitored by medics.
Its venom is strong enough to kill 20 people (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"A blue-ringed octopus bite is a rare call for us but they are extremely venomous," NSW Ambulance Inspector Christian Holmes said in a statement.
Though its smaller than the human palm, the blue-ringed octopus carries venom - called tetrodotoxin - strong enough to kill 20 humans.
The poison can induce paralysis, leaving the lungs unable to breathe.
The incident happened on a beach in Kalbarri, Australia (Getty Images/iStockphoto)It is 1000 times more toxic than cyanide and there is currently no antivenom.
The only way someone can survive the gruelling condition is by being put on a ventilator to wait for the poison to leave the bloodstream.
On paper, the venom is infamous for its lethality, but there have only been a handful of confirmed casualties.
The creature only displays its blue rings when it feels threatened (NSW Ambulance)This is because the creature usually opts to hide in small crevices opposed, only biting when they feel threatened or forcibly removed from their environment.
When in a calm state, the octopus is coloured an olive green colour, but when threatened, it will show its infamous blue rings.
Last year, a tourist had a lucky escape after holding a mysterious sea creature for a photo - only to discover it was the blue-ringed octopus.
TikTok user @Kaylinmarie21 shared a video of her holding a small octopus - no bigger than the palm of her hand - with a brown body and dark circles as it crawled around and others splashed it with water during a trip to Bali.
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But after posing for photos with the creature, she looked it up online to find it was a blue-ringed octopus.