BajaNomad - Stingray - Powered by XMB

Stingray

tehag - 4-11-2016 at 03:19 PM

It's getting to be "shuffle your feet" time. Small skates are a constant menace in inshore water. They can deliver a very painful sting, but one of these large stingrays could really wreck your outing. The 2 stings were: long (6.5 inches), over short (4.5 inches). They are barbed and venomous. Maybe 40 pound stingray found dead on the beach at Las Garzas near Loreto this morning. Boot and hand are of adult male Homo sapiens.

[Edited on 4-11-2016 by tehag]

BigBearRider - 4-11-2016 at 03:31 PM

Wow. That's a big bugger. Where did you find the ray?

I didn't know they had two stingers. One is certainly enough to ruin your day. I got stung in the foot last year. It hurt some.

toronja - 4-11-2016 at 03:33 PM

Been there, done that, two thumbs way down. Do the shuffle, folks!

Maron - 4-11-2016 at 04:12 PM

OUCH!!!!!!!

woody with a view - 4-11-2016 at 04:12 PM

that's a monster!

Skipjack Joe - 4-11-2016 at 05:16 PM

Yes, those will carve you up pretty good. They do look handsome though.

alacran - 4-11-2016 at 07:34 PM

Handsome, probably to another ray ??

hombre66 - 4-11-2016 at 09:52 PM

First trip of my life to San Felipe in 66... Morning #1.. raft mask and snorkle in hand Nobody TOLD ME to do the shuffle. (I was 12) ;o(
Remedy that works: HOT HOT water soak breaks down the enzyme

4x4abc - 4-11-2016 at 11:13 PM

Quote: Originally posted by hombre66

First trip of my life to San Felipe in 66... Morning #1.. raft mask and snorkle in hand Nobody TOLD ME to do the shuffle. (I was 12) ;o(
Remedy that works: HOT HOT water soak breaks down the enzyme

yup, it's either a trip to the doctor/hospital or HOT water

durrelllrobert - 4-12-2016 at 09:24 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BigBearRider

Wow. That's a big bugger. Where did you find the ray?

I didn't know they had two stingers. One is certainly enough to ruin your day. I got stung in the foot last year. It hurt some.

He said "found dead on the beach at Las Garzas near Loreto "

BajaBlanca - 4-12-2016 at 10:22 AM

my sisters kids both got hit while visiting ... no one advised ME about the shuffle but then again, I am the only one here who swims at the beach. None of the locals know how to swim and are afraid of the open water. They will "swim" at the entrance to the lagoon.

Come August and September, I love the warm Pacific and nowadays you can bet I shuffle !

willardguy - 4-12-2016 at 10:33 AM

some claim its good to keep meat tenderizer on hand to treat the wound....

4x4abc - 4-12-2016 at 10:45 AM

you can put anything you like on the wound
placebos have a 50% rate of success

to break down the proteins of the venom you need medication or heat if you can't make it to a doctor fast.

most pains go down over time - this pain increases for the first 2 days

I have driven many to hospitals and doctors, all in so much pain that they wanted to jump out of the window of the car rather than endure the time until hospital. A few days on morphine is not uncommon.
I drove a football player (huge guy) to Santa Rosalia from Chivato once. He was crying like a child the whole time.

Sting rays are bad news. Killed this Australian TV nature guy a few years back.

BigBearRider - 4-12-2016 at 11:13 AM

Quote: Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote: Originally posted by BigBearRider

Wow. That's a big bugger. Where did you find the ray?

I didn't know they had two stingers. One is certainly enough to ruin your day. I got stung in the foot last year. It hurt some.

He said "found dead on the beach at Las Garzas near Loreto "

Thanks.

Maybe the geographical location was there in the original post along and I just carelessly missed it. Or maybe it was added when the original poster edited the original post. I don't know.

motoged - 4-12-2016 at 02:07 PM

I think that rays have only one barb on the tail:

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/fish/stingray.htm

toronja - 4-12-2016 at 02:18 PM

Some ray species have multiple barbs. I'm not sure about the common Baja species. The one I found only chose to use one - that was enough.

stingray.jpg - 54kB

motoged - 4-12-2016 at 02:36 PM

Thanks for the clarification....wicked critter potential.

Stingray location

tehag - 4-12-2016 at 02:42 PM

I edited the location into the post after someone asked about it.

bajabuddha - 4-12-2016 at 03:28 PM

I've done first aid to over half a dozen ray victims (fortunately none were ME). The meat tenderizer is a MYTH; first and foremost, and as soon as possible, immerse the puncture site in HOT water, as hot as the victim can tolerate (not too hot to damage the skin) and keep it hot, adding to it. The intense pain will lessen considerably almost immediately, and will return just as fast if removed from the hot water. I've transported people in my truck with their foot in a bucket of hot water.

Second; rays bury in ocean mud, and carry a host of nasty pathogens you don't want inside of you. GET TO A DOCTOR. Start a regimen of antibiotics and take ALL of them, not just a few day's worth. My last couple of 'patients' were seen by my neighbor, an MD. On one sting he novacained and lanced the wound, letting it drain, and put in a stitch the next day, also prescribed the antibiotics. His wife, a nurse was on hand also, and told her story of being whacked and refusing the lance/meds, and paid for it with a year of encapsulated infection and pain.

AKgringo - 4-12-2016 at 04:24 PM

Good info Buddah, thanks for the input. I have been aware of the dangers of a sting ray encounter most of my life, but never realized how often it seems to happen.

Thanks to all who posted so far, I have learned something today!

Edit; Prior to reading this thread, my first line of treatment would have been to put an ice pack on the wound while heading to the medico,

[Edited on 4-12-2016 by AKgringo]

bajabuddha - 4-12-2016 at 04:47 PM

MENAGE A TROIS AT LA PERLA (a.k.a. "hidin' the stinger") 3' from shore, low tide. Female, missionary position... Jesuit or Fransiscan?

JZ - 4-12-2016 at 07:13 PM

I always swim off the boat, not the beach.

Martyman - 4-13-2016 at 01:04 PM

I got nailed at Punta Chivato. Hot water helped...so did tequila.

hombre66 - 4-14-2016 at 08:23 PM

Another interesting thing that occurred with me both times I have been zapped: Very slow to heal, weeping of clear fluid for 10 days and a little necrosis, meaning, the wound got bigger before it healed and left a noticeably larger scar than the original wound. 2nd time was easier, I was older and in my 40's: We had a Morro Bay harbor patrolman/EMT trained guy on this trip who knew the hot water trick.(He also brought a big trauma kit from work) 4 ibuprofen and a few shots of George Dickel rounded out the scenario

bajabuddha - 4-14-2016 at 08:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by hombre66

Another interesting thing that occurred with me both times I have been zapped: Very slow to heal, weeping of clear fluid for 10 days and a little necrosis, meaning, the wound got bigger before it healed and left a noticeably larger scar than the original wound. 2nd time was easier, I was older and in my 40's: We had a Morro Bay harbor patrolman/EMT trained guy on this trip who knew the hot water trick.(He also brought a big trauma kit from work) 4 ibuprofen and a few shots of George Dickel rounded out the scenario

Hombre, classic example (first whack) of the pathogens they carry. The hot water trick does cause some (and key word SOME) drawing of the toxins, but still... Dickel Tickle is a good agent especially when taken internally rather than poured on the wound. Depends on habitat too methinks; muddier shoals (San Lucas Cove) as opposed to exposed beaches with currents have some context on the amount of sludge they survive in, hence inject into foot/ankle.

Again, SEE A DOCTOR asap. Get a scrip for an antibiotic; I won't conjecture which one, not qualified; broad spectrum and what you can tolerate would be the cheapest way to go just going to a farmacia, but i'd still go to a pro. And, tickle my Dickel. Personally i'm an Old Bushwhacker fan. or Corralejo when in Rome.

Cypress 2 - 4-15-2016 at 09:58 AM

Was stuck in the hand while attempting to get a small one off my hook. Been stuck by catfish etc., thought it'd be no big deal. Wrong! Finally went to the ER. They gave me a tetanus shot and put me on antibiotics. Took about 2 months for my hand to get back to normal.

hombre66 - 4-15-2016 at 07:07 PM

Buddha, Good insurance as per your advice. I was lucky to have no classic infection. Cypress.. tough ordeal. Sculpin spines are the other boogeyman. Not as painful as ray, but can be wicked. Took one in between fingers and my hand blew up like a baloon for 3 days.

toronja - 4-16-2016 at 12:48 AM

Parts of the stingray's barb can also break off in the wound, so weeping and delayed healing could also be your body's response to a foreign body. Sounds like it's best to get all ray wounds looked at anyway, thanks buddha.

I guess I got lucky. We had disinfectant, but no hot water, and the worst of the pain went away within a couple of hours, so I didn't bother getting checked out.

This made for an interesting read: https://faoj.org/2008/06/01/stingray-envenomation-of-the-foo...

And here I was thinking that a little puncture like mine was couldn't be that worrisome - pretty gnarly stuff!

[Edited on 4-16-2016 by toronja]

BajaMama - 4-18-2016 at 07:20 AM

I got a sting in Punta Chivato last October - the hot water thing really works. I felt pretty stupid not having my water socks on, got carried away and forgot the shuffle while I was fishing the shore; I didn't see that many stingrays from the shore but apparently they are there! I don't recall it hurting for a super long time after soaking in really hot water.

willardguy - 4-18-2016 at 10:03 AM

prevention. urge your neighbors and guests not to deposit their fish carcasses in your swimming beach after a days fishing :coolup:

bajabuddha - 4-18-2016 at 10:47 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaMama

I got a sting in Punta Chivato last October - the hot water thing really works. I felt pretty stupid not having my water socks on, got carried away and forgot the shuffle while I was fishing the shore; I didn't see that many stingrays from the shore but apparently they are there! I don't recall it hurting for a super long time after soaking in really hot water.

Your water socks wouldn't have done you any good whatsoever. One friend-o-mine got it right through the lower side of tennis shoes; through the side-rubber and canvas, just like a filleting knife. Nasty lil' buggers they are.

Prevention: a 'RAY-STICK'. Can be anything, from a 3-6' length of 1/2" PVC, to a lightweight cordon stick.... tap the sand/mud in front of you as you walk in the surf. The 'RAY-SHUFFLE' works too........ slide your feet side by side as you move; I prefer the stick method 10 to 1. Fish carcasses or not, they're there for the clams and crabs anyway.

vandenberg - 4-18-2016 at 11:19 AM

A golf club shaft will work

AKgringo - 4-18-2016 at 01:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by vandenberg

A golf club shaft will work

Do you recommend an iron, or maybe a sand wedge?

bajabuddha - 4-18-2016 at 01:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

Quote: Originally posted by vandenberg

A golf club shaft will work

Do you recommend an iron, or maybe a sand wedge?

I'd use a One-Iron. Even gawd can't hit one; a ray wouldn't stand a chance. :smug:

BigBearRider - 4-18-2016 at 02:06 PM

Neighbors suggested a rake for more coverage.

I have also stepped on a stingray. I was wearing neoprene dive booties, but they were no match for the stingray. The barb went through the top without issue.

Justbozo - 4-19-2016 at 09:12 PM

I've been here a few years, but I'm no veteran.

I always shuffle. Might look goofy, but I'm not into pain.

My gal uses a paint roller on a broom stick pushed in front of her. Without the tube, the wire bale kind of beats the bottom for vibration as well as contact. She likes it and she is so afraid of rays she won't even walk behind me!

I know there is lots of debate, but I have used a venom extractor with what seemed like success and have heard 1st hand reports of others.

Hot water seems to be second only to prevention!

Stay aware of your surroundings! Always and everywhere!

bledito - 4-20-2016 at 04:48 PM

was wading in the waters of la paz and look down after wading out quite a bit and saw a bunch of em lucky I didn't get one. my wife behind me freaked and I had us just slowly shuffle back to shore. small pancake sized I'm sure the tourists at the hotel they were building were gunna love em.

woody with a view - 4-20-2016 at 06:54 PM

A good idea is to set up a solar shower so that hot water is immediately available. It takes awhile to heat 2-3 gallons to soak in.

willardguy - 4-20-2016 at 07:05 PM

Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view

A good idea is to set up a solar shower so that hot water is immediately available. It takes awhile to heat 2-3 gallons to soak in.

the commercially bought "stingray wound first aid kits" come with a instant heat pack, probably not as effective as hot water but better than nothing in a pinch!

bajabuddha - 4-20-2016 at 07:48 PM

JB........ They got rays in..... LAKE MICHIGAN ???

(I thought it wuz just cubbies.)