You bleed green at depth.
Had my dive buddy pull most of the spines off an urchin in Grand Cayman. I think there were 33 embedded in his right calf. He is a paramedic, I am an EMT so we thought this could be managed. Some very shallow spines could be removed. Sanity prevailed 1/2 hour later when the pain became intolerable.
The spines are like glass hypodermic needles. If they enter very shallow it may be possible to get them out. If they penetrate close to perpendicular they crumble before you can ever remove them. Picture trying to use metal tweezers to pick up a thin glass pipette.
The doc at the ER was helpful, and they see this all the time. They cannot be removed without doing more damage. Infection and allergic reactions are a concern. They applied a black ointment called Ichmathol. It is a strong topical antibiotic as well as acting to help the body disolve the spines. Its most common use is for infected horse hooves. It smells like something you would tar your driveway with, and the color would be a good match as well.
With enough Tylenol and a semi-watertight dressing he was in the water the next day (against the doctor's wishes). His calf still looks like a black on white star map as the spines almost tatoo the underlying tissue even after they disolve.
Had my dive buddy pull most of the spines off an urchin in Grand Cayman. I think there were 33 embedded in his right calf. He is a paramedic, I am an EMT so we thought this could be managed. Some very shallow spines could be removed. Sanity prevailed 1/2 hour later when the pain became intolerable.
The spines are like glass hypodermic needles. If they enter very shallow it may be possible to get them out. If they penetrate close to perpendicular they crumble before you can ever remove them. Picture trying to use metal tweezers to pick up a thin glass pipette.
The doc at the ER was helpful, and they see this all the time. They cannot be removed without doing more damage. Infection and allergic reactions are a concern. They applied a black ointment called Ichmathol. It is a strong topical antibiotic as well as acting to help the body disolve the spines. Its most common use is for infected horse hooves. It smells like something you would tar your driveway with, and the color would be a good match as well.
With enough Tylenol and a semi-watertight dressing he was in the water the next day (against the doctor's wishes). His calf still looks like a black on white star map as the spines almost tatoo the underlying tissue even after they disolve.
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