A doctor who found something 'nasty' under the skin of a patient's foot has warned Australians to be vigilant at the beach this summer.
Melbourne-based Dr Michael Mrozinski, who posts videos to TikTok as 'Dr Michael Says', treated a man who had a piece of an oyster lodged in his foot after an ocean swim.
'I had a guy come in to see me,' Dr Mrozinski, who is originally from Scotland, said in the video titled beach dangers.
Dr Michael Mrozinski (pictured) shows a piece of oyster shell he removed from a patient's foot
'He had a sore heel and he had been walking on it for about two weeks, limping on it.'
Dr Mrozinski said the man's injury happened when he was surfing and swimming around live coral, which are common on many Australian beaches.
'When I looked a bit closer, I found a massive bit of oyster,' he said.
'It had been sitting under the skin for the last two weeks.
'Shells and coral carry a really nasty bacteria called vibrio. If you don't get a wound washed out properly and get given the right antibiotics, then you could end up with a really serious infection.'
Vibrio can cause septicaemia if eaten in raw or undercooked seafood, particularly oysters.
Dr Michael Mrozinski's hand holding the piece of oyster shell he removed from a patient's foot (pictured right)
It can also cause a flesh-eating infection when an open wound is exposed to warm seawater with high concentrations of the bacteria.
Studies show that one-in-five of those infected with vibrio die. Many others need intensive care or to have a limb amputated.
Dr Mrozinski also uses his TikTok site to address concerns about Covid-19 vaccine side effects while dancing to music with his stethoscope around his neck.
'There is more and more misinformation being spread on TikTok by people who just have no medical training or background in what they are saying,' he told The Age.
'It's pretty worrying particularly regarding the Covid vaccine, with people coming up with all types of theories and there is no sense to them.'
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