What is a Sea Urchin Sting Remedy?

Sea urchins are round, spiny creatures that inhabit oceans all over the world and can cause a lot of pain if accidentally touched or stepped on. The spines embed themselves into flesh, which causes swelling, joint pain and infections. Treatment starts with removing the spine fragments as quickly as possible.

Hot Water Soaks

• For relief of pain and swelling, Dr. Ern Campbell of Scubadoc's Diving Medicine Online recommends soaking the wound in hot water for 60 to 90 minutes. The black spot left on your skin is only pigment, but the spine itself has to be removed to prevent it from moving around in the tissue.

Hot Wax

• The pain and burning should go away within 48 hours if there is no spine left in the skin. If there are spinal fragments in the wound, try removing them with tweezers. Dr. Scott Moses, author of "The Family Practice Notebook," explains that a historical remedy calls for filling the wound with hot wax, being careful not to burn the skin. When the wax is cool, strip it off; hopefully the spine fragments will come with it.

Ammonia Application

• If the waxing and stripping method doesn't work, the spines may dissolve in an ammonia solution. Physicians at the New Zealand Dermatological Society concur with Moses about this treatment, although they add that most sea urchin spines come out by themselves within a few weeks.

Vinegar Compresses

• The Merck Manuals recommend using vinegar to dissolve superficial spines. It states that soaking the wound site in vinegar several times a day and wrapping the wound in vinegar compresses helps to dissolve the embedded spines.

Surgical Removal

• Spines that migrate from the original site and move toward deeper tissue may have to be surgically removed, although this is not common. The Merck Manuals advise that if pain and swelling continue past five to seven days, doctors should be suspicious that an infection has begun or there is a missed fragment.