A Perth mother has shared her harrowing experience after a jellyfish sting during a family getaway in Busselton nearly led to the loss of her leg.
Andrea Bowden, 47, was urgently taken to the hospital suffering from sepsis after the sting caused her leg to swell dramatically and turned her foot black.
Initially, Bowden, a mother of two, was determined not to let the incident spoil her Christmas. She endured the severe pain until the situation became critical.
“It just kept getting worse. The leg was swelling, and the foot started to go black, so my husband called the ambulance,” she recounted to 7 News.
“There was talk of, if this leg goes bad, then it has to come off—potentially a below-the-knee amputation,” she explained.
“If I’d been in any other country in the world, I think I wouldn’t be here today. I’m just really lucky. I even bought a Lotto ticket afterward. I haven’t checked it yet,” she added with a hint of relief.
The ordeal began while she was wading in the shallows at Peppermint Grove Beach, 200 kilometres south of Perth, with her daughter.
‘I felt this intense burning across both legs. I got out of the water, but couldn’t see anything,’ she recalled.
Andrea Bowden was wading in shallow waters south of Perth when she was stung by a jellyfish
Andrea Bowden (pictured) said she will now never swim without wearing protective clothing
Peppermint Beach (pictured) is a popular holiday spot around 200 kilometres south of Perth
‘It was incredibly painful, but when you’re with your kids, you just power through it.’
Doctors at Fiona Stanley Hospital were forced to act quickly, and though there was initial talk of using maggots to clean out the infected wound, antibiotics were successful in clearing the infection.
‘We need to be really mindful of infection developing in the bone,’ said Dr Ashley Fox, an emergency consultant at FSH.
‘We use medical maggots for high-quality debridement because they are extremely effective at identifying and removing necrotic tissue.’
Fortunately, early treatment prevented any further complications, and Bowden was able to keep her leg.
The culprit, Carybdea xaymacana, is a small, matchbox-sized jellyfish with tentacles up to 20cm long.
Though not usually life-threatening, the species is becoming increasingly common in non-tropical waters around Peppermint Grove Beach.
Unlike the Irukandji jellyfish WA’s north coast is known for, the Carybdea xaymacana found in non-tropical waters is not usually life-threatening.
South-west stingers give a sting that is mild to severe and while it does cause an initial sharp pain, this usually goes away quickly
Capel Shire President John Fergusson said the south-west stingers have only recently started to appear around Peppermint Grove Beach.
‘Although the jellies are small, measuring around 3 centimetres in size, they move to the surface to feed,’ he said.
‘Beach users are encouraged to wear protective clothing and avoid swimming in areas where large numbers of jellyfish are present.’
Their sting is described as mild to severe.
For Bowden, a type 1 diabetic, the sting was a ‘perfect storm’ of complications, making the infection even harder to treat.
‘I am never going in the water without longs, ever,’ Ms Bowden said.
Bowden has now stocked up on vinegar, a common first-aid remedy for stings, but Dr Fox said there is a better approach.
Saltwater followed by hot water is more effective for washing off remaining sting cells, and intense pain should never be ignored.
