Waterford swimmers warned over rise of 'excruciatingly painful and extremely venomous' fish stings

Swimmers in Waterford and across Ireland are being warned about a rise in venomous weever fish stings, which can cause severe pain.

The director of the Tramore Surf Life Saving Club in Waterford, Lola O'Sullivan, said weever fish are a small fish that bury themselves in sand on a low tide and tend to "flick their dorsel fin" into feet as people pass by.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said the best way to deal with the sting is to put your foot in warm water, which should be heated up to about 40 degrees. "That releases the venom and breaks down the chemicals in the foot," Lola said. 

She advised anyone who is stung to ask shops or coffee shops to help them if there is no lifeguard on duty to assist.

'Significant' improvements to supports for Carer's in Waterford to take effect from today

€10.5m further funding announced for the community response to support people arriving from Ukraine

The fish see humans as "large predators" and flick their fin to protect themselves. 

The sting is "excruciatingly painful and extremely venomous," Lola said. 

"The pain can last for up to two hours, or even longer. The peak of the pain is in the first two hours," Lola said. 

She said the danger only arises at low tide. She said swimmers can wear booties to protect their feet.

The weever fish "are not there to attack us, they see us as attacking them," Lola said. 

"They are very common - whether you are in Donegal, Kerry, Galway, Dublin - they are very common in our waterways," she added. 

Incidents of weever stings are becoming more common, which Lola said was down to people swimming in the sea on a more regular basis, all year around. 

Listen to the full interview here