stepping on a sea urchin

edh1vail

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Aug 23, 2004
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The other day I stepped on a sea urchin. I have about 6 quills stuck i n the bottom of my foot. What's the best way to remove them. My dive instructor said to put vasiline on them. That doesn't seem to be doing any good. Any suggestions?
 
Nov 5, 2004
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edh1vail said:
The other day I stepped on a sea urchin. I have about 6 quills stuck i n the bottom of my foot. What's the best way to remove them. My dive instructor said to put vasiline on them. That doesn't seem to be doing any good. Any suggestions?

Ow! I have done that...on my first trip, I wasn't aware of them..and got a bunch of them in my feet. Someone should try to help you pull them out.

Carlos who is now my fiancee, got most of mine out by hand...and some by tweezer..(this was the first day I met him...nice romatic story to tell the kids. i.e. "what did you and dad do when you first met?"..."well, he spent about 30-45 minutes trying to get theses things out of the bottom of my feet."..lol..at least I had him at my feet from the beginning...hahaha!..okay..sorry I will stop now!)

So if you can get them out with a tweezers, or get someone to help you get them out.

I still had 2 of them in my foot that we couldn't get out..and they stayed in for about 1 month...and I could never get them out. You can soak your feat in warm water untill the skin is softer, and it may be easier to get them out.
If that still doesnt work..eventually your body will get rid of them and they will just come out.
 
Nov 5, 2004
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Lambada said:
I don't want to be over dramatic, but if it was me, I would seek medical help straight away if I could not get them out myself. Aren't some of them poisonous?

Not that I know of. The ones in the Luperon beach area, that I got stuck in my feet were not. And if you are on a resort..NEVER go to the doctor at the resort to get them out. They do eventually come out on their own...a girl at the resort who also got them in her foot went to the resort doctor and he charged her $90US to get them out!!!!
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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Good! (That yours weren't poisonous!) & agree totally that resort doctor was expensive.
edh1vail, try vinegar compresses. Vinegar dissolves most sea urchin spines, try it on yours. Maybe that is what the dive instructor was thinking of? Well, they both begin with a 'v' don't they? ;) Come back & let us know if it worked.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Smarts, don't it?

Use the vinager compresses. The acid disolves the spines you can't get out. The spines have reverse little barbs, just to make it difficult to get them out.

HB:D:D
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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I stept on a Giant Sea Urchin when I jumped of a boat in Thailand!

When I pulled my foot out of the water,I had about 6 ,12 inch long spines still hanging there,and several that had already broken off in my foot!As I pulled on the "6",they also broke off.When I got back to shore,I tried to dig them out with a needle,the "locals" told me that that wound not work,but being an American,I knew better! "WRONG!"
After I gave up with the needle,the brought the village "medicine Woman" to me.She had me lay down on my stomach,with my feet in her lap.Slowly and steadily,she began to hit the soles of my feet over the broken off spines.My foot becaame numb aafter a few minutes,and she continued to "bang" away for about a half an hour.The spines seemed to have been "crushed"! The feeling came back into my feet,and I had no pain or problems!!!
"Scientifically" speaking,I like the "vinegar" solution! I know that it disolves "Marble"! My friend left a paper bag with an unknowingly broken jar of pickles on his living room floor,it ate through the marble!!!
cccccccccccccccccc
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Hillbilly said:
Use the vinager compresses. The acid disolves the spines you can't get out. The spines have reverse little barbs, just to make it difficult to get them out.

HB:D:D

Vinegar? The locals that I know say to pee on it. Lots easier and faster than hunting for vinegar when you are in pain.
 
Nov 5, 2004
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Ken said:
Vinegar? The locals that I know say to pee on it. Lots easier and faster than hunting for vinegar when you are in pain.

very true..the only draw back is that its just perhaps a little less sanitary! :p
 

Andy B

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Jan 1, 2002
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I didn't want...

to be the first one to describe this "less than socially acceptable" method of treatment, but all the Bahamians I dove with through the years ascribed to this method to disolve the spines. It works (as I can personally attest) and as Ken says, it's a helluva lot easier than to find a bottle of vinegar, especially when anchored off some little remote cay miles from nowhere.
 

MaineGirl

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Does no one here watch "Survivor"? I forget which season (it was a season when I had a tv...) and that is exactly what they did--pee on it. Well, I forget what they were peeing on (sea urchin barbs or something else nasty from the sea) but that was the point.

I stepped on one of those creatures, beautiful yet so painful, on my very first trip. I had someone dig them out of my feet. The bits that wouldn't come out eventually worked themselves out on their own.

On my last trip, my friend picked one up and then put it in my hands. Really, a cool creature.
 

Yan-Yan

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Sep 22, 2003
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Wait 'til the next full moon...

According to my grandmother: Leave them alone, they will come out on the next full moon (!!!!)

...I've never been able to wait that long... I've gotten them out with a cuticle clipper and tweezers.
 

Mirador

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Apr 15, 2004
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I'm a beachcomber at heart, and I've had my quota of sea urchin spines stuck to my feet. The pain is almost unbearable for about ten minutes, then I've always managed to extricate most of the visible spines. I know many of you won't believe me, but I once witnessed a 'brujo' in a trance dance over a bed of sea urchins, with no visible effects.

Mirador
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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MaineGirl said:
Does no one here watch "Survivor"? I forget which season (it was a season when I had a tv...) and that is exactly what they did--pee on it. Well, I forget what they were peeing on (sea urchin barbs or something else nasty from the sea) but that was the point.

I stepped on one of those creatures, beautiful yet so painful, on my very first trip. I had someone dig them out of my feet. The bits that wouldn't come out eventually worked themselves out on their own.

On my last trip, my friend picked one up and then put it in my hands. Really, a cool creature.

I believe that was for jellyfish stings, and I have heard the same "home remedy" recommended for that. In this case I would assume the jellyfish venom is alkiline in nature and the uric acid helps to neutralize it.
 

Lambada

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Yan-Yan said:
According to my grandmother: Leave them alone, they will come out on the next full moon (!!!!)

...I've never been able to wait that long... I've gotten them out with a cuticle clipper and tweezers.

Did you ever read Camino Real by Tennesee Williams, Yan-Yan? Not the only thing to be 'repaired' by next full moon....... ;)

Where is the original poster? Still picking them out? Let us know how you got on or whether we should be organising wreaths made of seaweed :eek: