Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP / Getty Images
As summer crowds flock to Southern California beaches, Seal Beach is experiencing a significant rise in stingray injuries. According to Seal Beach Marine Safety Chief Joe Bailey, lifeguards typically treat about one stingray sting per day. Recently, however, that number has increased to about a dozen daily, with some days reaching as many as 20 reported cases. Stingrays, which are bottom-dwellers, often sting when stepped on by unsuspecting beachgoers.
KTLA's Chip Yost reported that Cash Kovaleff, a visitor to Seal Beach, described the sting as more intense than a bee sting, followed by tingling and discomfort that subsides after soaking the wound in hot water. Lifeguards recommend the "stingray shuffle," a technique where beachgoers drag their feet along the ocean floor to scare away nearby stingrays.
Lifeguards advise those who are stung to alert them immediately, as most lifeguard towers are equipped with treatment kits that include hot water baths, the primary method used to relieve pain and reduce the effects of venom. The water should be as hot as the individual can safely tolerate, and the wound should be monitored for signs of infection or complications.
According to Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, the stingray population is at an all-time high, with round stingrays being the most abundant. Lowe estimates that Southern California could see as many as 10,000 stingray injuries this year, which is likely the highest in the country.