Some of the worst things about the beach are often much smaller than sharks: biting sandflies, grains of sand lodged in uncomfortable places, oddly shaped patches of burned skin from the spots the sunscreen missed, and tiny jellyfish whose stings make you acutely aware of your own mortality. The Irukandji is a collection of jellyfish species less than an inch long whose sting causes symptoms so severe and so bizarre that they’ve had a medical condition named after them. Irukandji Syndrome is characterized by vomiting, headache, anxiety, cramping, and — most distinctively — a state that scientists have described as “a feeling of impending doom.” Patients believe they’re going to die and they’re so certain of it that they will actually beg doctors to kill them just to get it over with. The reality is, they won’t die as long as they get medical attention. They will, however, experience a cornucopia of other hellish sensations: incredible back pain that’s been likened to having an electric drill boring into your back, relentless nausea and vomiting for up to 12 continuous hours, full body cramps, profuse sweating, difficulty breathing, and a muscular restlessness that prevents you from moving, and if you do manage to move, it hurts. Irukandji jellyfish are common in Australia, but people have suffered their stings around the world. There’s no antidote —treatment is just managing the symptoms. The beach is full of lurking danger; it’s best to play it safe where you can.
