A Queensland mum has revealed how an encounter with one of the world’s most venomous plants left her in the ‘worst pain’ she has ever experienced.
Naomi Lewis, 42, was mountain biking along a trail in the Cairns suburb of Smithfield in Far North Queensland last June.
She came off her bike during the ride and fell down an embankment into a Gympie-Gympie plant – officially known as the Dendrocnide Moroides.
The plant, which is also colloquially called the ‘suicide plant’ due to the horrific pain it leaves its victims in and the ‘giant Australian stinging tree’, injects venom straight into the skin and can leave a person in unbearable pain for up to nine months.
It is native to Australia and is typically found in Queensland and northern NSW.
Mum-of-four Naomi Lewis (pictured), 42, recalled her horrific experience with a Gympie-Gympie plant or the ‘giant Australian stinging tree’
Ms Lewis told the ABC that the pain was akin to feeling like she’d been set on fire and was ‘100 per cent the worst pain ever’.
‘The pain was just beyond unbearable. The body gets to a pain threshold and then I started vomiting,’ she said.
‘I’ve had four kids – three caesareans and one natural. Childbirth, none of them even come close.’
Ms Lewis’ husband, Richard, drove her to a nearby pharmacy after the accident, where he purchased hair removal strips to remove the plant’s tiny stinging hairs that were in her skin, injecting venom.
The family desperately tried to get the hairs out of Ms Lewis’ skin with the strips, as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
Ms Lewis recalled telling her husband during the tense moment that she ‘can’t deal with this’.
An ambulance eventually came and took the mother-of-four to Cairns Hospital.
She was later transferred to Cairns Private Hospital, where she was treated with pain medication.
A Gympie-Gympie plant is considered to be one the most venomous plants in the world
It injects venom straight into the skin and can leave a person in unbearable pain for up to nine months
Ms Lewis stayed at the hospital for seven days before she was sent home.
She used painkillers daily and had heat packs strapped to her legs so the immense pain would subside.
It wasn’t until December, six months after her encounter with the stinging tree, that she was finally able to wean herself off the pain killers.
She still experiences some pain on her leg from the Gympie-Gympie plant to this day on a certain section of her leg when cool air hits it.
Read Related Also: DeSantis book signing event in Florida turns ugly when security guard is ordered to boot Trumpers
For those wishing to avoid the plant, the furry nettle can be identified by its broad, oval or heart-shaped leaves and strawberry-like fruit which are covered with tiny stinging hairs.
Despite its toxicity, the plant is eaten by some Indigenous Australian mammals, birds and insects, however it can trigger fatal allergic reactions in others.
WHAT IS THE GYMPIE-GYMPIE STINGING TREE?
The Gympie-Gympie is a species of Australian stinging tree that can grow to 4-5 metres, but is most often found as a smaller shrub around 0.1-1 metre tall.
The ‘suicide plant’ is most commonly found in Gympie in southern Queensland to Cape York Peninsula, but can also be grown in northern NSW.
The plants tend to grow in sunny areas protected from the wind, along the edges of streams, walking tracks and roadways through the forest.
How is it different to other Australian stinging trees?
There are four common species of Australian stinging tree, two being large rainforest trees that can grow up to 35m, the others small shrub-like bushes
The smaller of the species have a more painful poison, and are responsible for the most stings due to their size and accessibility
All four species have a stinging mechanism, however the Gympie-Gympie is considered to have the worst sting, comparable to a scorpion or spider bite
The ‘suicide plant’ is the most toxic of the six Australian species of stinging trees and one of the most poisonous plants in the country
How does it deliver its sting?
The toxic nettle has small hairs covering the entire plant that deliver a potent neurotoxin when touched.
The small bulb at the tip of the stinging hairs breaks off and penetrates the skin to deliver a toxin, similar to that of a self-injecting hypodermic needle.
The tiny hairs can become embedded in the skin and cause excruciating pain in humans for weeks and even months.
The injured area becomes covered with small, red spots joining to form a red, swollen welt, in more severe cases a liquid will drip from the skin.
How can the sting be treated?
Experts say it is important not to rub the affected area, as this can break the tiny hairs and make them difficult to remove.
After applying diluted hydrochloric acid to neutralise the plants peptide coating, wax strips can then be used to remove the hairs.
How to reduce the risk of being stung
Stay on the designated path, wear closed shoes and long pants
Always carry a first-aid kit when bush walking complete with diluted hydrochloric acid, wax strips and latex gloves in case
Source: National Geographic
