Sea urchin stitch

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

When a sea urchin stings, the human skin is injured by the up to 30 centimeter long spines of the sea creatures. The wounds can easily become infected. Symptoms of poisoning, on the other hand, are rare because only a few sea urchins are poisonous. Read here how to remove a sea urchin sting, how to properly treat the wound and when to go to the doctor with it.

Brief overview

• What to do in the event of a sea urchin sting? Completely remove the sting, disinfect the wound, watch for signs of inflammation (swelling, overheating, etc.); in the case of poisonous spines, place the affected part of the body above the level of the heart and call an emergency doctor
• Sea urchin sting risks: infections, blood poisoning (sepsis), chronic inflammation, joint stiffness, possibly symptoms of poisoning (paralysis, breathing difficulties up to death)
• When to the doctor In the case of very deep-seated spines, suspected poisoning, severe pain, swelling and discomfort on the part of the person concerned

Caution!

• Sea urchin spines must always be completely removed, otherwise there is a risk of infection!
• Sea urchin spine wounds are easily infected even after the spines have been removed. Therefore, disinfect them and observe the healing process.
• If the person concerned shows symptoms of intoxication (e.g. symptoms of paralysis), you should call the emergency doctor immediately!

Sea urchin sting: what to do?

Sea urchins (Echinoidea) are invertebrates that are found in all oceans. They are particularly common on the coasts of Europe, Asia, Central America and Australia as well as on the coasts of Atlantic and Pacific islands.

The animals stay on the seabed, especially in small rocky caves and niches. You can get a sea urchin sting especially on rocky coasts. The first aid in such a case is as follows:

1. Remove the stinger: If you or someone else stepped on a sea urchin, the first thing you should do is carefully and completely remove any stinger stuck in the skin. However, it is often not that easy to remove sea urchin stings. If the spines are thicker, you can try pulling them out with tweezers or a cannula. Alternatively, you can soak them with vegetable oil, for example, and remove them with tweezers after 24 hours.

It may also help to soak the wound in vinegar or apply a compress soaked in vinegar before removing the spines. The vinegar will dissolve most of the sea urchin spines that haven't penetrated deeply.

Sometimes it is also recommended to tie half a papaya or mango with the cut surface on the wound for a few hours. The fruits contain enzymes that soften the skin. The spines can then be pulled out more easily.

The spines are brittle and parts of it easily get stuck in the skin. But never try to cut out the stinger fragments or deeply penetrated spines yourself! It's a doctor's business.

2. Hot water: If the pain is severe, it can help to immerse the injured part of the body in hot water.

3. Disinfection: Once the sea urchin spines have been removed, thoroughly disinfect the wound (e.g. with iodine ointment). It catches fire easily.

4. Elevation with poisonous spines: Some sea urchin species have poisonous spines. If you suspect it, the affected part of the body should be positioned lower than the heart. In this way, the poison spreads more slowly in the body.

5. Observe: If the area around the wound swells, becomes hot, is very painful and / or circulatory problems occur, you or the patient should go to the doctor immediately or call the emergency services!

Sea urchin sting: risks

Stepping on a sea urchin can be very painful. Nevertheless: Sea urchin spines often only cause harmless damage to human skin with minor bleeding. It is important to completely remove the spines. If you do not do this, there are, for example, the following risks:

• Infections: You cannot only start from sting remnants in the skin. Even if you have completely removed the spines, the wound can become infected. A sign of this is a fever. If left untreated, an infection can rarely cause blood poisoning (sepsis).
• Granuloma: Remnants of sea urchin spines in the skin can trigger a chronic inflammatory reaction. As a reaction to this, a nodular new tissue formation, a so-called granuloma, can develop around the foreign body.
• Joint stiffening: If a sea urchin sting has penetrated a joint capsule, an inflammatory reaction also results. The joint can become stiff as a long-term consequence.
• Poisoning: Poisonous sea urchins can cause various symptoms in humans. The puncture site can turn red and swell. More serious symptoms are, for example, paralysis of motor nerves, numbness and difficulty breathing - in the worst case, death.

Special case of poisonous sea urchin spines

Very few of the more than 900 species of sea urchins are poisonous and can be dangerous for humans. If you come into contact with the calcium carbonate shell of a poisonous sea urchin (e.g. by touching it or stepping on it), the spines on it dig easily and deeply into the human skin and break off quickly. With their barbs, they adhere well to the tissue.

In some species of sea urchins, poison can be found inside the spines. In other species, a poison gland sits in a bladder at the end of the spines. In both cases, a sea urchin bite can cause mechanical skin injuries as well as symptoms of poisoning.

Such intoxications can also arise in other ways: In some sea urchins, so-called pedicellarians sit between the spines. These are small, pliers-like grasping tools that sometimes contain a poison device. Fine sensor hairs sit on its surface. If you touch it, the gripping tongs snap shut, perhaps "catching" the human skin and emptying its poison. Even if you try to remove a sea urchin sticking to the skin, the pedicellariums tear off. They stick to the horny layer of the skin, where they then release their poison.

Sea urchin sting: when to see a doctor?

Most of the time, sea urchin stings are harmless. It is therefore usually sufficient to completely remove the sting and disinfect the wound. However, you should consult a doctor in the following cases:

• if sea urchin stings have penetrated deeply into the skin (they may then need to be surgically removed)
• in severe pain, swelling, overheating and / or reddening of the sting point
• if you feel unwell, fever
• in the event of paralysis, numbness, breathing problems (call an emergency doctor!)
• if it is not clear whether the sea urchin you stepped on was poisonous

Sea urchin sting: medical examinations

The doctor will first ask the patient or any accompanying person for important information (anamnesis). Possible questions are, for example:

• When and where did the sea urchin sting occur?
• What complaints do you or the patient have?
• What first aid measures have been taken?

The doctor will then examine the sea urchin injuries. Deep-seated spines or parts of the spines that cannot be seen with the naked eye or a magnifying glass can be localized with the help of an X-ray examination.

Sea urchin sting: treatment by the doctor

The treatment for a sea urchin bite consists primarily of removing all spines and sting remnants, as well as any pedicellarians, from the skin as quickly as possible. Sometimes the doctor needs to surgically remove the sea urchin spines, especially if they have burrowed into deeper layers of the skin. After that, the wound is carefully disinfected.

The doctor can also treat the symptoms as needed. For example, he can prescribe pain reliever and anti-inflammatory drugs for the patient.

If the patient has not been vaccinated against tetanus or if their vaccination status is unknown, the doctor will give a dose of vaccine (tetanus injection) to be on the safe side.

Prevent sea urchin sting

A sea urchin sting usually occurs in bathers who walk in shallow water on the beach or reach into the water, for example to collect mussels.

The best tips for prevention are therefore: Do not reach into the water carelessly, especially not when visibility is poor. It is also advisable to wear bathing shoes against sea urchins, namely models with a solid sole.

Another tip to avoid a sea urchin sting: don't go swimming in the ocean at night - sea urchins may like the dark and then crawl out of their hiding spots.

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