Step1
Don't panic (I did)! Sea urchin spines and venom (released from seizing organs called pedicellaria) are not lethal. The injury is very painful but the spines are made mostly of calcium carbonate, so they can be dissolved in the body over time. Different sea urchin injuries are more severe than others. Some spines can be very deep and some can be more superficial. Step2
Start by applying an antiseptic (I frequently rinsed my foot with hydrogen peroxide) and pull out protruding spines with tweezers. The spines are very brittle and most will break off at the entry point to the skin- thus making it hard to fully remove them. Step3
Soak the affected area in a bucket of very warm water with Epsom salts. You should continue doing this several times a day for the duration of the injury. This helps with the pain and also softens the skin for spine removal. It may even encourage the spines to either dissolve or be expelled from the skin. Step4
After soaking, I found the best device for removing the thinner, more superficial spines was with a STERILIZED pin (safety or sewing pin). This is because the spines seem to dissolve into small soft fragments and meld with your skin. Step5
Dry off affected area and apply antibiotic ointment. Take some painkillers/anti-inflammatory medicines to help with the pain and swelling. Elevate the wound if possible. Step6
Do not worry about any purple/black dye released into the skin, it should disappear in a few days. If you're injury is less severe, the spines will probably dissolve or your body will eject them in 3 weeks. If it is more severe like mine, continue to the next step. Step7
If the sea urchin spines are larger and deeper, they may remain in the body longer and there is risk of infection. Keep a close watch on the injury and see a doctor right away if there is chronic swelling and redness. Sometimes you will see and/or feel a hard lump called a 'sarcoidal granuloma', which is the body's inflammatory response to a foreign object (the spine). Step8
My doctor prescribed me antibiotics and x-rayed my foot to view the deeper spines. She recommended surgery for some very deep spines, but I waited 2 more weeks and suddenly they were ejected by my body naturally! Step9
Sea urchin injuries vary widely, and there is no definite time frame for the spines to either dissolve in your foot and work their way out. I was picking out some minor spines 6 months later, and I have reason to believe there are still some in there over a year later. As long as the site is not infected, or causing you chronic pain, it should be ok to leave the spines alone (as mentioned earlier they are made of mostly the same components as human bones). Good luck, and remember I feel your pain! 
5 comments:
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clover
www.n8fan.net
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www.imarksweb.org
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www.n8fan.net
Thank you very much for your post. This relieved my anxiety about my incident today.
Thank you for sharing this information, i have found your blog very helpful.
I stepped on a sea urchin in Zanzibar about 10 weeks ago now, i never saw the spines sticking out of my foot but felt pain when walking on it. I know there is something inside my foot as i can feel it every time i walk on it. There is a hard lump on the bottom of my foot so you can see there is a problem there, I've had a nurse stab a sterile needle near the lump and squeeze the area. No spine has come out, there was a bit of brown soft (no idea what) seaweed looking stuff that came out.This was a minute piece, i'm assuming it was a bit of the spine that had softened inside my foot. Still the lump remains but its not chronic pain, just feels like a sharp stabbing pain when i walk on it. I really hope my body at some point will reject and push it out. After reading your blog i'm not going to worry about it now. Thank you again.
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