Hubby stepped on an old barb..

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MonsterMinis

Feeder Fish
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Apr 28, 2009
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As the thread says... my husband somehow managed to step on one of our old retics barbs in the basement and got himself fairly good (neither of us know where the barb came from)... the barb is white and looks like bone w/ a few specks of dried black... other then soaking his foot in hot water should I be taking him to the hospital tonight? I told him thus far if his foot/leg starts to tingle to let me know. Gonna have him soak it in hot water... but how can you tell if an old barb still has venom on it and is it likely to be harboring bacteria, its compleately dry ect?

already printed out the guide stickied if I need to take him in... but we had plans if anyone ever got a live sting to just go to the hospital. This is an obviously older barb and I've read they are potentially safe. Or what should I watch for to take him in? If I wasn't 34 weeks pregnant and we have a 22month old to tote w/ us I would drag him in right now tbh just to be safe but it would be a production at this time of night. And of course he doesn't wanna go to the hospital.

I think hes good until morning as long as it doesn't start hurting worse? if its hurting him in the am then I intend to drag him in. and at the very least make an appointment for his physician to take a look as I've read a few nasty stories about untreated ray stings here.

I guess i'm mainly asking... is this likely a minor issue or should we be aggressive?
 
Man, I had no clue that that even a old bone would still inject pain? (other then just being sharp ) so basically he's suffering from stingray symptoms from a old barb that's been out of the stingray for a long time?

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I have never been stung, seen it happen one time though... Let me tell you, no one on here is a medical doctor as far as I know so take it with a grain of salt, but when that happened, there was no "if it starts tingling" or "wait until the morning." It was "get me the F to the hospital right now or I'm going to puke and pass out."
Now, I think no matter what he should see a doctor to make sure no infection develops, however if he is doing ok pain wise I don't think a hospital visit is in order tonight. I'm sure most of the "bad stuff" would be gone from a barb that old?


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stepped on an old barb.. straight on it I guess, I was upstairs when he did it. he came upstairs w/ a bloody barb in his hand asking me if he was now envenomated.

Yeah that's pretty much what i'm asking. is stepping on an old barb a "medical emergency" like a regular sting is, or a clean it and slap some neo on it for the night and get him to the physician sooner rather then later? he is def getting it looked at.
 
I know NOTHING about the ray sting factor. but (even if he's not going tonight) make him go to Dr in AM, just for the puncture with something dirty.
If you are gonna soak it tonight, put lots of epsom salt in the bucket of hot water. it can help draw stuff out (meaning bacteria, not venom).
For a bandage, if you have iodine or iodine wound soap, mix that with sugar into a paste & pack a wad of it against the puncture, then wrap it against the hole. it has a drawing affect.
 
Thanks Granny.. we don't have any Epsom or iodine around atm I used it all up.. and of course haven't gotten round to replenishing our supply =/ he did soak and clean it real well and slapped some neo on it. He's a pretty stubborn bugger so he may wait until its hurting like heck at work tomorrow to go.. but he will go get it looked at.
 
yeah, well surely you know puncture wounds are very risky due to trapped bacteria, so don't let him neglect it.
 
the only problem you will have is as with any wound that you might have something left inside.

if it was me i wouldnt be botherd at all and only if there were signs of further complications would i bother the hospital.

i pricked myself the other day with a similar barb by accident as i was removing one from tank and untangling it from a net.

if you have any concerns you should get it checked out just to be sure but personally i wouldnt worry. (ive also been stung before in the past by a ray if it helps and i didnt go then either).

just thought i would add - further complications would be signs of infection or something trapped inside the wound but that goes without saying for any time you get something stuck in you be it a thorn from the garden or a knife in the kitchen.

hope your both well all the same :)
 
I would think the only concern is secondary infection, no worry from the venom. Has he had a tetanus shot lately?
 
I wound make sure he is up on his tetanus shot.

Looks like spotfin typed faster than I did. Best of luck.
 
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