urchin sting question...

[JackSpearo]

during mini-season in FL, I was trying to grab a lobster, and he ran behind an urchin, and I accidentally came in contact with the urchin.

the needles stung me in 3 places, 2 on the thumb, and 1 on my index finger, thumb side, on the first knuckle (fist)...

I took my glove off, and pulled two needles out (the thumb ones, which were hurting the most) and in that moment, I didn't realize my index knuckle was stung until I got back to the boat...

not having much time between dives, I told myself I would try to get it out later. So that night I tried to dig the little black spot out, but wasn't successful. So I just thought I would wait until it worked its way out more and then take it out...which it never did and I pretty much forgot about it...

that was at the end of July...and the only time it hurts is in the mornings, or when I shake someone's hand and of course if I apply pressure...On the surface I can't see anything, no black spot or anything...

is this from the urchin? or is this too bizarre?

thanks

Jack

 

[scubapatton]

Pretty common. I had one on the outside of my right hand near the pinkie base. I played with a bowie knife every now and then.. nah.. just a swiss army knife, but BOY did it feel like a bowie knife.. After a few picks and pokes every few days, it came out. The little suckers get in there pretty easily. You should not see an infection of anykind, but it will stay lodged in there for quite a while. A friend of mine has some dating back about 3 years still in his hand.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I would go see a doctor. My girlfriend told me about a guy she met who has had a sea urchin spine under his skin since childhood. She could still feel it, even though it didn't cause him any discomfort at this point. I guess the lesson is that the body expells the spines sometimes but not always. You don't want to take the risk of having it embedded for all eternity and perhaps bother you all the time.

 

[DiverLS]

I would see a Doctor fairly soon. My ex-dive buddy got an urchin sting in his elbow, 3 barbs, and they "encapsulated" and irritated the elbow. It took outpatient surgery 2 years later to remove them.

I had a similar experience and got one or two barbs in my thumb. Luckily the Doctor at the Urgent Care Center used to the the Chief of an Emergency room in Hawaii. He told me that if you gry to grasp the urchin barb with tweezers, it will rupture. So he made an incision around the barbs and lifted them out. I ended up with a huge sympathy bandage.

 

[Hank49]

I had two fingers stung in the second and third joints with maybe 3-4 spines each. I couldn't get out the black spots and just left it. After about 2 months the swelling went down and the pain went away. No infection.

I was stung by the black one in very shallow water off of Crouching Lion in Hawaii.

 

[NTSilver]

When we were at Cocos I came in contact with some black urchins the DMs NOT to try to dig them out yourself. They always had vinegar on the boat. I used vinegar when we got back to shore and they were gone in a few days. I think the vinegar dissolves them.

Not sure what to do after the fact, but you may want to try vinegar and see if it works.

 

[JackSpearo]

it's totally healed up...you can't tell if anything is in there...it just hurts where it was at..

i think vinegar only neutralizes the toxins...

thanks though

 

[OceanObsessed]

I hope you caught the evil crustacean that did this to you

 

[JackSpearo]

Lol hahaha, he's chillin' in my freezer ;-)

 

[AbyssalPlains]

i think vinegar only neutralizes the toxins...

thanks though

At least in theory, vinegar, as a mild acid, should break down calcium carbonate, which is what the spines are made of.