Suggest Remedies For Swelling, Pain In Hand Caused By Sea Urchin Puncture Wound

Posted on Fri, 19 Feb 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 Answered on

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I removed the spines from a sea urchin on Sat. and washed with soap & water. It is now the following Fri. and my hand is still swollen and lots of nerve pain when I use my hand. If held in a closed ball it doesn't hurt as much but it is hard to do much with my hand. Lightning pain. Thank You . YYYY@YYYY

Answered by Dr. Ronald Schubert (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Sea urchin puncture wounds

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for contacting HCM with your health care concerns

I am sorry to hear that you have puncture wounds from a sea urchin. These puncture sites can be extremely painful. The wounds can be come infected easily and need antibiotics to reduce the swelling and redness. For the pain I can only recommend NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naprosyn. I would recommend that you see your medical provider for antibiotics to help with the skin infection from the urchin.

The pain from uchin quills may take 2-3 weeks to improve

In summary
1. Sea urchin punctures extremely painful
2. Use Ibuprofen or naprosyn
3. See medical provider for oral antibiotics to stop wound infection
4. Elevate hand to aid healing

I hope I answered your question. Please contact us again if you have any additional questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar