By José Antonio Pérez
Following a spike in sting ray incidents among Puerto Peñasco beachgoers from March through May, numbers of reports at the local Red Cross have gone down over the past two weeks.
EMT Coordinator Miguel Ángel Ibarra Lomelí indicated the sting ray season, which is actually about to end, is followed by the jellyfish season though to date no jelly incidents have been recorded.
Ibarra Lomelí noted so far in 2017 the Red Cross has tended to more than 200 sting ray incidents, none of these serious, yet this number is much higher than prior years. In the past, sting ray incidents occur principally between April and June, followed by jellyfish reports from June through August, which is why beach goers need to remain alert when heading into sea. Again, he reiterated, to date there have been no reports of jellyfish stings so far in 2017. *NOTE: Emergency # in Puerto Peñasco is 911*
- Remove stingers. Remove any pieces of jellyfish tentacle in your skin by rinsing the wound with seawater.
- Rinse with vinegar or apply a baking soda paste. (Consider taking a small bottle of vinegar plus tweezers to the beach as part of a first aid kit)
- Take a hot shower or apply ice packs.
- Take a pain reliever and apply lotions.