sea urchin stings

[namabiru]

I searched Google, but had little success finding an answer. Last Sunday I was night diving in Okinawa, and as it was my first time night diving I wasn't as diligent as I should have been. I brought my foot down on a sea urchin, and naturally I got stung. One thorn embedded itself in my foot, which I pulled out with no problems, and could see no other black spots indicating other thorns.

But it's been over a week, and I'm having a bit of trouble with my foot still. It's a little swollen at the spot where I got stung, and there is a spot about 1 cm from the big thorn embedding place which hurts really bad if I hit it wrong with my shoe. In fact, I've been wearing flip flops so I don't hit the spot. It feels like a bruise when it hits, only a bit worse.

As the top of your foot is pretty much bone, I'm wondering if I should be concerned about this, or if it will get better on its own. I can't see any other black spots on my foot, and there's no visible bruise.

Medical care isn't very good, so I don't think I'd get much help from a doctor. So I'm wondering--is there something I can try before chancing the doctor, or should I even be worried as it's only been a week since I got stung? This is my first sea urchin encounter, so I'm afraid I'm not too sure if my symptoms are normal or not.

Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Crimson Ghost]

You should immediately soak it in hot water (as hot as you can stand) and remove the stick. Since its been a few days and you are still having pain and swelling its probably infected and you need an antibiotic – its off to the doctors with you.

I have a 200 gallon reef tank and I get stuck all the time.....

Why search the internet? That’s just going to tell you to pee on it – go to the Dan site and read up on it:
www.diversalertnetwork.org

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Diving Medicine FAQs
Sea Urchin Spine Punctures
Q: I was chasing a big marble ray underwater near Cocos Island - I wanted to photograph it - and wasn't paying attention to my buoyancy. I brushed by a rock wall and suddenly felt severe burning in my arm and elbow. There were 15 black sea urchin spines sticking out of my forearm. The spines had gone right through my diveskin. I remembered hearing that it helps to urinate on a sea urchin sting, so I tried it, but it didn't help. Most of the black spots on my arm have disappeared, but I still can see two, and my wrist is starting to swell. What should I do?

A: Some sea urchins are covered with sharp venom-filled spines that can easily penetrate and break off into the skin. Others (found in the South Pacific) may have small pincerlike appendages that grasp their victims and inoculate them with venom from a sac within each pincer.
Sea urchin punctures or stings are painful wounds, most often of the hands or feet. If a person receives many wounds simultaneously, the reaction may be so severe as to cause extreme muscle spasm, difficulty in breathing, weakness and collapse.
The Treatment
&#8226; Immerse the wound in non-scalding hot water to tolerance (110 to 113 F / 43.3 to 45 C). This frequently provides pain relief. Other field remedies, such as application of vinegar or urine, are less likely to diminish the pain. If necessary, administer pain medication appropriate to control the pain.
&#8226; Carefully remove any readily visible spines. Do not dig around in the skin to try to fish them out - this risks crushing the spines and making them more difficult to remove. Do not intentionally crush the spines. Purple or black markings in the skin immediately after a sea urchin encounter do not necessarily indicate the presence of a retained spine fragment. The discoloration more likely is dye leached from the surface of a spine, commonly from a black urchin (Diadema species). The dye will be absorbed over 24 to 48 hours, and the discoloration will disappear. If there are still black markings after 48 to 72 hours, then a spine fragment is likely present.
&#8226; If the sting is caused by a species with pincer organs, use hot water immersion, then apply shaving cream or a soap paste and shave the area.
&#8226; Seek the care of a physician if spines are retained in the hand or foot, or near a joint. They may need to be removed surgically, to minimize infection, inflammation and damage to nerves or important blood vessels.
&#8226; If the wound shows any sign of infection (extreme redness, pus, swollen regional lymph glands) or if a spine has penetrated deeply into a joint, the injured person (particularly one with impairment of his or her immune system) should be started by a qualified health professional on an antibiotic, taking into consideration the possibility of a Vibrio infection (see #4 under "Coral Scrapes).
&#8226; If a spine puncture in the palm of the hand results in a persistent swollen finger(s) without any sign of infection (fever, redness, swollen lymph glands in the elbow or armpit), then it may become necessary to treat the injured person with a seven- to 14-day course of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (e.g., ibuprofen) or, in a more severe case, oral prednisone, a corticosteroid medication.
For more information on marine life injuries, see the complete article by Paul S. Auerbach, M.D., M.S. on Marine Life Trauma from the Jan/Feb 1998 issue of Alert Diver.
Additional Resources:
Read the article.