Stepped on something - ouch!

[illabelle]

We're supposed to go on a section hike this upcoming weekend... Can I heal up in time?

Yesterday afternoon I stepped on what I casually assumed was a sweet gum ball beside our driveway. After a bit of research I've learned that it's a Chinese chestnut. You see that super prickly thing on the left? Yes, that's it. No, it's not soft. At all.

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I've been barefoot all over our yard many times and never even seen these boogers before. But this time I hit the jackpot. It looked like I'd stepped on a porcupine. Scores of half-inch spines stuck in the tenderest areas of my right foot, and a few dozen elsewhere and on my left foot. I raked a bunch of them off, and hobbled towards the house. A dear friend spent 45 minutes with a needle, tweezers, magnifying glass, and bright flashlight digging out the "easy" ones. Photo below is 24 hours later while daughter was busy pulling out several more. Every speck you see is a spine. The faint ones are where it broke off under the skin. That kind requires deeper more aggressive exploration with the needle. While both ladies were gentle as can be, I have done enough flinching to last me a whole year.

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So I thought maybe I'd go to a walk-in clinic tomorrow with my story and my tree specimens and beg somebody with some local anesthetic to give it a go. Anybody ever dealt with a situation like this? Will the clinic just tell me to go home and wait for them to "work themselves out"? What should I do? I can't hike like this. I can barely limp around the house.

[FooFooCuddlyPoops]

I fell on a pile of those once. Hands first. I can imagine what you feel. Luckily, I didn't get terribly hurt and none broke off. I went back and harvested all the chestnuts for revenge and had a feast. muwahahah

[illabelle]

I fell on a pile of those once. Hands first. I can imagine what you feel. Luckily, I didn't get terribly hurt and none broke off. I went back and harvested all the chestnuts for revenge and had a feast. muwahahah

Good thinking! I'm guessing it's too late to harvest this crop, but maybe the next? For sure, after I get healed up, I'm gonna rake them up and dump them on our burn pile. Those suckers hurt!

[devoidapop]

I would think like any other splinter, they will work themselves out and that you would do more damage trying to remove them. But that is cold comfort when you can't walk without pain.

[Trailweaver]

Poor Baby! That is about the worst I've seen for a "I stepped on something!" injury besides glass. Hope you got the broken ones out successfully and heal without getting an infection.

[Just Bill]

Cross out welcome and write in Hi!

That sucks lurker chicken.

But being a fella who has wasted a lotta time digging out splinters.. can you wait 36-48 hours?
The puss builds up and then they can slide out. But being the bottoms of yer hillrod feet... I'd suggest a good soak in warm water to soften the skin when you're ready. You should be able to get the bulk of them midweek if not all of them. If you go to the doc and they take you...guessing local and a scalpel... which you probably won't get over by this weekend.

I say limp around a bit, get that puss going and try to slip them all outin a day or two yourself.

A corn patch (foam) might work for the couple stubborn ones you can't get.

Sorry...I'd call it an honest coin flip at best if you can hike by the weekend. I'd get the route trimmed up regardless.

It's too bad we're outsourcing our chestnuts to gyna...

[rocketsocks]

I'd have a pic-nic in the shade of that tree, then turn into green house gas.

[Francis Sawyer]

Those Chinese and their so-called chestnuts!

[JC13]

My grandparents had two Chinese chestnut trees. We used to pop the chestnuts out when they would turn brown and split the hull open. We then took them to the local farmers market and sold them. I have stepped on a few back in the day and it was never nice.

[gracebowen]

One time i watched a medical show and a doctor used leg wax to remove cactus spines. Might be worth a shot.

[couscous]

Maybe Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue would work?
https://youtu.be/JTJPFbXBEjs

[illabelle]

I wish I could have just dug the spines out myself, but I can't twist my foot far enough and long enough, and I can't see well enough at that distance ... Believe me, I tried.

Monday morning went to a walk-in clinic. Lady at counter after I showed her a the tree specimen and a photo of my foot: "uh, I don't know if we can do that. Let me go get somebody." Second person, after a glance, "sure, we can do that." Later with Doctor #1, "uh, I don't know if we can do that. Let me go get somebody." Doctor #2, "maybe." A little while later, Doctor #1, "We're going to refer you to a podiatrist."

The walk-in website says they provide "care for minor illnesses and injuries". Really? A splinter or thorn, even if there are a lot of them, isn't minor? Whatever. I think the truth of the matter is they considered how much of their time I would take and how big their daily caseload was, and decided I wasn't worth the hassle.

Podiatrist got right to work. No anesthetic, just sharp instruments and good vision. She scraped away skin layers and dug holes to get the deeper ones out. It wasn't fun, but we had a good conversation at least. And when it was over, I was able to bear weight on my feet like normal!
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She put some funny looking horseshoe-shaped pads on my feet to reduce pressure on the affected areas, and sent me home with an antibiotic and instructions to soak my feet. This was Monday afternoon.
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Healing is underway. The open wounds are sore, but improving rapidly. Still too early to load my pack, but I think I'll be able to hike this weekend! Not to get all preachy, but I'm really glad God made our bodies with the ability to heal. Imagine all the tape and glue and screws it would take to hold us together if we couldn't heal. Amazing!

Not sure why I can't post these pictures full size. Sorry about that.

[TexasBob]

I am glad things turned out well for you, thanks for posting.

[Uncle Joe]

Not sure why I can't post these pictures full size. Sorry about that.

Glad you got it taken care of. And we can get full size by clicking on the pics.