Okay guys, since you all have incredible wisdom, I return to you for advice on how to handle this.
Yesterday the rain finally stopped and the sun came out. Woo hoo! So, I went for a 7mi hike barefoot which included trails, part of which were littered with branches from the hedge which had thorns in them. I got poked several times (like, had to reach down and pull a branch out of my foot). At the time none of them hurt particularly bad and I thought I just pulled out what went in.
However, by the time I returned home, one was definitely quite sore. i tried squeezing and using a little lance to open it and get out what was there. A bit came out, but there's still more and now (the next morning) it still hurts like mad. And, when I got up this morning, I realized I have at least 3 other spots where there is definitely something a bit dark under the skin and it hurts.
Naturally, since I walk & run barefoot, my feet have a pretty tough couple of layers on them and these splinters are down under these layers.
Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these out and care for them?
> Okay guys, since you all have incredible wisdom, I return to you for advice
> on how to handle this.
> Yesterday the rain finally stopped and the sun came out. Woo hoo! So, I
> went for a 7mi hike barefoot which included trails, part of which were
> littered with branches from the hedge which had thorns in them. I got poked
> several times (like, had to reach down and pull a branch out of my foot).
> At the time none of them hurt particularly bad and I thought I just pulled
> out what went in.
> However, by the time I returned home, one was definitely quite sore. i
> tried squeezing and using a little lance to open it and get out what was
> there. A bit came out, but there's still more and now (the next morning) it
> still hurts like mad. And, when I got up this morning, I realized I have at
> least 3 other spots where there is definitely something a bit dark under
> the skin and it hurts.
> Naturally, since I walk & run barefoot, my feet have a pretty tough couple
> of layers on them and these splinters are down under these layers.
> Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> out and care for them?
On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> out and care for them?
Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 8:35 AM, gordo <gaj...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> > out and care for them?
> Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
> knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
> combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
> thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
> things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
> painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
Hm, yes, I think I'm gonna need to soak them, at least to soften them up before I go digging. I tried digging one out and I got a piece of it, but it's pretty deep and the skin is like leather.
I was really hoping for some fast & easy & pain free trick of the trade!
On Saturday, 28 April 2012 14:00:10 UTC+1, Denise Skidmore wrote:
> An Epsom salt soak may help swell up the skin and bring the thorn closer > to the surface for removal.
> On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 8:35 AM, gordo <gaj...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get >> these >> > out and care for them?
>> Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy >> knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The >> combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the >> thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting >> things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less >> painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
gordo, do you think there might be a point at which the feedback from the feet is inhibited by the thickness of the pads and callouses......think about how someones' hands look that does manual labor witht thier hands as opposed to someone who doesn't.......feet and hands can be strong and agile without thick padding and callouses...in fact, in the case of the hands, it is better to cover them somewhat to keep the thickeneing from occurring.....all that thickness on the feet may, at some point, negate a certain amount of feedback....like a baseball hitter wearing gloves to practice and hit with.....having strong feet and thickly calloused feet are not necessarily the same thing....as a violin player, who needs very strong and agile hands, i would not do anything that would thicken the hands at all......i would lose my feedback ability and hurt my agility with the digits..........might there be a point at whicht the feet would be in the same boat.......strong, yes, thickly calloused, i'm not so sure about..just wonderin......el jefe
----- Original Message ----- From: "gordo" <gaj...@gmail.com>
To: "Minimalist Runner - Barefoot, Sandals, Shoes" <huaraches@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 7:35 AM
Subject: [Minimalist Runner:108355] Re: Splinters from thorns -- removal advice?
On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> out and care for them?
Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
I think that you're right. I have to pay attention when I run on
smooth surfaces because it's easy for me to cheat. BKB talks about
treasuring that period when your feet are tender because you get such
good feedback. I used to have such thick calluses on my fingers that I
could put out a cigarette without pain. I probably wasn't at my most
dextrous, that's for sure.
Gordo
On Apr 28, 9:08 am, "el jefe" <cr...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> gordo, do you think there might be a point at which the feedback from the
> feet is inhibited by the thickness of the pads and callouses......think
> about how someones' hands look that does manual labor witht thier hands as
> opposed to someone who doesn't.......feet and hands can be strong and agile
> without thick padding and callouses...in fact, in the case of the hands, it
> is better to cover them somewhat to keep the thickeneing from
> occurring.....all that thickness on the feet may, at some point, negate a
> certain amount of feedback....like a baseball hitter wearing gloves to
> practice and hit with.....having strong feet and thickly calloused feet are
> not necessarily the same thing....as a violin player, who needs very strong
> and agile hands, i would not do anything that would thicken the hands at
> all......i would lose my feedback ability and hurt my agility with the
> digits..........might there be a point at whicht the feet would be in the
> same boat.......strong, yes, thickly calloused, i'm not so sure about..just
> wonderin......el jefe
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "gordo" <gaj...@gmail.com>
> To: "Minimalist Runner - Barefoot, Sandals, Shoes"
> <huaraches@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 7:35 AM
> Subject: [Minimalist Runner:108355] Re: Splinters from thorns -- removal
> advice?
> On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> > out and care for them?
> Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
> knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
> combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
> thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
> things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
> painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 8:35 AM, gordo <gaj...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get these
> > out and care for them?
> Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
> knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
> combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
> thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
> things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
> painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 2:17 PM, Tuck <tuck...@gmail.com> wrote:
> What he said. It's a wonderful opportunity to build up your pain
> tolerance...
> On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 8:35 AM, gordo <gaj...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Apr 28, 1:03 am, Cave Tomboy <tlonga...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Anyone have any ideas, hopefully short of surgery, about how to get
>> these
>> > out and care for them?
>> Sorry, no. My solution is surgery. I use a very sharp, very pointy
>> knife. A craft knife with a new blade would work really well. The
>> combination of digging, cutting off overlaying skin, and snagging the
>> thorn with the edge of the blade seems to do a good job of getting
>> things out. As my soles have thickened and toughened, it's less
>> painful to dig things out and I don't bleed as much, if at all.
