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FINDLAY E. RUSSELL
3. Clinical problem
Injuries inflicted by stingrays are common in many areas of the
world. Approximately 750 people a year are stung by these animals
along the North American coasts (Russell, 1959). I have seen many
similar envenomations in various parts of the Pacific, Indo-Pacific,
Mediterranean and south Atlantic.
Of 1097 stingray injuries reported over a 5-year period in the
United States, 232 were seen by a physician at some time during the
course of the recovery of the victim.
Sixty-two patients were
hospitalized; the majority of these required surgical closure of their
FIG. 16. Stinging action of the round stingray. (Russell and Lewis, 1956.)
wounds or treatment for secondary infection, or both. At least ten of
the sixty-two victims were hospitalized for treatment because of
overexuberant first aid care (the use of potassium permanganate,
ammonia, formaldehyde or ice water). Only eight patients were
hospitalized for the treatment of the systemic effects produced by the
venom. There were two fatalities (Russell, 1953a; Russell et al., 1958a;
Russell, 1959).
Considerable care should be exercised when wading in shallow
waters known to be inhabited by stingrays. Stingray injuries usually
occur when the unwary victim treads upon the fish while wading in the
ocean surf or mud tlats of a bay, slough, or river. The fish often buries