Learning From Experience:
How To Get an Urchin Barb Out Of Your Foot
By Nadia Redel
Sri Lanka
Every time I surf a rocky coast line, reef break or any other sea urchin inhabited area I’m always fearful of landing on one of these unforgiving animals. When traveling in Sri Lanka I managed to have a very unlucky encounter with a black sea urchin. I was paddling out over rocks during low tide when a wave came. Too shallow to duck dive, I slid off my board hoping to jump over the wave. Instantly I felt the stinging prick of barbs entering my fleshy big toe. I managed to paddle out into the line up before checking on the damage. Sure enough three barbs were lodged into my toe. Lucky I was able to get two of them out right away, but the third was stuck in deep and impossible to get out with finger nails alone. I surfed for the next few hours and tried to enjoy it, despite the throbbing pain in my foot. After sunset I paddled in, got a tuk-tuk back to my hotel and along with help from Mac, started the agonizing hour long urchin extraction processes, that involved toe nail clippers, a needle, tweezers and disinfectant. The hotel room surgery ended with no luck, the barb still in my foot and now nicely aggravated and bleeding.
Here is what I learned about how to get the barb out the proper way, I wish I had known before!
How to Remove a Urchin Barb:
Removing a sea urchin barb can be challenging. The barbs work themselves in deeper and deeper the more you poke, squeeze or apply pressure to it. The barb is also made up mostly of calcium carbonate, similar to an egg shell. Just like an eggshell they can easily break, which makes getting them out very difficult. If you are able to use a medical tweezer and pull the barb out straight, do so slowly and try not to break it. If they are too deep or it snaps, the best thing to do is to soak your foot in vinegar. The acid in vinegar will start dissolving the barb and make it more likely to slip out of your foot. Vinegar will also kill any nasty bacteria the urchin may be harboring. Just know that it will be a long, painful processes and depending on how many barbs you get stuck in you, you might not get all of them out! It’s a good idea to see a doctor if it is really bad and have them professionally remove them. If you don't have access to a doctor, do your best, keep it clean and stay out of the sand/water for 24 hours.
Good Luck! Hope your experience is better than mine!
Every time I surf a rocky coast line, reef break or any other sea urchin inhabited area I’m always fearful of landing on one of these unforgiving animals. When traveling in Sri Lanka I managed to have a very unlucky encounter with a black sea urchin. I was paddling out over rocks during low tide when a wave came. Too shallow to duck dive, I slid off my board hoping to jump over the wave. Instantly I felt the stinging prick of barbs entering my fleshy big toe. I managed to paddle out into the line up before checking on the damage. Sure enough three barbs were lodged into my toe. Lucky I was able to get two of them out right away, but the third was stuck in deep and impossible to get out with finger nails alone. I surfed for the next few hours and tried to enjoy it, despite the throbbing pain in my foot. After sunset I paddled in, got a tuk-tuk back to my hotel and along with help from Mac, started the agonizing hour long urchin extraction processes, that involved toe nail clippers, a needle, tweezers and disinfectant. The hotel room surgery ended with no luck, the barb still in my foot and now nicely aggravated and bleeding.
Here is what I learned about how to get the barb out the proper way, I wish I had known before!
How to Remove a Urchin Barb:
Removing a sea urchin barb can be challenging. The barbs work themselves in deeper and deeper the more you poke, squeeze or apply pressure to it. The barb is also made up mostly of calcium carbonate, similar to an egg shell. Just like an eggshell they can easily break, which makes getting them out very difficult. If you are able to use a medical tweezer and pull the barb out straight, do so slowly and try not to break it. If they are too deep or it snaps, the best thing to do is to soak your foot in vinegar. The acid in vinegar will start dissolving the barb and make it more likely to slip out of your foot. Vinegar will also kill any nasty bacteria the urchin may be harboring. Just know that it will be a long, painful processes and depending on how many barbs you get stuck in you, you might not get all of them out! It’s a good idea to see a doctor if it is really bad and have them professionally remove them. If you don't have access to a doctor, do your best, keep it clean and stay out of the sand/water for 24 hours.
Good Luck! Hope your experience is better than mine!
