Worldtraveller
Junior Nomad
Posts: 65
Registered: 11-26-2004
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sting rays
What is the best treatment when stung by a ray? Aside from shuffling feet while walking in the water, how can I avoid being stung? Would scuba
booties provide good protection?
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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Stingrays have flat bodies with long, slender tails that have serrated spines. Their serrated spines can cause lacerations (cuts) and puncture wounds.
The spines also contain venom. Stingrays are widely distributed in tropical to temperate waters. They are not aggressive, so an injury from a stingray
usually occurs when a swimmer or diver accidentally steps on one. Stingray stings are one of the most common dive- and beach-related injuries.
Stingray Sting Symptoms
The person feels immediate, sharp, excruciating pain that peaks in 1-2 hours.
The wound bleeds.
The wounded area may become swollen and may turn blue or red.
Lymph nodes may become swollen.
Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, muscle cramps, tremors, paralysis, fainting, seizures, elevated heart rate, and decreased blood
pressure may develop. Death may even occur.
Stingray Sting Treatment
If medical attention is not readily available, the following guidelines are recommended in treating a stingray sting:
Flush the wound with fresh water. Use oral and topical benedryl if available.
For pain relief, soak the wound in water as hot as the person can tolerate for 60-90 minutes.
Use tweezers to remove the stingers.
Scrub the wound with soap and fresh water.
Do not cover the wound with tape or close it with stitches. Apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
Apply topical antibiotic ointment if signs of infection, such as pus, redness, or heat, occur.
Oral antibiotics are usually recommended for infection.
Continue antibiotics for at least 5 days after all signs of infection have cleared.
When to Seek Medical Care
Most stingray injuries require immediate medical attention for antibiotics and pain meds.
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
Registered: 5-30-2005
Location: bcs
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For the pain, immerse the affected part in HOT water- as hot as you can stand it. Keep another pot boiling so you can rotate them as they start to
cool off. It can take 1-2 hours of soaking before you can remove the injured part from the water without pain.
With the pain under control, you can procede to wound cleaning and barb removal if necessary. An impaled barb may require a trip to a doctor for
complete removal.
To avoid being stung, keep your feet off the bottom as much as you can.
Wetsuit booties may help keep a barb from going as deeply, but they can still wack you. Hard-soled booties and Reef shoes offer a little more
protection to the sides and bottom of your feet but they don't help when the tail flips up and strikes you on the top of the foot.
Rays are definitely on sandy bottoms but also hang around where there's sand and rock mixture so don't let your guard (or your feet) down.
No matter how silly it looks, you have to shuffle your feet on the way out until it's deep enough for you to float or swim. When it's a sand/rock
bottom you'll get a few stubbed toes from kicking rocks but it's nothing compared to a stinger.
When I'm coming in from surfing in a ray-prone area, I'll stay on my board until it just about hits the sand. I can't tell you how many times I've
been one step away from dry sand and felt the swoosh of a tail narrowly miss me. Just when you think it's safe to get out of the water...
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