A TikToker unknowingly captured the moment she came into contact with one of world's deadliest animals.
For one travel influencer, what started as a simple beach video in the Philippines turned into a life-threatening encounter that changed her life.
Julie, who creates travel content with her boyfriend Daniel under the TikTok handle @julieanddaniel_, unknowingly filmed the moment she sat on a venomous box jellyfish.
The clip begins with Julie talking to the camera as she lowers herself into the shallow end of the ocean at a beach. In an instant, Julie appears to be in pain and jumps out of the camera's view. The video then cuts to a shocking image of a large scar on her thigh.
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“She doesn’t know it yet but in this moment she sits on a box jellyfish (most venomous on this planet) and suffers excruciating pain that left her with scars (pic at the end) and long-term extreme gut issues,” the caption overlaid on the TikTok reads.
According to National Geographic, the box jellyfish's venom is 'among the most deadly in the world,' attacking the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. In fact, they carry enough toxins to kill over 60 humans.
These translucent killers can weigh up to 4.4 pounds, and their venom is so potent that victims often go into shock and drown or suffer fatal heart failure before they can even reach the shore.
In a subsequent video showing Julie and her boyfriend on her way to the hospital in Coron, Philippines, Julie described pain unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
“I didn’t expect today to turn out like this,” Julie said as she lay in a hospital bed. “I was on a lovely island. I didn't even see the jellyfish.”
The incident occurred during a boat excursion from Coron to El Nido in the Philippines.
Julie said that she didn't feel anything initially while sitting in the water, but the 'burning' in her 'thighs and butt' began the moment she stood up.
“When the venom spread, I could feel it, it was all in my stomach, my arms, my fingers, my head, my feet,” Julie continued, comparing the sting to a 'flat iron pressed against me.'
Their tour guide used equipment to lift the jellyfish from the water, revealing it to be 'the length of a man.'
“The pain is like pain I’ve never felt in my life,” she said. “You need to be so careful when you’re out in the sea and to look because I wasn’t looking, I just swam. That’s my first ever experience like this.
"I think I was screaming for an hour, my voice was gone earlier because I was screaming so much. That’s how bad the pain was.”
Fortunately, the content creator went on to share that she was receiving medicine and antihistamines. “If it was fatal, I would have shown symptoms by now, it’s been about six hours,” she continued. “Thank God everything is okay.”
Mayo Clinic reports that severe reactions to box jellyfish stings can require cardiopulmonary resuscitation, life support, or specialised antivenom medication.
While Julie survived the immediate danger, the encounter left lasting impacts on her health, as her caption mentioned 'long-term extreme gut issues' that resulted from the venom exposure.