Stingray on St. Augustine Beach. Photo sent to me by Jim & Mary Midthun of Ham Lake Minnesota.
Every few months someone writes to me looking for information on treating a stingray injury. They get barbed in the foot or ankle while they are in Florida on vacation, then they go home after initial treatment at a Florida emergency room. Some continue to have painful symptoms and are desperately looking for an answer, since their doctors don’t know what else to do.
I have no medical or scientific knowledge of how to treat stingray wounds, so I’m not much help. I have searched the web (I’m pretty good at that) and I’ve compiled a list of helpful articles about the treatment of stingray injuries.
- Epidemiology, Evaluation, and Management of Stingray Injuries. Article from the Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society.
- Stingray Envenomation of the Foot: A Case Report. From the Foot and Ankle Journal.
- Stingray Injury Case Reports. From Clinical Toxinology.
- General info on the nature of stingray injuries and treatments
I think the most important thing to know about a stingray injury to a foot, leg, or arm, (other than to stop the bleeding) is to get your wound immersed in the hottest water you can stand (without burning yourself) as quickly as humanly possible and keep it there for an hour or 90 minutes or until the pain abates. Heat destroys the stingray venom.
