Stingrays visiting San Diego affect beach-goers

If you’re heading out to the beach this weekend, look out for stingrays and jellyfish, a warning for all visitors to the San Diego coastline.

Avoid a regrettable beach trip this weekend by heeding the advice of La Jolla Shores lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma: shuffle your feet as you enter the surf as to not surprise nearby stingrays and elicit their very painful defense mechanism.

The visiting stingrays have come to San Diego for the warm water and calm seas and have already turned more than 30 beach-goers into victims of their venomous sting this past week.

Taking precautions like keeping your distance and shuffling your feet along the ocean floor, and having a willingness to share the San Diego surf with its wildlife can ensure you come away from the beach unscathed.

If you do accidentally step on a stingray, which often hide beneath the sand in very shallow water, flag down the lifeguard or otherwise seek medical assistance. Don’t attempt to remove the stingers on your own unless you cannot reach medical help and can sufficiently control bleeding.

The pain may be alleviated by soaking the injured limb in hot water and should greatly subside over the next several hours. Though the injury is not generally fatal, it will likely leave a nasty mark. Notify the medical or lifeguard staff if you experience symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as nausea, vomiting or chills, and head to the nearest emergency room.

Don’t be hostile to the San Diego water’s tourists this weekend.  Enjoy the warm waters alongside them!