Catfish sting... how much should I worry?

JerseyBlue732

I was at the base of the pier at Ft Myers Beach and netted a bunch of very small (3 in.) Catfish that were grouped by the piling.  

After handing, I got stung w one.  The woman working at the shop there said they're no more serious than a bee sting.  

I of course googled it and read horror stories; but from people with stings from much larger catfish. 

Anyone familiar with these fish and can confirm if I should seek medical attention or if its only minor.  

Thanks!!

Gypsies Call

Bee sting is appropriate analogy.  Will hurt for awhile and then go away... worst when you get one in a knuckle...

DES51

Antibiotic cream and a band aid. It can become easily infected. 

Crkr23

This may sound stupid and no scientific reason for it to work, but it does. When you get stung, immediately rub the belly of the catfish over the wound.

JerseyBlue732

Thanks for the comments.  Doesn't look like it became infected, but I appreciate the responses and understanding in my hypochondria tendencies!  LOL!!!!

Soda Popinski

Crkr23 said:

This may sound stupid and no scientific reason for it to work, but it does. When you get stung, immediately rub the belly of the catfish over the wound.

That's the kind of stuff i laugh at but IMMEDIATELY try if i do get stung.   

mlange

These fish have some stingers besides the sharp points on the dorsal and pectoral fins that fresh water catfish have?

Lostconch

No

bubbanor

Biggest concern is to clean wound and disinfect because of bacteria in water. In June I  went grouper fishing. Brought back to Cape Coral canal and cleaned the fish had a small scratch on finger and got canal water on hand. Next morning was having chills and fever spent 15 days in hospital 2 1/2 months in wound care and still in physical therapy trying to regain use of hand. Not trying to scare anyone. This bacteria [vibrio vulnificus]  is very rare but clean and disinfect your wounds

bigfinn35

bubbanor said:

Biggest concern is to clean wound and disinfect because of bacteria in water. In June I  went grouper fishing. Brought back to Cape Coral canal and cleaned the fish had a small scratch on finger and got canal water on hand. Next morning was having chills and fever spent 15 days in hospital 2 1/2 months in wound care and still in physical therapy trying to regain use of hand. Not trying to scare anyone. This bacteria [vibrio vulnificus]  is very rare but clean and disinfect your wounds

That sounds absolutely horrific. I've been keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer with me whenever I fish for a while now, can't recommend it enough. 

avidone1

I got a deep sting on the top of my foot from a large cat a few years ago  Hurt like hell  I went to a walk in clinic because I could see a piece of the stinger under my skin  they removed it and gave me some meds  I was informed that there were some small pieces of the stinger still in my foot that the doc didn’t want to dig out   He said they would probably work their way out    A little while later I got a boil at the site and sure enough some dark specs of the stinger were surfacing   Since then I have never touched one   I now use my pliers to grab the jig and shake it off  if it doesn’t come free I cut the line   I never want to go through that again 

The Cat's Eye

I carry a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on my boat and if i get any
 cut on the water or even at a ramp the first thing i do is pour some
of the peroxide on the cut no matter how small it is.
 Hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria and viruses on contact.