Sea Urchin Injury

Question:

I had puncture wounds produced by spines of an unidentified sea urchin. Luckily, the injury just caused swelling and redness, which led to just a little pain but no infection.
Was that the right response after a sea urchin attack?

Answer:

Injuries from sea urchin spines are common. They do not attack. The diver has to touch them. Commonly there will be a dozen or two puncture wounds after contact with an urchin. The injuries can be very painful and can cause skin infection but are not deadly. Some sea urchins have very long spines, which tend to penetrate more deeply. The first lesson is prevention of injury. Be aware that they are dangerous. They may be living in a hole in the reef so do not put your hand where you cannot see.

Treatment is to pull out the protruding spines from the skin with tweezers. The spines are very brittle and most will break off at the entry point to the skin making it hard to fully remove them. Soak the affected skin in a bucket of very warm water with Epsom salts several times a day. This will reduce the pain and soften the skin. More of the spiny fragments can later be dug out of the wound with a sterilised needle or failing that, the spines will either dissolve or be expelled from the skin. Magnesium sulphate paste (Magnoplasm) can be helpful in removing spine fragments. After each soaking dry off the affected area and apply an antibiotic ointment or betadine paint. Pain can be reduced with analgaesics as required. If infection does occur then antibiotics may be necessary.