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Stingrays jabbing feet at the beach
July 14th, 2009, 1:48 pm · 7 Comments · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer
With the water warming up and smaller waves coming to shore, stingray reports to lifeguards are on the upswing.
Both Seal Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach - areas known for high populations of sting rays - reported about 20 hits at each beach on Saturday.
Seal Beach lifeguard Capt. Joe Bailey said several could be seen near the San Gabriel river jetty, where the rays like to hang out because the water gets warm in that area. Just this morning, one lady came in with sting ray hits on each foot.
Sting ray encounters can be hit or miss, Bailey said. While there were 23 reports to lifeguards on Saturday, only three came in on Sunday. Last week, they had 21 reported injuries. On average, they are having anywhere between three and 10 reports each day.
There’s a number of factors that may cause sting rays to be close enough to shore to sting beachgoers. Generally, they are more likely to be near the shoreline when surf is small, or the tide is low.
“We’re definitely in one of the higher end of sting ray injuries,” he said.
This is what can get stuck in your foot
Cal State Long Beach experts say that anywhere from 16,000 to 40,000 sting rays can be found in Seal Beach, figures obtained from tagging research they have done in the past.
Last year, nearly 500 victims reported injuries to lifeguards, nearly double of what they saw in 2006. Seal Beach has 1/3 of the nation-wide reports when it comes to sting ray injury reports. Read more about that here.
Down in Bolsa Chica, lifeguard Diego Busatto said Saturday was a busy day for sting ray injuries, because of the number of people at the beach. Bolsa is averaging about five to 10 reports a day.
“Generally, we have a lot during summer when the water warms up,” he said.
Busatto said that the sting rays can be found in high numbers north of the new tidal inlet, because they enjoy the nutrients that are coming from the estuary.
He said that victims should soak their feet in hot water for about 30 minutes. Lifeguard headquarters at both beaches have hot water buckets for people hit by sting rays.
Stingray hits usually happen when they are stepped on, so lifeguards recommend doing the “stingray shuffle” when entering the water, moving feet back and forth along the ocean’s bottom.
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I was told by my triathlon coach (who does open water ocean swim clinics professionally) that sprinlking meat tenderizing poweder (i.e., lawry’s or mccormack’s) on the wound helps in addition to hot water. Probably not much help for your casual beachgoer but if you are out in the water regularly it might not be a bad thing to keep with you.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of that!
This isn’t recommended for an open wound. When there is an open wound the hot water method does the trick.
If a jelly fish sting is involved the meat tenderizer past is the bomb.
my husband was one of the lucky ones that got stung. He got it in both feet and his ankle.
OUCH! That sounds so painful. I’ve been lucky so far, but definitely get nervous every time I’m in the water!
I was recently stung in the foot by a sting ray. The lifeguard told me to soak it water as hot as I could handle. I asked if I should seek medical attention and the lifeguard said “No, there is nothing they can do for you, just soak it.” I soaked it and it got better that day. The next morning it was sore so I soaked it again and it got worse. I decided to go to the E.R. They cut the wound open and flushed it as part of the barb was still in my foot. They packed the wound and told me to come back at some point (I was on vacation and to fly home in 2 days) I went back to the E.R. the next day and I ended up being admitted to the hospital for 2 days because of infection. I was on I.V. anti-biotics every six hours. I came close to losing my foot! NEVER ignore your instincts, seek medical attention immediately if stung by ANYTHING in the ocean. Because I listened to the lifeguard (whom I assumed knew what he was talking about) I almost lost my foot. It has taken a month so far and I am still not totally healed. Please please be careful and see a Dr.
Wow Tommy, thanks for the thoughts. So sorry to hear about your experience, sounds painful. Get better, and glad you still have both feet!