10/31/2016 The Orange County Register reports, “It’s been stingray chaos. That’s how Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis described a recent surge of stingray injuries in recent days, unusual for this time of year when the water cools. ‘The units were just inundated with people coming up with injuries. ‘There must be hundreds of thousands of them (stingrays) out there.’ There were 17 reports on Friday, and 10 the previous day. ‘I don’t know why there are so many here,’ Panis said. Usually, stingray injuries happen when the water is warm, but the temperatures have dropped to the lower 60s in recent weeks.”
It Coulda’ Been Worse – The Great White Theory
10/31/2016 The Orange County Register continued, “One theory is that the great whites lingering around the Orange County coastline have moved on. They were feeding on stingrays, keeping the number of injuries down. ‘They’ve gone on to warmer water, I think,’ Panis said of the sharks.”
08/20/2016 10News San Diego reports that up to 30 people a day are being stung by stingrays just in Coronado.
07/29/2016 The San Diego Union-Tribune reports – Coronado lifeguards report that 35 people were stung by the rays on Thursday…
First Things First… How To Avoid Stingrays – Do The Stingray Shuffle (Just What Is The Stingray Shuffle?)
The Stingray Shuffle is a pronounced and exaggerated walking movement to help you avoid stingray hits. By shuffling your feet and creating a ground vibration, moving sand and splashing water, the stingray will ‘generally’ go away from you.
You can imagine your footwork as somewhere between a Frankenstein walk and walking home from the bar at 2 a.m. Pound your feet (or body) as loudly as you can.
The best way to make sure stingrays steer clear of you and your feet is to slide your feet along the sand instead of taking big steps. The shuffling sends vibrations that scare away stingrays in the immediate vicinity, so you are less likely to step on a stingray. If you step on the stingray – that’s when they get the barb in you.
Click here for 40+ additional, funny animated gifs on how to do the stingray shuffle.
Watch Someone Get Stung By A Stingray
How To Treat A SERIOUS Stingray Sting
Hot water, antibiotics, and aggressive pain management are the primary treatment mechanisms for people who have been stung by stingrays.
How do you know it is serious? You could (or do) cry…
How To Treat A REGULAR Stingray Sting
For a quick fix, if the sand is hot, bury your foot in the hot sand and try and use that to kill the venom. Rotate your foot into patches of hot sand, do it for at least an hour.
Medical Disclaimer
Of course, I have to include this full medical disclaimer – Don’t step on stingrays, if you do, get medical attention by someone who knows better than me.
And, this bit of ‘in-the-field triage treatment,’ many people believe that ‘peeing’ on a stingray bite will help alleviate the pain. More on this below…
Most stingray hits occur when waders step on the creature’s wings.
The Stingray Shuffle
Here are a number of various foot walking / stingray shuffling techniques.
How A Stingray Stings
Disturbing a stingray triggers a defensive flip of its “tail,” which contains one to four venomous spines. A stingray’s spine is sturdy enough to penetrate a wetsuit, rubber or dive boots.
The wounds are excruciatingly painful and can take months to heal.
Most people will say they never saw the animal but were walking in the shallow shoreline and then felt something squishy, followed by a sharp pain to their foot or ankle.
If you see a spine fragment that can be extracted easily, take it out to stop the transfer of venom. If it’s in an area that could lead to severe bleeding or other major problems upon removal, wait to remove it in an operating room.
Best Immediate Treatment: HOT, HOT Water
As soon as possible after the sting, use hot water (up to 113°F) to irrigate and soak the wound. Apply the hot water to an uninjured body part first to check tolerability, because venom-compromised limbs lose some temperature sensation.
A report from Fox News: SAN DIEGO – Lifeguards were scrambling Thursday to help dozens of people stung by stingrays at local beaches. Thirty-nine people were stung at Coronado Beach alone.
The warm water and small waves are ideal conditions for stingrays. And with hot weather drawing people to pack the beaches, lifeguards were staying busy from Coronado to Del Mar.
“I saw some stuff moving in the water but I didn’t really think anything of it,” said Logan Orr, who was stung by a stingray Thursday in Del Mar.
Note: No! Your pee isn’t hot enough.
Should You Pee On A Stingray Sting?
Back in 1997 all the friends from that eponymous television show trekked to the beach, only to witness a jellyfish sting Monica. In this episode, Joey remembered seeing a documentary that advised urinating on the sting to ease the pain. Monica agreed to try the treatment and it worked. Unfortunately, in the real world treating a jellyfish sting by urinating on it may actually cause someone in Monica’s situation even more pain, rather than relief. Urine can actually aggravate the jellyfish’s stingers into releasing more venom. This cure is, indeed, fiction.
Fast (ha-ha) paced advice on peeing on a stingray hit
Somebody applying the pee technique…
