The 53-year-old police major (senior state traffic police inspector) and his family came to Greece on vacation. The man is an avid fisherman, so he decided to spend one of his vacation days on the Mediterranean coast with a fishing rod, along with the same amateur fishermen, MK reports.

On the hook of the inspector soon pecked one of the most dangerous inhabitants mediterranean sea sea - sea ​​dragon. This is a fish 40–50 cm long, its mouth is filled with small sharp teeth that are harmless to humans, but the fin fan is equipped with needles that are saturated with poison. An additional poisoned spike is located on the gill shell. When attacked, the fish tries to grab its prey with its teeth and, at the first opportunity, stings with thorns. Sea Dragon attacked when the fisherman tried to take the predator off the hook. The fish dug its teeth into the palm, and then pricked with a thorn.

Apparently, this is what happened: the characteristic point on the palm does not heal, and the hand periodically swells, although more than a week has passed since the attack by the sea dragon. What to do with the injury - now the surgeon will decide.

Apparently, the policeman did not read the Greek danger series, in particular " What to watch out for on Greek beaches

Help of Russian Athens

Sea dragons live mainly in shallow bays and bays with a sandy or muddy bottom. They usually burrow into soft ground so that only the top of the head, mouth, eyes, and dorsal fin spines are visible. But this passivity is only visible. The whelpling can instantly jump out of its hiding place and plunge a poisoned spike into the victim with unerring accuracy.

Due to their hidden lifestyle and considerable aggressiveness, dragons are very dangerous for anyone who swims near the shore, dives, dives, or simply wanders barefoot in shallow water. If you accidentally step on a sea dragon bare foot or grab the fish with your hand, it, defending itself, sticks sharp spines into the body of the “offender”. Even a dead dragon must be handled very carefully so as not to be pricked by its thorn.

What are the consequences of contact with a sea dragon

The consequences of the lesion depend on the depth of the injection, the size of the fish, and the toxicity of the poison.

In turn, the toxicity of the poison depends not only on the age and sex of the dragon, but also on the conditions of its development and nutrition, habitat and season. It is worth noting here that contact with fish is most dangerous in the spring, during the spawning period.

An injection with a poisonous thorn, whether gill or fin, results in the release of a few drops of blood and causes instant excruciating pain, which, without appropriate treatment, can persist for more than a day. Starting in the injection wound, the pain quickly spreads to the entire affected limb. Its peak comes in half an hour. The pain is so strong that the victim rushes about, screams. There were cases when the victims attempted to jump out of the boat. It is noteworthy that even the introduction of morphine does not lead to significant relief.

Pain is accompanied by:

• severe inflammation
• pronounced edema,
• in some cases loss of consciousness,
• signs of heart failure
• fever
• headache,
• convulsions
• vomiting,
• breathing disorder.

Among other things, a secondary infection may develop in the wound, which will be supplemented by tissue necrosis, as well as a sluggishly flowing ulcer.

Contact with a sea dragon can lead to paralysis of the limbs. And in the most severe cases, it is even possible death. Recovery is slow. It can take several days or several months.

What not to do when pricked by a sea dragon

• It is not recommended to apply a tourniquet to the pricked limb. This will only worsen the well-being of the victim and contribute to the development of complications.
• You should also not make incisions on the wound to drain the poison. Thus, you only further injure the victim.
• It is impossible to burn the pricked place either with matches, or cigarettes, or coals from a fire, or any other hot objects. The reasons are discussed in the previous paragraphs.
• It is forbidden to drink alcohol, as it dilates blood vessels and thereby contributes to a faster spread and absorption of the poison.

What first aid can be provided upon contact with a sea dragon

Poisoning with the poison of a sea dragon is fraught with many sad consequences, therefore, in this case, you must immediately seek medical help. However, in the absence of such an opportunity or on the way to the hospital, you can take the following emergency measures.

1. First of all, you should carefully pull out the remaining fragments of the spike that could remain in the tissues.

2. To remove the poison, during the first 10 minutes after the injection, the contents of small puncture wounds should be sucked out, periodically spitting at the same time. This procedure permitted only if there is no oral cavity sucking out bleeding wounds, caries, stomatitis and other injuries through which the poison can enter the circulatory system.

3. To reduce the concentration of poison and relieve pain, it is also necessary to quickly wash the wound with a large number sea ​​water.

4. Among other things, doctors recommend taking hot baths. A pressure bandage should be applied above the wound, and the affected limb should be lowered for 30-60 minutes in hot water, adding 3% potassium permanganate there. The water temperature should be slightly below the burn threshold. The bandage must be loosened every 10 minutes and tightened again.

5. In the absence of hot water, you can simply treat the damaged area with potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide.

7. To relieve pain, you can take a pain reliever.

6. In conclusion, an antiseptic dressing should be applied to the wound and the immobility of the pricked limb should be ensured.

Interesting facts about sea dragons and their injections

• The sea dragon is considered the most dangerous poisonous fish in the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
• The venom of the sea dragon acts as a neurotoxin and hemotoxin, similar to the venoms of some snakes.
• Only in Bulgaria alone, about 100 cases of damage to vacationers by a sea dragon are recorded per season.
• Despite the presence of poisonous thorns, the sea dragon has edible meat and, moreover, very tasty. But, before cooking, it is imperative to remove the poisonous spines on the gills and dorsal fin.

Poisonous marine fish inhabit not only warm waters tropical seas. AT coastal waters European Atlantic, as well as in the Black and mediterranean seas, occurs very dangerous representative family of ray-finned fish - a large sea dragon, or a large sea ​​scorpion, or snake (Latin. Trachinus draco). So, let's get to know this sea creature closer.

Black sea sea dragon

The dragon, though beautiful, but very dangerous fish- which is the only representative of dragons living in the waters of the Black Sea.

Its elongated low body is covered with dense small scales. The head is decorated with spikes, the largest of which are on the gill covers.

The very first and shortest of the two dorsal fins has 6 to 7 rays. The body of the dragon has a gray or beige color with a pattern of oblique stripes on the sides. The body length is up to 20 cm, although there are individuals up to 40-45 cm in length.

These fish lead a sedentary lifestyle, hiding at the bottom, they are waiting for their potential prey: fish or crustaceans.

The Black Sea sea dragon is ubiquitous in the Black Sea, but sometimes it can be found in the Kerch Strait. He gets closer to the coast from May to November during the breeding season, while not rising to a depth of more than twenty meters.

The main danger is fraught with its poisonous glands located at the base of the spines on the gill covers and spines of the dorsal fin. A portion of poison can be obtained by accidentally stepping on a dragon or catching it on a hook.

This fish has very tasty meat, especially when dried. And if you want to eat it, then first of all, get rid of the poisonous spines and spines in the gills and dorsal fins. After removing them, you can cook the fish in any way.

Precautionary measures

Fishermen are the main risk group, especially beginners. not all of them know this poisonous representative Black Sea fauna in the "face". The sea dragon must not be touched with bare hands, experienced anglers recommend using some object to carefully muffle it and throw it into the sea, or sacrifice part of the fishing line with a hook.

A person, pricked with poisonous thorns, feels a strong burning pain that quickly spreads throughout the limb. In the place where the injection was, cyanosis and swelling appear, and in the most severe cases, convulsions, heart failure, and even paralysis of the lower limb. Symptoms gradually increase after the injection over several hours.

What needs to be done

After the injection, it is necessary to apply a tourniquet above the wound, but not more than 15 minutes, then rinse the wound, carefully remove the remnants of the thorn or thorn, and call an emergency medical care.

You can also disinfect the injection site. hot water, with the addition of magnesium sulfate, which destroys the poison. The pain is removed by novocaine blockade.

The main thing is to provide the victim with the necessary medical assistance in time, otherwise very serious consequences, up to and including death, can await him.

These are the problems that can arise when you get to know this cute and harmless at first glance fish. Therefore, if you meet a Black Sea sea dragon - be extremely careful!

31.08.2015

Sea dragon (Trachinus draco) - the most poisonous fish not only the Black Sea, but the entire European coast. She lives in the waters of the Mediterranean, Black Seas, European coast Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Chile, the western and northern coasts of Africa.

The sea dragon has a snake-like, laterally flattened elongated body (up to 40 cm, but usually 15-20 cm), for which it is also called a snake fish. Its back is motley, yellowish-brown, by the intensity of the torn stripes of which one can distinguish this representative from a harmless bull. The lateral fins of the fish are greenish in color, and the edge of its caudal fin is almost black.

Its venom glands are located at the base of the spines of the first dorsal fin and the spines of the gill covers, the edges of which are also painted black. If you step on a fish or take it in your hands, then the sharp needles of the fins pierce deep into the tissues, causing burning pain, causing loss of consciousness and even depriving them of speechlessness.

The poison spreads quickly, giving the affected area and nearby tissues a bluish color, forming edema. If a person is not provided with timely medical assistance, then, in extreme cases, tissue death or paralysis of the affected part of the body may occur, judging by the literary sources, there have been cases of deaths.

Sometimes the symptoms of poisoning are manifested by delirium, nausea, convulsions, heart failure. For the toxicity of its poison, the fish is also called the sea scorpion. If a sea dragon is hit by a spike, the victim needs to apply a tourniquet or twist from a scarf above the site of the lesion, as close to the wound as possible. The tourniquet should not be held for more than 15 minutes.

Then it is necessary to wash the wound, remove the remaining fish spikes from it. Since this poison contains protein, in order to destroy it, you need to place the injection site in hot water with sodium sulfate dissolved in it. For anesthesia, novocaine blockade is used. Be sure to take the victim to a medical facility.

sea ​​dragon - predatory inhabitant loose bottom soil. He is a master of disguise and hunts from ambush. Buried in sand or silt so that only part of its back, mouth, spikes of fins and eyes, prudently located on the top of a huge head, are visible, it prepares to throw. With a well-aimed swift lunge, he captures small fish or crustaceans in his large mouth.

The jaws of the sea dragon are equipped with sharp small teeth. The soft dorsal and anal fins of the fish are so large that they stretch the entire length of the body. Favorite habitats for fish are shallow bays and gulfs with a loose, silty or sandy bottom. More often they are found from May to November at a depth of about 20 meters, in the remaining months the fish go to greater depths.

Despite the fact that this animal has poisonous glands, its meat is edible and tasty. It is eaten dried, fried and boiled. However, we must not forget that even in a dead dragon, spikes with poisonous glands remain dangerous. Therefore, before cooking, you need to trim or trim the spines of the first dorsal fin and gill covers of the fish.

Sea Dragon [VIDEO]

sea ​​dragon

sea ​​dragon- not at all a fabulous, sweet creature. This is the most dangerous poisonous bottom fish. She lives in the waters temperate zone, lives off the western and northern African coasts, off the European coast, the coast of Chile. The dragon has other names: snake fish, scorpion. There are 5 types of these fish.

The appearance is not particularly attractive: the body is flat laterally, the eyes are on the top of the head, the belly is light, and the back is yellow-brown with torn stripes. The mouth of a dragon with small sharp teeth, the lower jaw is much longer than the upper, the body reaches 40 cm, and the mass is 300 grams. There are several on the throat. pelvic fins and two dorsal.

They live in bays in shallow water, burrowing into sand or soil so that only the head, eyes, mouth, dorsal fin with spikes are visible. With visible passivity, the fish can jump out of the shelter with lightning speed and plunge the poisoned spike into the victim. This is what makes this fish so dangerous for those who walk barefoot in shallow water, dive, dive.

The weapons of the dragons are the spines of the dorsal fin with deep furrows. At their base are poisonous glands. The injection of this fish causes excruciating pain, and the injection site swells and becomes inflamed, sometimes there is necrosis of the tissues around the injection. The victim has a strong headache, fever, sweating, respiratory failure, heart pain. If the poisoning is severe, depending on the size and depth of the injection, then this can lead to paralysis and even death. Therefore, it is imperative to consult a doctor. And before that, the poison must be sucked out by washing the affected area with a solution of manganese.

If you follow the elementary precautions, then the bites of these fish can be avoided:

Do not touch even a dead sea dragon;
- do not search underwater caves with your hands;
- walking along the shore at low tide, you need to look under your feet.

Description

The dragon is not a dangerous fish in itself, although it belongs to the category of predators. She does not like to actively move around the reservoir, preferring to spend time in ambush, burrowing into the sand at the bottom. Most of injections is caused by the fact that careless holidaymakers accidentally step on fish without noticing it in the sand. Although there were also cases when this sea dragon attacked people who approached him too close.

Fish only sometimes accidentally fall on the hooks of anglers, but inexperienced lovers of sea fishing often confuse this inhabitant of the Black Sea with other fish and take it with their bare hands. As a result, a dose of poison is obtained, for the neutralization of which it is necessary to urgently contact a medical institution.

habitats

The sea dragon is one of the representatives of the species of predatory ray-finned fish that belong to the dragon family. They are widely distributed throughout the world, from the European part of the Atlantic to the coast of Brazil. However, the considered representative of the ichthyofauna is found only in the Mediterranean Sea.

Residents of Russia can see the sea dragon along the Black Sea coast. Sometimes, especially during the spawning period, these inhabitants of salt water bodies also enter Azov (more precisely, the Kerch Strait). However, such cases are very rare. The same applies to the Black Sea. Fish rarely come close enough to the shore to pose any significant danger to vacationers on the Crimean and Caucasian coasts.

body structure

The Black Sea sea dragon has a not too large, low and elongated body. It is covered with small scales. A feature of the fish is the presence of spikes on the head and gill covers. In addition, spikes in the amount of 6-7 pieces are also present on the first dorsal fin of the fish.

The color of the dragon is quite consistent with its name. The body is yellowish, grayish or beige, covered with many spots. There are oblique stripes on the sides. The length of the fish is about 20 cm, although the fishermen came across individuals of this species, reaching a length of up to 45 cm.

Behavioral features

The sea dragon acquires the ability to reproduce at the age of three. Spawning lasts from May to October, when the water temperature reaches 16 degrees. For spawning, females and males of this representative of the ichthyofauna approach the coastline. Usually spawning takes place at a depth of up to 20 meters.

Commercial value

Separate commercial value the fish does not. Also, she is not an object of amateur fishing, although her meat is very tasty. It is especially valued in smoked form; many gourmets classify it as a delicacy.

Although dragon venom itself is not fatal for humans, it can disrupt the functioning of vital organs and systems, for example, cause respiratory arrest or paralyze any muscles. Therefore, the described representative of the ichthyofauna is dangerous for amateur fishermen who hunt other, more peaceful, inhabitants of the Black Sea.