# Anybody have a picture of a stingray barb stuck in a fisherman?



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

I'm searching around for a digital picture that is fairly high-resolution, of a stingray barb stuck in somebody. Might be able to use it, in an upcoming article on stingray hazards, if it doesn't look too gruesome.


----------



## CaptDocHoliday (Feb 3, 2011)

*No barb, but in-and-out sting*

Here are some of my buddy's wound 2 weeks ago.

1) Fresh, 35 min after initial sting
2) Flush with Hydrogen Peroxide and Syringe (one of our fishing partners is an RN)
3) After rinse, 45 min after initial hit

Feel free to use if you like


----------



## That Robbie Guy (Aug 11, 2009)

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=418281&page=2


----------



## lamar44 (Nov 26, 2011)

OUCH


----------



## Brine Jake (Aug 12, 2005)

Trouthappy said:


> I'm searching around for a digital picture that is fairly high-resolution, of a stingray barb stuck in somebody. Might be able to use it, in an upcoming article on stingray hazards, if it doesn't look too gruesome.


Man. That would take some real focus. I'll bet these days, ER pers shoot everything that comes in, though. You might check with some hospitals.

Based on some recent reports, maybe I'll have one for ya tomorrow.
If not, good luck, and no regrets in advance.


----------



## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

Capt Doc.. how's it look now.. he healed up? Man that sucks but glad it got cleaned quickly.


----------



## CaptDocHoliday (Feb 3, 2011)

InfamousJ said:


> Capt Doc.. how's it look now.. he healed up? Man that sucks but glad it got cleaned quickly.


Its been 2 weeks and he's healing up nicely. He wade fished this weekend for the first time since and had no issues. The immiediate medical treatment probably help speed recovery up.


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

I wonder if there is a way to inject hot water into a puncture wound like that, to cook/ne-nature the venom. A thermos of hot water would be good, but I wonder how far inside the heat would penetrate.


----------



## dparkerh (Jun 24, 2011)

What was he wearing when he got hit? I think my boots would (I hope) have stopped that one in that spot.


----------



## CaptDocHoliday (Feb 3, 2011)

We usually carry this Jet Boil on the boat for making Hot Dog's for mid-day lunch. Can bring water to boil in about 45-90 seconds usually. My RN buddy happened to have syringes with him in his first aid kit, but we flushed with HO since infection and vibrio was of greather concern at the time than pain. Eventually we were able to soak the foot in hot water in a clean bait bucket.

Neoprene Reef boots. Ray guards we left in the boat since this was the last wade of the day and we were up tight searching for a flounder.

The heating packs in the red 'Sting Ray' kit from academy did not work when we tried to use them. Failed to heat up. Now I keep packs of "Hot Hands" in my tackle bag


----------



## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

CaptDocHoliday said:


> Its been 2 weeks and he's healing up nicely. He wade fished this weekend for the first time since and had no issues. The immiediate medical treatment probably help speed recovery up.


Good to know.. see so many horror stories but overall I think healthy individuals can get through it. I know a man that go hit in the calf and kept fishing until he was done. Slight indention around the wound to this day, LOL, but he made it through it without having his skin peeled back and layed up in a hospital somewhere. I think the key is to properly clean it and watch it for a few days for anything getting out of hand outside of a normal stab wound.


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Seems like a good insulated thermos would keep it hot all day. Just nuke tap water and dump it in the thermos, before leaving camp. Getting hit by a stingray and going without hot water would be very bad.


----------



## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Usually the barb doesnt stay in the person. The only way is if it were to break off. This may be tough to obtain.


----------



## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

i'm interested in the use of a syringe to push peroxide into the wound to flush out. i assume that (without the needle end) you could really get that nozzle in there and get that stuff in there deep. immediate treatment like that and a round of serious antibiotics and i be you would be good to go, no?


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

I'm checking with a Rockport doctor on that. Seems like a big plastic syringe would ram hot water and then a load of peroxide right in there. Minus the needle, of course.


----------



## TheAnt (Jul 1, 2008)

I'm not so sure you want to inject peroxide. You don't want it in your blood and there is too much chance of either hitting a blood vessel or it being sucked up veins that may be open.

Peroxide foams as I understand when it hits blood. It destroys the blood and any dead flesh. Once a wound is healing, peroxide is a bad thing in that it takes away the topmost flesh that is in the process of repairing.

I believe on an external surface wound the chance of absorbing peroxide into the blood or tissues is not so much a problem especially as it strips infectious agents. Maybe something else would work.

Hot sterile water lavage (OK, wash by injection?) sounds safest to me.

I like diluted chlorine bleach as the best disinfectant but that stuff has its downsides and I would not inject that either. Recall Hibiclense (perhaps misspelled) ?

Again, disclaimer, I defer to medical experts.



Jeff SATX said:


> i'm interested in the use of a syringe to push peroxide into the wound to flush out. i assume that (without the needle end) you could really get that nozzle in there and get that stuff in there deep. immediate treatment like that and a round of serious antibiotics and i be you would be good to go, no?


----------



## TheAnt (Jul 1, 2008)

..and hey, LIDOCAINE !!! anesthetic for pain


----------



## dparkerh (Jun 24, 2011)

Hate to say it, but one of the best lines from Lonesome Dove applies (re. leaving the ray guards on the boat and wearing neoprene): "Here, better to have this and not need it than to need it and not have it."


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Maybe a little whiskey on the wound...or for the pain, anyway. It worked in the old days. But maybe that's all they had back then.


----------



## WoundedMinnow (Oct 11, 2011)

InfamousJ said:


> Good to know.. see so many horror stories but overall I think healthy individuals can get through it. I know a man that go hit in the calf and kept fishing until he was done. Slight indention around the wound to this day, LOL, but he made it through it without having his skin peeled back and layed up in a hospital somewhere. I think the key is to properly clean it and watch it for a few days for anything getting out of hand outside of a normal stab wound.


This same occurrence happened to me, wading and was shuffling my feet but kicked the stingray in the arse and he popped me in the shin. Good thing I have tuff legs. My shin swelled up for a couple of hours. I give it a 5 on the pain scale little worse than a bumble bee sting in the face. Still have the slight indention and scar to this day. After that, I never leave the boat without wearing my ray guards.


----------



## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Would it be OK to put the wound under the pee hole on the motor for the heat relief? I have no idea.


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

People have been sticking their stingray wounds in the outboard motor peehole for years, desperate for hot water. Some motors today probably don't run nearly hot enough for relief. From now on if I wade, I'm bringing a hot thermos of water, and I mean hot.


----------



## McDaniel8402 (Dec 7, 2011)

shaggydog said:


> Would it be OK to put the wound under the pee hole on the motor for the heat relief? I have no idea.


The motor's pee hole water doesn't get anywhere NEAR hot enough to do the trick. You want the water just short of scalding hot. My Dad got popped by one when I was a wee little fella. Crazyiest thing I ever saw watching my Dad stagger around the boat like he'd been gut shot, and then fall down. Talk about a scared kid. He somehow managed to radio the marine patrol, who called an ambulance. I drove the boat in. I don't recall how or when the boat made it back on the trailer. I just remember the EMTs letting me push every button inside of the ambulance on the way to the hospital. We'd stop every so often, and warm up a small bucket of water at a convenient store to re-heat the water. I remember the EMTs talking about hot water, and later my Dad talking more about getting the water hot just shy of actually burning you.


----------



## The_Outrider (May 21, 2012)

You guys are scaring me now!! I always seem to run into stingrays on South Padre.

They usually come up to me in pairs and then would split left and right. Here's a clip from last Sunday. 



 . I wanted to keep my phone cam on them, but I was losing fishing time.


----------



## yakfinaddict (Jan 25, 2010)

That's pretty crazy outrider,
Thanks for videoing that for us. I usually try to steer clear of em but it looks like you have an affinity to them! I think we'll call you "the stingray whisperer" !!! Lol, j/k, but still cool.


----------



## Juan Mas Kahst (Jun 20, 2012)

The_Outrider said:


> You guys are scaring me now!! I always seem to run into stingrays on South Padre.
> 
> They usually come up to me in pairs and then would split left and right. Here's a clip from last Sunday.
> 
> ...


Cownose rays aren't the ones you usually need to worry about... Southern stingrays are the ones that get yah.


----------



## Archer (Jul 10, 2006)

Jeff SATX said:


> i'm interested in the use of a syringe to push peroxide into the wound to flush out. i assume that (without the needle end) you could really get that nozzle in there and get that stuff in there deep. immediate treatment like that and a round of serious antibiotics and i be you would be good to go, no?


DO NOT inject peroxide into the wound. It won't do anything to reduce the pain and very little to clean out the wound. Most of the bad bacteria in our waters will not be affected by peroxide and it can in fact damage the exposed tissues in and around the wound which will give those bad bacteria a place to grow with plenty of food.

For disinfecting cuts and scrapes I keep Hibiclens, Betadine, and a weak bleach solution in my first aid kit and decide which to use based on how late in the season it is(later=warmer water=more bacterial load present) and how dirty the water is. I would not recommend injecting any solution into a puncture wound since you will usually do more harm to the surrounding tissues using any of these solutions.

For puncture wounds we use sterile saline only to flush the wound in the ER, and may even use a wick in the wound to keep the surface skin open and let it heal from the inside out. If you get a deep puncture wound on the water I HIGHLY recommend you go to the nearest ER and let the professionals flush it out and get you started on the appropriate treatment regimen based on what bugs are likely to be in the water in your area.


----------



## Greenwing7 (Oct 10, 2011)

I would like to clarify as I was the injector. The correct term for what I did is irrigate. This was just a typical saline flush syringe that we used all the saline in and then irrigated the puncture with prior to soaking in hot water.


----------



## rojogrande (Jul 31, 2008)

I'm confused... Can someone clarify what to do and or carry for immediate care if u get hit by a stingray and ER is couple hours away?


----------



## Dampy (Oct 3, 2011)

rojogrande said:


> I'm confused... Can someone clarify what to do and or carry for immediate care if u get hit by a stingray and ER is couple hours away?


A very good question to clarify!


----------



## Archer (Jul 10, 2006)

Short answer is to flush it with clean water, hotter is better because it "deactivates" the chemicals on the barb that causes the pain. Wrap it up, control the bleeding by elevation and direct pressure if necessary, and proceed to the nearest ER to get the wound cleaned out and get antibiotics started. If you can't stop the bleeding then call 911. There are fair sized blood vessels in the lower leg and foot, if the barb goes through the artery you can lose a lot of blood in a big hurry.


----------



## JimD (May 25, 2004)

There is a good px up from last year where some DA-- put a big sting ray in the boat after his buddy said cut the line and let her go and the barb was stunk thru the top of his foot like one of the guys with a bone thru his nose. Interesting just under the skin.


----------



## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

might be difficult to find a photo of a barb stuck in flesh. the barbs are pliable while attached to the ray and the barb will stand up to a surprising (to me) level of pressure before breaking off.


----------



## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Any way to heat up a sterile saline solution?


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Looks like hot water is the best treatment on the boat, then head for the ER. When they dragged me in there with a hideous wound from the jetties, the doctor yanked a chunk of oyster out of my hand, then blasted the hole with Betadine.


----------



## McDaniel8402 (Dec 7, 2011)

A friend of mine fell on an oyster clump while wading near South Bay. Not a large wound, but farely deep. The shell went down to the bone near the base of his thumb. He went to a walk in clinic and had it flushed with betadine. What sorta annoyed me though was I asked him repeatedly to have the clinic x-ray his hand. He forgot to ask, and the DA clinic doc didn't think it was necessary to do an Xray because "they couldn't see anything sticking out of the wound". I kid you not. For 2-3 months, that wound did not heal. Every few weeks, a little bitty piece of oyster shell would work its way out of that hole in this thumb. When the last of the crud got out of the wound, the wound closed. Be insistent about getting an xray if the wound is anything more than a simple scratch/cut where you can see the bottom of the wound.


----------



## TrueblueTexican (Aug 29, 2005)

*Here ya go*

Forgot who sent this to me


----------



## BigBay420 (Jun 20, 2005)

Daaaaaam!!!


----------



## Greenwing7 (Oct 10, 2011)

Hot water to treat the pain, one would also think you could use disposable hot packs, this breaks down the protein in the venom that's causing you pain. 
Flush with betadine or sterile saline, hydrogen peroxide is a poor antiseptic and can damage surrounding tissue. 
Stop the bleeding cover with sterile gauze pad. Get antibiotics from Dr or observe for signs of infection. 
No real "need" to visit Dr. except to get antibiotics or x-ray if you think there is a barb in there. You should be able to monitor for infection and get antibiotics as needed


----------



## [email protected] (May 24, 2004)

*No real "need" to visit Dr. ????? I beg to differ.*

You need to talk to Mike McBride. He waited until he was certain he needed medical attention.

Here's my take on stingray injuries: Wear stingray protection every time you wade. Get medical attention immediately if you get hit, even if it is only a grazing wound. Everybody's immune system is different; why risk an infection?


----------



## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

TrueblueTexican said:


> Forgot who sent this to me


That makes my butt hurt.


----------



## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Anybody know where that photo came from? I'd like to use it. It looks like the guy was wading barefoot, but there is a wading boot at the top of the picture.


----------

