A woman was taken to hospital after suffering a jellyfish sting to the eye while off the coast of North Wales. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon (11 August) when the woman was aboard a yacht anchored off Moelfre Bay, on the northeast coast of the Isle of Anglesey.
Incident details
She had been retrieving a line from the water which was covered in jellyfish tentacles, one of which made contact with her eye. The incident caused intense pain, prompting Moelfre RNLI to respond shortly before 3pm, with the yacht situated just a short distance from the lifeboat station.
The woman was brought ashore and transferred to the lifeboat station, where a swift medical assessment took place. It was subsequently decided that she would make her own way by taxi to the emergency department at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for further treatment.
Clarification from RNLI
Following the RNLI station's report on the incident, a number of people questioned how she had come to sustain a sting to the eye while aboard the vessel. Moelfre RNLI Coxswain Vince Jones clarified that the injury occurred while "recovering a line in the water which had tentacles all over it".
He added: "Either rubbed her eye with some remnants on her hands, or it flicked off the rope and onto her face/eye. We are unsure of how exactly, but she was in a lot of discomfort and the hospital said they needed to ensure there was no remaining debris in the eye."
Public reaction
One person commented: "Wow that must have been so painful and frightening. Those jellyfish stings are very painful I believe. Thank you RNLI, always ready for an emergency."
