Aust Fam Physician
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Australian waters contain a variety of venomous creatures, including jellyfish, stinging fish, blue-ringed octopus, sea snakes, cone snails and stingrays. ⋯ Even though mortality from these envenomations is low, there is a high level of morbidity especially with stonefish and other stinging fish envenomations. Some envenomations, however, are serious enough to require antivenom treatment and deaths still occasionally occur.
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Accidental drowning causes over 300 deaths annually in Australia, and many more instances of 'near drowning'. ⋯ Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the mainstay of immediate management. Continuing CPR for 30 minutes if necessary is appropriate, particularly in hypothermic patients. Patients who have been successfully resuscitated and those with clinical features suggesting aspiration should be given 100% oxygen and transferred to hospital. Drowning prevention is a significant public health issue, and the GP's role in education and support of rescue services and public awareness campaigns is important.
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Many venomous marine creatures inhabit Australian waters, causing significant morbidity and occasional fatalities. Part 1 of this article looks at jellyfish envenomations, an important overall cause of marine injuries. ⋯ It is intended that the information contained in this article will be informative to general practitioners dealing with jellyfish stings throughout Australia. Much of what we know has come from the astute observations of GPs in tropical Australia. However, there remains a lot to be learnt about jellyfish envenomation.