Imagine walking into the water at the beach, but instead of the chilly Pacific Ocean sending a shiver up your spine, you feel the worst pain you’ve ever felt – that’s how some describe being stung by a stingray.
According to Chris Lowe, director of Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, this is the time of year when more stingrays find their way closer to the shore. It’s the warmer water that brings them closer, Lowe says.
With more people enjoying more beach time this summer, the likelihood of being stung by a stingray increases, too, according to first responders and researchers like Lowe.
”We estimate that over 10,000 are stung by round stingrays every summer in California,” Lowe said.
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He says there are four common stingray species along the Southern California coast, including bat, butterfly, and diamond rays, but you’re more likely to be stung by one species.
“The most abundant are what we call round stingrays, and they’re fairly small, maybe the size of a dinner plate, and they’re the ones that injure the most people,” Lowe said.
To avoid getting stung, he says to do the "stingray shuffle," which means shuffling your feet as soon as you get into ankle-deep water.
“If you shuffle your feet and you nudge them, they are more likely to skitter away,” Lowe said.
He says stingrays are often under the surface in the sand hiding from predators.
“If you accidentally step on one, it will defend itself,” Lowe said.
That’s when the skin is punctured, and the venom enters a person’s body. While not deadly, Lowe says it can really hurt.
If you're not a fan of shuffling, three UC San Diego graduates are working on developing DragonSkin, footwear that can help protect against stingray stings.
William Bianchi, D.O. at Sharp Coronado Hospital, had three stingray patients in an 8-hour shift Monday. He recommends medical attention if you do get injured.
“It actually has to be immersed in hot water that’s almost 110 degrees,” Bianchi said.
Lifeguards also treat patients this way at the beach, which is why Marine Safety Capt. Maureen Hodges of San Diego Fire-Rescue says to be near a lifeguard tower.
”We always treat our stingray patients with hot water,” Hodges said. “So you want to make sure the water is hot enough so you can tolerate the pain and not burn your skin.”
Aside from the warm water, why do these mostly round stingrays get so close to the coast? Lowe says when the swell gets low, and it’s calm and hot, stingrays will creep under closer to shore, which is when people will likely encounter them.
We’re seeing more stingrays now, but Lowe adds that it’s just the beginning, as stingrays are most abundant in the fall, typically right in the wave break.
And while people might be fearful of being stung, Lowe says the stingrays are important in our beaches because they pull so much out of the sediment under the ocean’s surface, which helps other species grow and live.
NBC 7 reached out to lifeguards up San Diego County's coastline to see how many stingray stings have been recorded so far this summer. Here's what we learned from agencies who responded:
City of San Diego: San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguards do not track stingray stings specifically
City of Coronado: There have been 388 stings from June 21 to July 20, which is a small increase from last year, Capt. Sean Carey said. Coronado lifeguards will soon have a website that will have real-time data on rescues and other beach conditions.
City of Encinitas: The area from Swamis Beach to South Ponto is operated by Encinitas lifeguards and has seen 46 calls for service so far this year. From June 21 to July 21, 2022, there were 78 calls for medical care.
Encinitas CA State Parks: The area from Seaside Beach to Swamis is operated by state lifeguards, which have seen 46 stingray injuries since June 21. Last year, June and July saw 37.
