Do Catfish Sting?
Catfish are commonly found along the coasts in tropical waters. They are also seen in lakes and muddy rivers. Catfish are not known for being aggressive creatures. You notice, on a catfish, long whiskers that stick out from around the mouth. This is what people believe will sting you. Carry on to learn whether catfish can sting you.
Catfish Stings
A lot of people are convinced that handling a catfish is a dangerous thing to do. This is due to the myth that surrounds catfish, that their whiskers are poisonous. This is not true!
However, even though catfish stings aren’t a thing, that doesn’t mean you still can’t get injured by a catfish. What anglers believed to be a sting from the whiskers, actually comes from the angler making contact with the dorsal and pectoral fins.
Both sets of fins have spines on them that are so sharp that they can pierce human flesh. If you touch the fins, then a toxin and venom may cause a stinging sensation. As a result, catfish can’t sting you. This is a very old myth, but you still need to be careful handling catfish because you can be injured by the fins of the fish.
Catfish Whiskers
The whiskers that you find on a catfish are also known as barbels. However, it is common for them to be referred to as whiskers as pet cats have. Catfish whiskers or barbels contain lots of sensory receptors that the fish uses to smell and taste. In essence, these are the catfish’s taste buds.
The barbels are completely harmless, they are actually quite pliable and soft. Therefore, if you touch one, or they touch you, this will have no effect on you or the catfish.
Catfish Fins
As mentioned above, it is the fins that will cause any real injury to you and can cause a stinging sensation. The dorsal and pectoral fins can be found on either side of the fish and on top of the fish head. There is a hard spine that runs along each fin. The tips of these spines are very sharp.
The spines themselves don’t sting you when you touch them, however, if they puncture your skin then you will then feel some form of pain. The spines contain a venom that causes swelling, known as edema, and increases the blood flow to the area, also known as hemolytic. If the spines puncture the skin then this venom is sent into you.
You will notice that it is commonly smaller catfish that hurt the most people. This is due to the spines on the smaller catfish looking more like needles and therefore much sharper. On larger catfish, the spines are respectively much larger and blunt.
Therefore, if you get injured by the spine of a catfish fin this can cause a stinging sensation, like any other insect bite. This is just due to the venom in your body.
What Happens If You Have Been Injured By A Catfish
If one of the fins does puncture the skin, then you don’t need to worry. It is most likely that you have injured your hand, which is very easy to treat. The main symptoms of a catfish injury are pain and inflammation.
You should clean the area of injury immediately. If the spine is still in your injured area, then you need to remove the spine with tweezers. If you don’t remove the spine from yourself, this can then lead to infection. Thus, if you can’t remove the spine yourself, then you should seek medical treatment to make sure it is properly removed. If the wound is large, it might need to be taped or stitched together.
Soaking your hand in hot water is a known way of relieving any pain from the injury. Over the counter, medicines can be given to relieve any pain you are dealing with, like any other insect bite or injury.
There is an old fisherman tip that has been used for years to help with catfish pain. You can relieve pain by rubbing the injured area on the stomach of the catfish. It is said that the stinging feeling you are experiencing should stop almost immediately.
Rub the wound on the stomach for 10 to 15 seconds and the pain should stop. Now it is up to you whether you believe this to work or not. Some anglers have said that it works for them, while others haven’t been convinced of its effectiveness.
Either way, if you obtain a wound from a catfish, you should try to relieve the pain as much as you can. If the pain or inflammation doesn’t settle down, then you should go and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
How To Handle A Catfish
So now we know that it is contact with the fins that can cause a stinging feeling. We need to hold catfish in the correct way, so this doesn’t happen to us.
The best way to hold a catfish is to grip the catfish from below. You should hold the catfish with one hand along its stomach. You are then avoiding the fins that can cause you harm.
Yet, when it comes to larger catfish, you will need both hands to be able to hold this fish. The fins on a larger catfish are very noticeable and easier to avoid. Both hands will be needed to support the fish, but you still need to be careful where you place your hands.
Even though the fins aren’t as sharp as on smaller catfish, you still want to avoid the pectoral fins. When it comes to larger fish, the issue is more with their mouths than their fins. They can’t really bite you, but while trying to get your hook out, the fish could bite down and its teeth could scrape against her finger.
Takeaway
Catfish don’t actually sting you. The whiskers on a catfish have been thought to cause anglers harm, yet they are harmless. It is the spines on the fins of a catfish that you need to watch out for. If a catfish fin punctures your skin, this sends venom into your body, which can then lead to a stinging sensation.
When it comes to catfish, the smaller catfish are the ones you want to watch out for. As their fins are sharper and their venom will hurt you a lot more. As a result, catfish don’t sting you, but their fins do cause a stinging sensation if you touch one.
