Sea Urchin "thorns"

[SM Diver]

I was digging a lobster out of his hole yesterday when my left hand came in contact with a sea urchine. Later, it was my right hand. I have about 8 "thorns" from these things in my fingers, but the worst is my left index finger, where a thorn went into the middle knuckle and it is swollen and no range of motion.

Any remedies for getting these thorns out, or otherwise treating them?

 

[IzzyTahil]

Im not a dr. but I recently had a spine go right thru my thumb from under then up, getting stuck underneathe the nail. I went to the dr. and was told that normally these spines work themselves out if its in the fleshy part with use of some kind of ointment. I waited and applied the salve for 2 days but no change, probably because the spine was stuck fast in the nail. It was my right hand so I couldnt do anything with it without feeling pain. I went to the surgeon and had it cut and removed. I suggest you consult with a dive doctor. good luck.

 

[TechBlue]

Scott,

Sounds like you got yourself good on this one, I think that you should get yourself over to a doc pronto, get some meds to reduce inflammation and infection and while your at it some pain killers. I don't think this is one you want to go the self help route.

Chris

 

[Bob3]

Bummer, but at least you can have some fun showing your boss the owie.
I'll concour on seeing the doc, a quick slice will probably save you at least a week of extra pain.

 

[FredT]

A deep urchin spine is almost certain to get infected. Get to an MD quickly. infections inside knuckles are a BBBBAAAADDDD thing!

FT

 

[pasley]

I was digging a lobster out of his hole yesterday when my left hand came in contact with a sea urchine. QUOTE]

Been there, done that, got the "thorns" or actually spines and the venom. Yes venom. See DAN at https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=93
for a description of what you should do. The basic immediate action is "Soak in as hot a water as you can stand for 30-90 minutes". Do it now!

Urchins inject venom with the spines that can in rare cases cause illness or worse. The venom will cause the injection site to really get nasty. The hot water is to treat the venom.

Last month I too got stuck by an urchin (hunting lobster and concentrating on the hole, not the environment). When I got home my wife said you can treat that later, we are going to the store. She made the natural assumption that it was just a "thorn" type of problem and no big deal. Bottom line, after several hours I figured what the heck and failed to soak it. The Venom made a nasty pit in my toe that just continued to get worse until I soaked it about 3 days after the fact. After soaking it got noticeably better and is now fine. You could tell from the wounds progression that it was more than just the "thorn" that I had removed almost immediately at work.

From my experience, doing nothing is not the right direction. From the sounds of things you may have a spine stuck in your knuckle. Consulting a doctor is your best bet. Soak it now, and then see the doctor about the spine. I agree with the others that you may have one stuck inside the knuckle. Consult a knowledgeable physician who is familiar with treatment of wounds from aquatic animals.
Not a doctor, or medically trained individual, JMHO.

 

[archman]

Only a few urchins possess venom, and it's puny weak. You were most likely stuck by either an Arbacia, Echinometra, or a Diadema. Of these three only Diadema is venomous, and oh yeah the spines are barbed which makes it a real bear to remove. You sound like you got nailed by a Diadema, which is nice ecologically since they're still rare. Hope you didn't hurt IT too much ha ha.

If you cannot get the spines out, your body will eventually dissolve them, or force them out. The real danger is infection from bacteria in the seawater and on the spine's surfaces. Irrigate the piss out of the wound, and be liberal with disinfectant. And since it IS in a tender part of your hand, the doctor everyone else is recommending is a good idea if you can't get it out yourself (which is very hard 'cuz the spines break apart easily).

Basically if the wound still hurts, is still swollen, and/or is changing color for the worse, get the spines out.

 

[SM Diver]

Thanks for all the feedback.

My index finger swelled up worse, and got so tight from the swelling that I was concerned about circulation. The other fingers just swelled and got red. I went to the E.R. just to be safe, and the doc there was able to use a scalpal and get all the spines out. The knucke he really had to dig in to get. He put me on a five day course of antibiotics, and stressed the importance of taking them, especially with a joint being involved. I guess I'll take the next few days off from diving.

Anyone diving in the Atlantic in 100' right now: Watch Out for the Sea Urchins. They are everywhere. Glad to be back on the Gulf side on my own turf.

I wish everyone safe and enjoyable diving for 2004.

 

[jiveturkey]

Im not a dr. but I recently had a spine go right thru my thumb from under then up, getting stuck underneathe the nail. I went to the dr. and was told that normally these spines work themselves out if its in the fleshy part with use of some kind of ointment. I waited and applied the salve for 2 days but no change, probably because the spine was stuck fast in the nail. It was my right hand so I couldnt do anything with it without feeling pain. I went to the surgeon and had it cut and removed. I suggest you consult with a dive doctor. good luck.

OMG that sounds painful. I'm feeling sick just thinking about it.

 

[inletsurf]

hey scott, inlet here. I get those things all the time, and right now I've got two in my knuckles. They are just as bad as lobster spines in my opinion.

First thing is you should dig them out. Just because you don't see anything in the would doesnt' mean there isn't a small fragment of the tip inside. If it's festering badly, there's material still in there. Squeeze it and pop it out. If just fluid comes out, then it's probably not in there. Typically you don't squeeze splinters, but because urchin/lobster spines are conical when they break off, squeezing it naturally backs them out through the hole. Works for me anyway.

Then I douse it with peroxide. Even if there isn't anything in there, it will still be sore, red and slighly infected for about 3 days. If you have debris inside the infection and swelling can last for weeks.

Good luck.

PS the urchins in 100' is not common. They plagued me down in Sebastian the other day, too.

I was digging a lobster out of his hole yesterday when my left hand came in contact with a sea urchine. Later, it was my right hand. I have about 8 "thorns" from these things in my fingers, but the worst is my left index finger, where a thorn went into the middle knuckle and it is swollen and no range of motion.

Any remedies for getting these thorns out, or otherwise treating them?