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If you get nailed by a ray

S

Sand Scoop

New member
I've been stung by jelly fish and MSG helps to relieve the pain, I heard vinegar helps to but has anyone heard of something that might relieve the pain of getting stung by a ray? I know I've stepped on a couple but have been lucky so far.
 
Hot water for 30 to 90 minutes. I have seen suggestions that it should be 110 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat is the only thing that inactivates the toxins from a stingray. If there are any symptoms like difficult breathing or chest pain, get to a medical facility asap. Even if the pain is stopped, the person should see a doctor right away to have their vital signs monitored and the wound treated. If the stinger is still in the wound, remove it with tweezers and be careful not to make skin contact with it yourself.

HH,
Rip
 
I've also heard that hot water, or heat at least, is the go.

Another thing to take into consideration is the fact that normally the spine sits in a groove in the rays tail, covered in a slime just crawling with bacteria. Upon entering the body, with all its lovely body heat, the bacteria multiply like crazy resulting in potentially long lasting infection.
Unfortunately I speak from experience.
Was hit in the leg once, went and got an antibiotic and tetanus injection, no problem, healed in a few days.
Next time I put my hand on a small ray and got jabbed in the ring finger. Small ray, small jab, did'nt bother getting it treated.
Sure enough, got infected and took weeks to heal.

Lou.
 
I was wondering if ray proof chaps and a good pair of wading boots could help prevent ray stings ?

From what I have been reading, especially in Florida, the question should be, not if, but when you get nailed by a ray.
 
As an emergency first aid, heat packs, I bought mine at Harbor Freight, carried in your gear bag will reduce the pain. Hot water is the best, but on the beach, it is hard to find. I also carry a small bottle of ammonia in my gear bag. I use this for jelly fish stings and will also work in a pinch for disinfecting a sting ray puncture. However alcohol or peroxide is much better. Heat packs can also be purchased at some drug store and most camping supply stores. Heat is what is used to reduce the pain.

Chuck in Cape Coral
 
Hey Gang,

Grew up on Texas coast and spent many an hour wading those waters.

I was taught early on that most ray encounters were less likely to become painful if you shuffle along instead of picking up your feet.

It seems that they are less likely to lash out if bumped and almost guaranteed to if stepped on.

Word to the wise-----,

Cupajo
 
Believe it or not, the most immediate pain relief can be had by urinating on the wound. The stinging and throbbing is dramatically reduced. This was performed about five years ago on the "Survivor" program.
 
beachmole said:
Believe it or not, the most immediate pain relief can be had by urinating on the wound. The stinging and throbbing is dramatically reduced. This was performed about five years ago on the "Survivor" program.
Click to expand...

So I hobble back to the beach from the water and ask somebody to pee on my foot but if its that pain full I would pee on my foot and then be arrested for indecent exposer.
 
Sand Scoop said:
beachmole said:
Believe it or not, the most immediate pain relief can be had by urinating on the wound. The stinging and throbbing is dramatically reduced. This was performed about five years ago on the "Survivor" program.
Click to expand...

So I hobble back to the beach from the water and ask somebody to pee on my foot but if its that pain full I would pee on my foot and then be arrested for indecent exposer.
Click to expand...

Trust me, it won't work. When a Ray hits you, it knocks the pee right out of you. Ask me how I know.

Chuck in Cape Coral
 
Hi all we over here in australia lost our best croc handler a while back,his name was steve irwin he was doing a video and swam over a BIg ray and it speared him in the chest straight through the heart ,killed him outright the barb was still in his chest when rescued it was over 11" long .poor bugger but he pusher the envelope to the max.good guy gone.terry in oz:sad::ausflag:
 
Urine does not work on stingray toxins. It works great on jellyfish and that type of thing. It is the ammonia that does the trick on those.

Stingray toxins are not broken down by ammonia. Only heat will de-activate them.

HH,
Rip
 
OK, you can not remove "stingers" of jelly fish with anything, touching the nematocysts will cause them to eject the dart, they have a trigger mechanism with a "spring" like coil inside that shoots the stinger and venom out. There are thousands of them. What may look like one may be 50 or more.Quite a cool design. Use a credit card or something hard to scrape them off your skin but not guaranteed, fresh water will trigger them and eject instantly,Urine may work but not great Vinegar or ammonia will work OK but when the nematocysts ejects and the toxin is injected, no hope the venom is in there. The sting depends on the species of the jelly. Most will cause pain and a bit of swelling at the site for a couple of days, if someone is unfortunate enough to be stung by a Australian box jelly, they can and have killed people. Some of these jelly fish can sting through a thin wet suit and have a way of finding the parts you don't have covered. Not too big of a concern, but they hurt and can cause some underlying health issues, especially if you may be allergic to bees. I was covered head to toe by a Man-o-War a few years back, have scars on my forearms, neck, shoulders and chest. Vinegar did not work very well and I'd be damned if I was going to have my partner piss on me, so I used salt water hose on the boat and my credit card method I learned from another biologist. Worked well. Had to go to hospital, bad day. Was sick for about a week and skin hurt for a month or so in certain spots.

Stingray barbs are another story, they can be removed, and if removed the site should be cleaned. Their is more risk of infection, serious infection with this wound. I know a guy who lost his leg due to gangrene from a sting. It is purely a defensive sting and they do not go after you. Shuffle feet. I hope this helps.
Eric
 
Gee.......

Sounds like any chance meeting with a stingray or jellyfish could be a very painful one. I'm going to get stingray proof chaps and boots just to make sure. And I guess I'll be doing the stingray shuffle too.
 
You guys have to be on guard all the time in salt water . Bummer
Up in the north (fresh water) we have to put up with leeches and mosquitoes:laugh:
 
From someone whose been down this road. "Hot water". As hot and for as long as you can stand it. Depending on how deep the barb went, and if it broke off, may deterine if you need togo to the ER.
 
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