If you haven’t gone for a surf lately, then you should probably know that the water has significant warmed up. It’s in the mid 60′s right now and there really is no need for a full 3/2 wetsuit. I never thought I would be able to surf the waters of California in a pair of board shorts, but the day has come.

However with warm waters comes a little nuisance for surfers: stingrays.

After I finished watching the World Cup match, I was desperate for a surf session even though I knew it was pretty flat. I decided to surf at Tower 16 of Bolsa Chica. I had just bail on a wave on the inside and was getting back on my board when… bam a quick stab on the bottom of my foot.

I quickly jump on my board, while come to a realization of “Oh so this is what being stung by a stingray feels like… Or was it that fisherman’s hook that got me??” I look down and my foot is bleeding and I’m trying to paddle in. Once I made it to shore, I started feeling my foot swelling started hopping to try to get some help. Luckily there were these two guys who helped me to the lifeguard tower to get some treatment. The venom from the stingray acts pretty quickly. In less than 5 minutes, I could feel the venom cramping up my leg near my hip. It just feels like you’re being compressed and this throbbing, stinging pain.

When we got to the life guard tower, they told me to soak my foot in hot water, as hot as I can stand. Instant relief came when my foot hit the searing hot water as the heat began to immediately break down the poison from the stingray. I went from being not being able to talk to having a coherent conversation.

After two hours of soaking my foot in hot water, the pain was bearable for me to drive home.



What to Do if You’ve Been Stung

1. Immediately submerge wherever you’ve been stung under HOT Water, as hot as you can stand it. Keep replenishing the hot water once as it begins to cool (Peeing on it will do absolutely nothing)

2. Check to see if the barb is still in the wound. If so, remove it and clean the wound so it would get infected.

3. The area around the wound will feel sore and bruised for a couple of days. You can soak your wound hot water when you get home.

4. Don’t forget to regularly to change band-aids or dressing of the wound to prevent infection.

5. You can visit a doctor if you have concerns or are allergic to stings (bees, jellyfish, etc)