The Responses
There are several things to do if stung by a lionfish, one of which is getting professional help. I realize I've just pointed out that the chances of receiving a serious injury are slim, but that's if a sting is treated promptly and properly. Avoiding professional help, or neglecting such an injury, can be very painful and can lead to real trouble. Applying first aid at home can help to relieve the pain almost immediately, but a trip to the emergency room is strongly advised.
As far as first aid goes, you should check to see if there are any obvious pieces of spine left in wound. If any are present, and can be easily removed, do so with great care. Oftentimes it may be too painful an ordeal to remove pieces yourself, and you may need to wait until a medical professional can take care of it. The pieces are best removed using tweezers and a microscope anyway, and it's likely that if you get stung, it will happen to your dominant hand. Left-handed home surgery (or right for the lefties) sounds bad to me - something to take into consideration. Special care should also be taken if a piece is imbedded near a larger blood vessel, a joint, or a major nerve, etc., in which case you can compound the problem by attempting to do it yourself.
While you may play surgeon and try to remove any pieces of spine yourself, it is absolutely imperative to make sure that any and all material is cleared from the wound. Thus, it is highly recommended that the area be thoroughly checked using standard X-ray techniques, ultrasound, or even a CT scan or MRI scan. While this may seem excessive, keep in mind that the subsequent infection of a wound can oftentimes be far worse than the wound itself, and that leaving even a tiny piece of a fish under the skin is a good way to get one.
Be aware that if you should get an infection whose effects spread into other body parts and/or systems (bacterial sepsis), you stand a good chance of dying even if the sting itself was not life-threatening. Therefore, in all cases where a skin-breaking wound is caused by a marine organism, tetanus prophylaxis (like a shot) is required if you are not already up to date. It is well documented that tetanus has caused many deaths following marine organism-related penetrating wounds. Likewise, numerous other infections can also occur in conjunction with such wounds, including those caused by Vibrio spp.
I can't emphasize enough - be mindful of the possibility of the after-effects of a sting. Bad stuff! Because the potential for these complications is so high, doctors may also use various antibiotics as part of treatment. This is especially true if an infection appears some time after the initial injury has occurred. Signs of infection include, but are not limited to, redness, tenderness, red steaks, swelling, pustulent discharge, and abnormal healing.
Hope this helps
Kaye
