The deadliest shell in the ocean is the cone snail.
All cone snails are capable of stinging and are venomous.
Cone snails use a modified radula tooth and venom gland to attack and paralyze their prey before consuming them.
A sting from a cone snail injects a potent neurotoxin that is capable of causing very intense local pain, rapid numbness, muscle paralysis and even respiratory failure.
And in severe cases, stings from larger species of cone snails like the Geography Cone Snail, paralysis can also result in death within just hours if you're not immediately placed on life support.
Medical care for cone snail stings focus on life support and managing of the symptoms until the toxins wear off.
The immediate symptoms of a sting from a cone snail are intense, localized pain, burning, swelling, numbness and tingling.
People who are stung by a cone snail may also have blurred vision or double vision, dizziness and difficulty speaking or swallowing.
A sting from a cone snail can also progress to severe envenomation, which includes.
Paralysis, where numbness can spread to your entire body and lead to generalized muscle paralysis.
Respiratory failure due to the venom, paralyzing your muscles that are responsible for breathing, which is the most common cause of death from cone snail stings.
And the most dangerous species of cone snail, which is the Geography Cone is colloquially called Cigarette snails, which is a dark humor exaggeration that means that the victim of a Geography Cone snail sting might only have enough time to smoke a single cigarette before they die if left untreated.
If stung by a cone snail, call 911 or emergency services immediately.
Immobilize the limb and keep the affected limb entirely still to prevent the venom from circulating and if possible use a pressure immobilization bandage similar to treating a snakebite.
And to help relieve pain from the cone snail sting, submerge the stung area in water as hot as you can tolerate, without burning your skin and if the person needs resuscitated, start resuscitation.
Because the venom of a cone snail can cause breathing to stop, artificial respiration or CPR may be needed to keep the person alive until medical help arrives.