Nurse is left in 'excruciating pain' after being stung by a stonefish - and says childbirth was 'ten times EASIER'

A woman who was left in extreme agony after being stung by a stonefish claims that natural childbirth was less painful. 

Whitney Jones was recently getting out of the water at the Mooloolaba Spit, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, when she felt a nip on her foot which felt like a needle. 

'I quickly looked down, saw it and within a few steps of walking up the beach the pain just hit me," she told the ABC.

Sunshine Coast nurse Whitney Jones said the stonefish sting was worse than childbirth

Ms Jones (pictured above) was stung by the venomous stonefish on the Sunshine Coast

Whitney Jones, who works a nurse, collapsed soon after she was stung by the stonefish

'I've given birth completely naturally before, and I'd prefer to do that 10 times over.'

Lifeguards on the scene carefully treated the sting with hot water before an ambulance arrived.

The nurse, who works at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, then calmed herself down by using breathing techniques when she began shaking.

It isn't the first time a run in with a stonefish has left a person in excruciating pain in Queensland.

In 2018, Irish tourist Kevin Renshaw was enjoying a romantic getaway with his partner when he was left in agony.

Mr Renshaw and Grace Scantlebury were swimming in waist-high water at the beach in Bargara, a coastal town 13km east of Bundaberg, when he was stung between the toes on his left foot.

The 51-year-old said the pain was 'unbelievable' and it radiated from his foot while the barb was still lodged inside his flesh.

Scientists have confirmed that the stonefish is officially the world's most venomous fish

Ten minutes after the sting, the 51-year-old said the pain was unbearable.

'It was like hitting your toe with a hammer and then rubbing over it again and again with a nail file,' Kevin told NewsMail. 

He  added: ‘I was trying to man up and be a man about it. But I couldn't handle it.'  

WHAT EXACTLY IS A STONEFISH? 

*The stonefish is known as the world's most venomous fish. They lurk motionlessly, partially buried in the substrate, among coral, rocky reef, rubble, or aquatic plants

*It looks like an encrusted rock that is 35-50cm long and comes in a range of colours: brown, red, orange, grey and yellow

*The venomous fish is lined with 13 sharp dorsal fin spines with venom glands at the base of each one. Each gland contains a poisonous toxin that can lead to excruciating pain and even death

Source: Barrier Reef Australia