How to remove sea urchin thorns? Grandmother's medical method and remedies

The sea urchins have a heap of horny thorns ready to sink into the skin at the slightest wrong step. The most common locations of stitches are on the feet-remember to put hard sole neoprene slippers on infested spots-but also on the knees and hands. The most common location of the stitches is on the feet-remember to put hard sole neoprene slippers on infested spots-but also on the knees and hands.

The difficulty in extracting quills lies in the fact that the thorns are friable and tend to break by leaving fragments under the skin.

If the priority is to prevent infection, many wonder how to remove the quill (s) placed under the skin from feet, hands, knees …. Most of the time it's system D that prevails, but you have to know that there are more or less effective methods to do that right.

Avoid doing this in any way by "butchering" wounds: you will only increase the infectious risk of skin break-in caused by this foreign body. The first step is to thoroughly clean and disinfect the wound before attempting an extraction with a very fine wax clip or splinter clamp. Use the clamp very carefully and pull in the axis to limit the risk of broken thorns.

If you are not equipped, it is best to go to a health care professional (general practitioner, emergency doctor, nurse) who will do this clean with sterile compresses, disinfectant, single use clamp, needle or sterile scalpel … if you are not equipped, it is best to go to a health professional (general practitioner, emergency doctor, nurse) who will do it properly with sterile compresses, disinfectant, single use clamp, needle or sterile scalpel …

Even by a pro, the extraction of urchin thorns is still very delicate (due to the very friable nature of the thorns) and painful. Removing urchin thorns planted in the skin is never a pleasure; those who have experienced it will be able to witness it (see YouTube video below). For the one who removes them, it is not obvious either … I will always remember a mother of a family who had left my office furious because her young boy cried when I took away from him one by one the many thorns in his foot ….

There is no miracle method to remove them perfectly painlessly, but there are a few tips and tricks to know that come from the islands, or from our grandmothers to get away with less trouble.

First, keep in mind that it is not urgent to remove all sea urchin spines at the moment (except for poisonous quills of some species). Once again, the priority is to limit the risk of infection: if disinfection and local care are not sufficient, antibiotic treatment may be offered to prevent or treat an infection.

NB: tetanus vaccination needs to be updated.

If, however, the area of the wound becomes red, swollen and painful in the next few days, you may be suffering from a bacterium: consult as soon as possible to have your doctor prescribe appropriate antibiotic treatment.

Sea urchin quills may very well remain in our bodies for weeks, months or years without any problems. Some quills will encystify, but most will spontaneously extrude through a skin rejection that occurs over a very variable period of time. So, I felt a sea urchin thorn coming out of my skull 3 years after I planted it on the reef of Saint-Pierre de la Réunion jetty (a real sea urchin carpet …) .

To assist in the extraction of sea urchin quills, different products and methods are offered without being scientifically validated:

– Citron vert ou vinaigre blanc pour dissoudre la composante calcaire des piquants (carbonate de calcium +++) ;
– Microlax appliqué sous cellophane pour ramollir la peau ;
– Vaseline sous pansement occlusif ;
– Bain d’eau tiède (+/- Dakin) pour assouplir la peau ;
– Méthode épilatoire avec de la cire tiède ;
– Méthode d’écrasement avec une pierre en faisant pression pour fragmenter le piquant et le rendre plus facilement assimilable par l’organisme ;
– Application d’urines fraîches ;

A netizen wanted to share another technique by sending us this testimony:

"my husband landed in a sea urchin bench in Zanzibar. He was advised to put green papaya juice on injured areas. Cut the skin of the fruit and recover the whitish juice from the fruit.? After a few hours, the majority of urchin thorns were out, especially those that were too deep to reach them manually. He put on green papaya, when there was no injury to the skin (so there was no way in) and the next day two picos came out "on their own". Really effective. "

Other recipes and cataplasms can be found on the Internet.

And you, do you know any other way to remove sea urchin thorns?

Reminder: a sea urchin bite is an opportunity to check that your tetanus vaccination is up to date.

In case of signs of inflammation (pain, redness, heat, swelling, discharge, lymph nodes, fever …) Consult an emergency doctor.

More information on diseases related to sea urchins: http: / / aresub.pagesperso-orange.fr / medicinesubaquatique / dangersfaune / oursins.htm

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Doctor, surfer, blogger. Author of the books SURF therapy and deTOXseafication.