Most jellyfish in Australia are harmless gelatinous creatures with umbrella like bodies and flowing tentacles. However, the box jellyfish, found in tropical Queensland, are extremely nasty. Called stingers they can inflict excruciating pain and even death from a single brush. In the wet season (November to April) they live off the coast and swimming is only advised in enclosed areas (most beaches have these).

Moon jellies are certainly the most common, but several others occasionally make landing. Portuguese man-of-war can often be blown in with a strong storm from the South. Sea Nettle, Mushroom Jellies, and cabbage Head Jellies are also known to be off the coast and can be blown into shore. Lions Mane Jelly Fish are among the rarest to wash up. They can be as large as 8 feet across and have tentacles 100 feet long.

Without special safety precautions, the laser can be dangerous. However, we ensure patient as well as health care worker safety by: 1. providing safety glasses for everyone in the room; 2. using the lowest effective settings possible; and 3. only allowing the doctor to perform the procedure as per the State Board of Medical Examiners. At the very low energy settings we use to treat spider veins, the danger is minimal. Treatment for vein problems have advanced dramatically over the past 5 years.

On the whole, no! We do occasionally get some stingers in the water, but they generally only stay around for a week or two. A wet suit is your best bet against getting stung.

The Channel is too cold and dirty for sharks. On the other hand, the channel is replete with jellyfish. The stings are not fatal but are very painful. Usually this happens as I am taking a stroke and what feels like three or four electrified barbed wires are being dragged across my skin- jellyfish tentacles. The skin usually burns for five minutes and then goes numb. Impressive scars then surface the next day. No channel swimmer is complete without his or her own collection!

Between 80 percent and 90 percent of patients get better on their own in about a week. The other 10 percent to 20 percent get worse, with many ending up in intensive care and requiring mechanical ventilators to help them breathe. About 6 percent die.

Some advanced techniques of Yoga can be dangerous if practiced without proper preparation and the guidance of a qualified teacher. Fortunately, such techniques are generally inaccessible to unprepared students. For this reason, it is very important to respect the process of initiation and transmission of yogic teachings.

It can be. We want to be proactive to ensure the safety of our products and the health of our loyal consumers. Do not use these products even if they do not look or smell spoiled. Please dispose of them by double bagging in plastic bags that are tightly closed before being placed in a trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash outside of the home, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The laser is dangerous if you look at it directly. However full laser safety precautions are taken during the operation. Everyone in the operating theatre has to wear special glasses during the laser phase of the procedure to be sure that there is no risk.

This is less of a problem than it used to be, especially on the Camino Francés, where the local dogs are by now entirely used to seeing pilgrims pass. But in France generally, and on the other Spanish routes, where dogs are generally kept to protect farms and flocks, it is as well to be wary.

Some alternative treatments may actually have a higher risk than the products that they claim to replace. Ephedra, for example, is a naturally occurring CNS stimulant that some people use instead of Ritalin. This herbal product has been associated with at least 38 deaths and over 800 adverse reactions. People forget that "Natural" does not necessarily mean "Safe."