Lion Fish Stings

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btw2459

Registered
Messages
69
Reaction score
14
Location
Houston, Texas since Jan 2015. Previously Panama
# of dives
200 - 499
I dive out of Panama City Florida and I'm seeing more and more Lion Fish on the dives sites. Yesterday I came within an inch of brushing the spines on a semi-hidden fish. In the opinion of the site. What is the best first aid treatment that you know for a Lion Fish sting? What should I carry with me on the dive boat?
 
Topical cortisone and Benadryl. It'll still hurt like someone is beating it with a hammer for a couple of hours.
 
Hot water soak, as soon as you can, and as hot as you can stand is the generally advised first aid. But, unless you are on a boat which has hot water, this is not an option. If you are really concerned, you might carry a hot pack. Heat destroys the proteins in the Lionfish's venom, and (hopefully) prevents it's spread through the tissues. A lot depends upon the the amount of venom injected. I have known a few instances where the severity was likened to a super, super bee sting, and in one case a very experienced culler had to have necrotic tissue surgically removed from her finger. I haven't been stung yet, but if one plays with fire often enough...
 
I can only reply anecdotally because I have not been stung, but the persons I've talked to made an impression. One, when asked what it felt like, said, "You know how bad a wasp sting feels? Well, this is like taking the wasp and inserting it UNDER your skin!" However, that fellow also said that heat dramatically reduced the pain level and may have shortened the time required for healing. In his case, he was out on a dive boat, and hot water wasn't readily available. The captain, however, was resourceful and found a place on the boat's manifold that was hot, but not hot enough to burn skin. The diver held his injured hand on the manifold and within minutes the pain subsided a great deal. I've since read that it takes a temperature of 105 degrees F for the proteins in the venom to degrade.
 
What should I carry with me on the dive boat?
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Prevention is the best medicine.
 
Try to avoid getting stung at all cost. I personally have gotten tagged by a lion fish, luckily i only got hit with one fin, it hurt, not gonna lie about that. Ive also seen another guy get hit by three quills in the same finger. The only relief he found on that one was by someone filling a mask case up with hot water from the exhaust. I treated mine with just hot water and some hydro cortisone cream. I dont think there is really any magical cure for it. Everyone reacts differently to it. But from my experience and seeing other people get tagged, hot water seems to be the common treatment for all of them. And then some cortisone cream
 
I have been hit three times in the past two years or so whacking the sweet tasting little bastages.

#1
If you handle them (as I do, 'cause I eat them),
YOU WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE A HIT!

#2
If you are subject to anaphylactic shock, you must exercise EXTREME CAUTION!
#3
The 6 pack boat I go out on a lot has a good way to recover hot water from the exhaust manifold.
I also took a hit on a friend's 37' Sea Ray and we 'nuked a pot of water in the microwave and I drank a beer while soaking my hand in water as hot as I could stand, my diving then done for the day.
Gotta' love them Winnebago's on the water....err.....big Sea Ray's.

Chug
Does not mind it very much when his food fights back.
 
Most marine poisons are active at cold temperatures so the hot water treatment works well as it breaks down the protein based poison
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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