how bad is a stingray sting?

[billyd]

Firstly, apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere, I had a look but couldn't find anything.

I have been getting worked by stingrays recently, for some reason. They're always around (I'm in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand), but just recently (like, this last month), they have seriously been interfering with my hunting. Had a couple of really aggressive ones that were absolutely going for me, one in particular was guarding a really enticing rocky shelf that I knew had some goodies under it, but he was absolutely not going to let me in there, and basically just came straight at me every time I dived. Definitely f*&%#s up your breath-holding, if nothing else. Very hard to be calm and thinking peaceful thoughts while staking out that weedline, when there's a very angry stingray getting in your face.

I gotta say I've been getting a bit spooked by it. So, I'm just wondering, just how bad is a stingray sting? The whole Steve Irwin thing wasn't exactly a great PR move on their part, but as I understand it he was pretty much waltzing with the thing, which is how he ended up with a barb in the heart. Death is surely not the normal outcome, I'm guessing!! But how bad is it - and is it like stonefish or weaver fish or bottlenoses etc, whereby hot water, or salt water, or urine or whatever, can make a major difference to how bad the sting is?

Or indeed, is there a good but non-impact way of getting them to bugger off?

Or am I just being a big girls blouse, and I should just lie there and ignore the 3 square metres of angry black rubber apparently trying to envelop my head?

Any observations, advice and/or wisdom would be much appreciated!

Billyd

 

[atomichaggis]

A quick search on google is enough to see that it's pretty bad. Numerous deaths from the puncture wounds alone. Envenomation just adds a whole new level discomfort.

"The venom contains toxic proteins. The effects of the venom may be local and/or systemic. Local effects include severe pain at the site of injury and tissue necrosis. Systemic effects include nausea, vomiting, salivation, sweating, respiratory depression, muscle fasciculation, convulsions, cramping abdominal pain, cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial ischaemia and, rarely, death. Many of the systemic effects have been documented only in patients with viscus penetration (gut), and not in those with peripheral stingray injuries. Local venom effects are usually more troublesome in peripheral stab injuries, but if the barb pierces a vital organ or structure mechanical damage may be more dangerous then the venom effects.
Instances of serious, penetrating, non-cardiac injuries include collection of pus within the chest three days after netting a stingray and sustaining a barb injury to the chest; penetration of the liver; multiple bowel perforations; and laceration of a femoral artery, with death by exsanguination. Penetrating cardiac injuries have generally been fatal. In 1938, an adult women died after a stab wound to the heart by a stingray. The autopsy showed that the ventricles had been completely transfixed by the barb. An Australian soldier died in 1945 after a stab wound to the left heart, sustained while swimming in seawater baths near Melbourne, Victoria.
The current patient was fortunate to have a sustained an injury to the coronary artery rather than the heart muscle. The bleeding artery immediately washed the venom away, whereas injury to the heart muscle is difficult to debride and carries the risk of delayed necrosis and perforation (seen in a 12 year old boy in Queensland in 1989)."



"
"CURRENT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR STINGRAY INJURIES

Immersion of the affected part in hot water (about 45C) for at least 30 minutes for pain relief (relief is generally only effective while the affected part remains immersed).
X-ray of the affected body part to exclude the presence of cartilaginous barb remnants.
Local infiltration of local anaesthetic.
Systemic analgesia.
Careful wound examination, removal of foreign material, irrigation and debridement.
Heal by secondary intention (not closing the wound and allow to close from bottom up).
Antibiotic cover, broad spectrum.
Tetanus booster if required.
Early referral of confirmed or suspected penetrating injuries of chest or abdomen."
​

Source

 

[Coral Sniper]

Its pretty bad, I got grazed by one on my toe. Very small slit hardly any bleeding. But the venom is real! My toe swelled up and I was done for the day, made me feel like I had a flu. Powerful venom for how small the wound really was.

The barbs are razor sharp!

 

[chrismar]

The big concern is the size of the barb & resulting puncture wound. It's pretty serious, but also not a common injury. My understanding is that it's generally a last-ditch self defence mechanism for them - not something they'll use if they're just trying to fight you for a tasty snack. That's not an opinion reinforced by any scientific research though, so take with a grain of salt.

The barb is pretty nasty. Those of a delicate disposition might not want to look.

 

[GioDiver]

Hi i´m from Ecuador South America, long time ago (when i was young) i was stung by a ray in the foot (while walking out of the sea to the shore), i cant be sure what kind it was, the fisherman in that beach used to catch them and they were usually about 70cm to 1m wingspan, brown and mottled, the pain is very acute, and immediately started to feel a numbness rising from the foot all the way up to my hip, 28 years after i´m telling you my history, my father at that time give me a shot of local anesthetic, the kind the odontologist use, wash and disinfect the wound, and everything was fine after a couple hours, one more thing i remember very vividly that walking to the shore was increasingly difficult for the numbness, it should be a lot worse if anyone get stung in the middle of the ocean.
Happy dive and be careful.

 

[hteas]

I had a diver working with me on a project in San Diego Bay a few years ago. He was a bouncer at a nightclub in a previous life, and was somewhat familiar with pain. After getting punctured by a stingray about 40 cm across the disk, he was immobilized. We had to help him to a location with hot water to soak it. Half an hour of soaking cut the pain, but it returned when he stopped soaking. the pain continued until we got him home, where he was able to leave his foot in hot water for the rest of the evening.
Nasty critters, those.

 

[ReefTroll]

The big concern is the size of the barb & resulting puncture wound. It's pretty serious, but also not a common injury. My understanding is that it's generally a last-ditch self defence mechanism for them - not something they'll use if they're just trying to fight you for a tasty snack. That's not an opinion reinforced by any scientific research though, so take with a grain of salt.

The barb is pretty nasty. Those of a delicate disposition might not want to look.

Damn that is a big one!!

 

[Choque]

@billyd
could it be that it was stingray breeding time when you experienced that aggressive behavior of them? i have no clue about when stingrays breed or how and where etc. but your sentence about the stingray kinda like guarding that rocky shelf made at least come that thought to my mind. just saying

 

[billyd]

yeah, you could be right. Interesting point!

I'm coming to the conclusion that they're often just really curious though. Had one 'shadow' me around pretty much a whole session the other week. Wherever I went, he went. I'd often look round and find him just behind me, and several times I had to gently fend him off with the tip of my spear. He didn't seem to be exuding any sort of aggressive vibe, just wanted to play!

 

[spearfishinglog]

Its very deadly.

 

[Abdullah.H]

i mostly spot them laying down covered with sand, and as i get closer it starts to shift sand/dust somehow around it without really moving, which i think is a warning sign of some sort for me to just BUZZ OFF!!

i know that the barb can go through fishing boots very easily. i think best just to avoid them.