What was supposed to be a routine outing at a picturesque beach in Thailand turned into a painful ordeal when Yuval Kronenfeld, 22, stepped on a venomous stonefish.
"I’m a recently discharged IDF soldier on a post-service vacation with my girlfriend," Kronenfeld said. "We’ve been in Thailand for about a month and are currently in Koh Phangan. We went to a beautiful, calm, and quiet beach with many other people. We were wading in the water, and suddenly, my world collapsed: I felt intense pain in my leg and was rushed to the hospital. I've been hospitalized for three days, hoping to get out soon."
The fish Kronenfeld stepped on was a stonefish. "It’s called that because it looks like a stone. It’s a venomous fish that can be dangerous," he explained. "In my case, I encountered it with my foot, far from my upper body. This is very common here. The hospital doctors treated it within seconds. They’re familiar with it. They said many tourists get injured by this fish."
Despite the relative frequency of such injuries, Kronenfeld notes that many people are unaware of the dangers. He wants to warn others so they can be cautious. "I talked to my family and friends. They weren’t really aware of this fish," he said. "But as time goes by, I discover more people who have had the same experience, and it’s important to me that people know about this situation and know what to do."
Is there anything you can do in such situations? You can't exactly dive and check for stonefish in the water.
"True, but the fish is usually on the bottom, so you're more likely to step on it than touch it with another part of your body. I would recommend entering the water with flip-flops or special shoes. If it happens, the most important advice is to immediately immerse the foot in hot water, as this prevents the venom from spreading throughout the body."
Is your leg improving now?
"Overall, yes. The leg swells significantly when it happens, and it’s still very swollen, so it’s still very painful to stand on it. Luckily, I got to the hospital within 20 minutes, which saved my leg. In other cases, it can be really dangerous."
Entering the ocean? Keep your feet safe!
Various injuries among travelers due to encounters with venomous fish are not uncommon. "Every season, we receive several patients with such injuries," says Prof. Eyal Leshem, an expert in infectious diseases and the director of the Travel Medicine Institute at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. "Thailand is the most popular destination for Israelis traveling to tropical countries. It's definitely the habitat of the stonefish. People don't go there to visit museums but to enjoy the beach, and occasionally we encounter such injuries."
"This fish is found in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and even a bit in the Red Sea," adds Dr. Bibiana Hazan, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at HaEmek Medical Center. "It has spines containing venom that it injects when threatened, such as in the case of stepping on it, for example. That's actually its way of defending itself."