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YourHub.com \\ Jupiter \\ Stories \\ Health and Fitness \\ Healthy Lifestyles

Stingray Puncture - "House Call" Doc on a "dock"

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Contributed by: Lorne Stitsky on 3/14/2009

This past weekend the inevitable happened... I received a phone call from the wife of one my patient's who stated that her husband, Michael had been stung and punctured in the foot by a stingray while in water near Peanut Island. In the background, I heard my patient writhing in pain.. I immediately got in my car and met him and his wife at the dock of a Marina and took him to the emergency room at Jupiter Medical Center.

This goes down as my most interesting "house-call" so I thought I would share what to do if you are ever stung by a stingray..It could be the difference between life and death...

Stingrays are bottom-dwelling cartilaginous fish that have a flattened body and one or more spines on the tail. They are normally not aggressive toward humans; however, injuries from these animals are very common. Stingrays are commonly found lying half-buried in the sand or mud of coastal temperate areas, the injuries tend to occur when an unsuspecting person steps on the fish, causing the animal to reflexively strike the person with its defensive mechanism. The stingray's tail has one or more barbed stingers and 2 venom containing grooves that are encased in an sheath. The tail is thrust into the victim, usually in the foot or lower leg, producing a deep jagged laceration. The stinger then injects a protein-based toxin into the wound, causing immediate intense (even excruciating) pain in the victim. The wound may bleed freely and the patient may have symptoms of nausea, vomiting, sweating, muscle cramps, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

As soon as possible, immerse the affected body part in very hot water; as hot as the patient can tolerate without actually getting burned, or apply a hot pack to the affected body part. If no hot pack or water is available, you can place hot sand on the wound until water is available. The water should be exchanged for more hot water as it cools for an immersion duration of up to 90 minutes. Heat rapidly decreases the patient's pain, presumably due to the direct effect on the poison.

After the toxin has been deactivated by the hot water, x-rays of the injured area should be obtained immediately to look for retained barbs or other foreign material. The patient should also be given a tetanus shot if they are not up- to- date and placed on antibiotics to avoid serious infection for a minimum of 5 to 7 days. I hope this advice helps, it sure helped my patient on the dock. His pain went from a 10/10 to a 1/10 with the hot water and he is doing fine.

Dr. Lorne Stitsky is the proud owner of Personal Choice Family Practice of Jupiter, a personalized "house-call" practice in Abacoa. For a free consultation on his membership practice call 561-779-1520 or visit www.drstitsky.com for more info.

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