How to Treat a stingray sting

Stingray injuries can be extremely serious. In fact, it was a stingray that killed the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. While most stingray injuries do not prove fatal, they are definitely serious and require medical treatment. As stingray injuries tend to occur at the beach, however, medical care may not be immediately available. In that case, there are certain steps that should be performed right away.

Things You'll Need

• Fresh water
• Hot water
• Tweezers
• Soap
• Antibiotic ointment
• Cell phone to call doctor or emergency services

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Instructions

• 1

  Wash out the wound with fresh water. You can soak it in water as hot as the patient can stand to relieve the pain. Do not do this if the patient is unconscious or unable to tell you if the water is too hot.

• 2

  Use tweezers to remove the stingers. Wash the wound with soap and fresh water, rinsing thoroughly.

• 3

  Keep the wound open; do not attempt to close it with bandages or sutures. Stop the bleeding by applying pressure.

• 4

  Check for signs of infection such as redness, heat or pus. Apply a topical antibiotic if any of these are present.

• 5

  Administer CPR if necessary. Before doing so, make sure you (or someone else, if anyone else is available) call emergency services (911) for an ambulance.

• 6

  Transport the patient to a doctor right away, even if it has not been necessary to summon an ambulance. Even seemingly minor stingray injuries need to be checked out by a medical professional and it is likely that the victim may need to take a course of oral antibiotics to prevent infection.