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29 Adar 5762 - March 13, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family
Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine

Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Ma'ayenei Hayeshua Hospital

No doubt about it, the ocean is fun. Snorkel diving in the Red Sea -- the warmest sea in the world -- is an unforgettable experience. But in the waters lurk many dangerous biting animals.

Being eaten is not an enjoyable experience, but people in Florida, Texas, and Australia are well attuned to staying clear of alligators and crocodiles. These reptiles like to hide in shallow water and often appear to be sleeping. In World War Two, a Japanese regiment of 1000 soldiers marched through swamps to rejoin their battalion. 980 of them succumbed to crocodiles.

Two larger animals are particularly dangerous. Sharks are common off the coast of Australia and South Africa, the Great White has been known to attack humans. Most sharks are too small to want to take a chance of attacking humans, but all sharks are attracted by blood and frantic swimming. Hippopotamuses are cute, but are excellent swimmers, and have rotten dispositions -- obviously their bites are with extreme force. Barracudas have the sharpest teeth, but piranhas seem to be a more dangerous problem in South America. These fish attack in large numbers and can strip a horse clean in minutes. I do not recommend these as pets.

While octopuses in general are not dangerous, the blue ringed octopus does have a poisonous bite.

More common are stings from other dwellers of the ocean. The Portuguese Man of War is a jellyfish that can be seen on the shores of Israel and the USA. It has a purple balloon-like sail, with tentacles drifting from its body. It floats on waves and the tentacles can sting, causing allergic reactions and pain in the area. The treatment is to wash off what can be washed with sea water and then warm compresses, as the poison is deactivated by heat.

I needn't tell Australians about one of the most poisonous animals known to man -- the box jellyfish. People entangled in their tentacles struggle for about a minute before dying. They are found most commonly in the area of the Great Barrier Reef.

Other dangerous swimmers are the electric eel, although they rarely cause enough of a discharge to be a major problem. You'll find these in South America. Leeches are common in cooler areas of the Northern Hemisphere. They are worms with large mouths that attach to the swimmer's skin and suck blood. They are now used medicinally for people with polycythema vera and disease of too much blood, and an important anti- clotting medicine has been isolated from their saliva.

Honorable mention goes to the puffer fish, which does not bite people. However, it is extremely poisonous to eat. Master chefs in Japan study many years on how to take out the poisonous part of the fish, and can make over $100,000 a year preparing this delicacy. Nevertheless, around 80 people a year still die in Japan from improper preparation. I doubt that it will appear in fish and chips menus any time soon.

The remainder of dangerous animals of the waters are bottom dwellers. We'll dive into this subject next week.

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