Living women with world's most painful sting: “Feeling of imminent death. Some begged doctors to let them die”
From bullet ants and warrior wasps to nearly invisible jellyfish, the world of insects and marine life hides chemical weapons capable of causing unimaginable pain. To find out what the most painful sting really is, some researchers and daredevils put their own bodies to the test, according to the BBC.
American entomologist Justin Schmidt became famous after creating an index of pain caused by stings, testing the venom of nearly 100 species on his own skin.
Pain index created by Justin Schmidt
Justin Schmidt divided the sensations into four levels, describing them plastically from “almost pleasant” until “pure torture”.
At the top of its ranking, at level 4, there are only three species:
bullet ant, whose sting causes “pure, intense pain, like stepping on hot coals with a nail stuck in your heel.”
wasp tarantula hawk, whose sting causes pain “electric, dazzling”, but short-lived.
warrior wasp, whose sting causes “torture”, as Schmidt noted, wondering why he started this endeavor.
Coyote Peterson, the perpetuator of extreme experiments
After Schmidt's death, YouTuber Coyote Peterson took up the baton, exposing himself to the stings of species not included in the original index. He added two new candidates to the maximum pain level:
Japanese giant wasp (“murder hornet”) whose sting was described by Peterson as “like a mike tyson punch in the face”.
executioner wasp (executioner wasp), which for Peterson brought about the most painful experience ever, with effects that necrotized his skin and left him with a permanent scar.
Jellyfish: physical pain and psychological terror
If insects can cause acute pain, jellyfish take the experience to another level.
Irukandji jellyfishthe size of a fingernail, can trigger a devastating syndrome: excruciating kidney pain, profuse sweating, continuous vomiting and cramps that “redefining pain”as researcher Lisa-ann Gershwin explains.
Its sting has a psychological component: an overwhelming sense of impending death. Some patients begged doctors to let them die, convinced the end was inevitable, according to the confessions.
Other sea monsters
Australian box jellyfish is considered the most lethal jellyfish, causes burns like “hot oil”.
The fire worm leaves venomous spines in the skin that generate an intense, lasting burn.
The stone fishperfectly camouflaged, can inject extremely painful venom, with severe swelling and numbness lasting for weeks.
What is the “absolute champion” of pain
Comparing terrestrial to marine stings is almost impossible. Coyote Peterson refuses to test the Irukandji jellyfish, deeming them too dangerous.
Researchers agree with him, because some species can cause brain hemorrhages or cardiac arrest.
Bottom line, we'll never know for sure what the world's most painful sting is. Maybe only if a survivor of Irukandji syndrome agreed to also go through Schmidt's level 4, a concept worthy of a BBC Earth documentary, according to the quoted source.
