Jellyfish, ray season in full 'sting' in S.C. | The Herald

Some swimmers on Beaufort County's beaches are finding that the cool, refreshing waters sometimes pack a sting.

It's the season for jellyfish and stingrays. Last year, Hilton Head Hospital treated 121 patients with stingray injuries and about 50 with jellyfish stings, according to Dr. Robert Clodfelter, the hospital's medical director of emergency services. This year, the hospital has treated 53 stingray injuries so far.

Jellyfish stings have sent "only a handful" to the hospital so far, Clodfelter said, but peak jellyfish season usually starts in mid-July and lasts through mid-September.

To help keep swimmers safe this summer, Clodfelter offered tips on how beach-goers can avoid contact with these creatures, and how to treat the wounds if they can't:

Avoid getting hurt

For stingrays, do the "stingray shuffle," dragging your feet along the ocean floor as you walk in the water instead of picking up and putting down your feet. If you come in contact with a stingray while walking in this fashion, you're less likely to step on the animal, which can lead to a sting from its barb, and more likely to bump against its side and cause it to swim away.

For jellyfish, the only sure way of avoiding a sting is to stay out of the water when they are present.

Treatment for stings

If stung by a stingray, soak the affected area in very warm water. The venom surrounding the barb is carried into the wound and causes intense pain. Hot water helps alter the toxin and lessen the pain.

The location and severity of the wound will dictate if medical care is needed. Wounds can become infected if the barb breaks off in the wound; seek medical care if this happens.

Treating jellyfish stings is different. Their tentacles contain many tiny cells called nematocysts, which can burst and inject a tiny amount of venom.

Often, fragments of the tentacles containing unruptured nematocysts are still on the skin when a victim leaves the water.

Therefore, the first priority is to decontaminate the skin. Don't rub sand on the affected area or rinse it with fresh water: Both will cause the remaining nematocysts to rupture. Gently rinse the skin with salt water.

Using shaving cream and then scraping with the edge of a credit card or driver's license in a downward motion can remove the venomous cells that remain. If shaving cream isn't immediately available, it's OK to scrape without it with the edge of a credit card.

Applying a compress soaked in diluted white vinegar also can soothe the sting. Nausea, light-headedness, rapid heart beat or weakness are among the indicators of allergic reactions and are cues to seek medical attention.

Another reason to seek medical care is to treat intense pain or a large sting area.

Long-term effects

Long-term effects of stingray or jellyfish stings are rare. Exceptions are for complex or infected wounds and the possibility of an allergic reaction after a jellyfish sting.