How to Treat a Stingray Poisoning
Instructions
-
-
1
Wash the wound with salt water.
-
2
Remove any debris from the wound area. Do not pour vinegar or urinate on the wound site.
-
3
Be prepared. In the first 60 minutes the patient may feel increased pain in the area of the sting, which may spread to cause swelling of the entire limb. The wound may turn blusih-white.
-
4
Contact an emergency room with the following information: the patient's age, weight, and condition (consious, unconscious), the type of stingray if you were able to identify it, the time the sting occurred, and the area of the body that was stung.
-
5
Follow hospital personnel's instructions regarding whether to transport the patient to the hospital, and any appropriate first aid that should be administered prior to arrival.
-
6
Expect the hospital to do some or all of the following: wash the area again, remove any foreign material possible, soak the wound, administer antitetanus and/or antibiotic if necessary, and to treat the patient's symptoms, which may include groin and/or armpit pain, bleeding, sweating, severe pain at site of sting, swelling, weakness, generalized cramps, headache, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, fainting, or paralysis.
-
7
Expect recovery to take about 24-48 hours.
-
1