Or maybe, two martinis into your aunt's cocktail party, you take a wrong turn through her succulent garden. Whether they find you in the wilderness or in the botanic garden, cactus spines can hurt -- and the little hairy kind called glochids can actually pose a risk to your health if you aren't careful. It's always best to prevent coming up against cactus spines, but if that fails here's how to repair the damage.
There are two basic kinds of cactus spines. There are the stout kind, possessed by most cacti, that are best treated the same way you'd treat a splinter, and there are the aforementioned glochids, which require a whole different method of extraction. Let's discuss the standard spines first. With most cacti, coming up against the spines isn't going to detach them from the plant unless you really wail on the plant, as I did here with my bare foot.
Though uncomfortable, getting punctured by a cactus spine that then has the decency to stay attached to its parent plant is best treated the way you would any other scratch or puncture wound. Make sure your new piercing is as clean as possible.
In the backcountry, this may require wet cloths and something along the lines of hand sanitizer. If you're within range of plumbing, soap and water will work just fine. Then just keep an eye on the wound as it heals to make sure you don't become infected. Cacti with thin spines are much more likely to break off and lodge in your skin.
For the most part, you should be able to remove these the way you would a small splinter. Ideally you'd do so with tweezers, though if you lack them you might be able to scrape the spines loose with the blade of a pocketknife, and it should go without saying exercising extreme caution while doing so.
If none of the spine protrudes above the skin removal is going to be much more difficult. If the spine is near the surface of a tough patch of skin, on a heel or a kneecap or someplace similar, you may be able to work it out with a sterilized needle.
If that's too much like surgery and the spine isn't causing you too much discomfort, you might reasonably decide to leave the spine in place to dissolve slowly over a few weeks. A lot of people who come into frequent contact with cacti do just that.
However, you do run significantly increased risk of infection by leaving any foreign body in your skin, and you don't know what kind of horrible thing might have gotten itself all over that spine before it found its new home -- anything from bird poop to a decomposing carcass might have smeared the spine before you got there. Thus the best approach for deeply lodged spines you can't remove on your own is to see a doctor, trained First Aid provider, or other person who knows what she's doing to remove those spines for you.
The benefit there is that you can also have them look over the wound for infection and help you keep it clean while you heal. There is no such thing as one glochid wound.
If you have a glochid penetrate your skin, more than likely it has come with several hundred of its friends.
Glochids detach with a slight breeze, work their way into your skin to what would be their hilt if they had hilts, and their shafts are barbed so that it's harder to extract them than it should be.
The good news is that there are just a few kinds of cacti that have glochids: prickly pears and cholla. The bad news is that there are a lot of prickly pears and cholla out there. The worse news is that even the most effective means of removing glochids from your skin are about 95 percent effective, meaning five percent of those glochids remain.
And the damn things hurt a lot more than their size would indicate, causing pangs from annoying to excruciating when you rub that patch of skin the wrong way. There's one thing you absolutely should not do when you get pierced by a bunch of glochids: do not bring the injured part of your body anywhere near your mouth. More people than you'd believe, getting a patch of glochids stuck in their hand, bring their hand up to their mouth in an almost involuntary attempt to suck the offending spines out of their skin.
The needles create a buffer that restricts airflow around the plant, saving the plant from losing a lot of water. The following are scenarios that might leave you with spine injuries;. The scenarios regarding how a spine could end up injuring you are endless. The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign embarked on a study to find out how exactly the spines are so effective at causing injury.
The research involved comparing several cacti such as the prickly bear, saguaro, Cholla, barrel cactus, and rose cactus. The scientist tested the effect of the spines upon pricking both chicken and pig flesh.
Cactus spines do not contain any poison that can kill you upon perforating your skin. Pustules can leave black marks that comprise of dead skin, and the only way to get rid of these is via surgical removal. In worse case scenarios, the wound contract a staph bacterial infection that may be hard to treat even with antibiotics.
The natural reaction to do is to either try to pull out the sine with your bare hands or teeth. Please do not try to use your hands because the spines will transfer from whatever area of the body to your hands. Trying to use your teeth is even worse because the painful spikes could lodge in your tongue or lips. If you have an entire stem attached to the needles on your body, start by cutting off the bigger chunks using a pair of scissors or pliers.
Leave about half an inch of the spine on your skin for the next step. To remove the remaining bits that may still be stuck under your skin, use small tweezers. Unlike that large tweezers, the small ones are more effective at removing little bits of spines lodged in your skin. Some cacti like the Cholla release dozens of spines in one area. If you have plenty of these needles, start by running the affected part of the body under running water. The water softens the thorns, making them easier to remove.
Another effective way to remove spines is to use tape. Put the sticky side of your tape on top of the area. Gently pull out the tape, and it should come off with the spines. Some cactus species such as the Opuntia can be a source of food.
The cactus produces the prickly pear, also known as the tuna fruit. The fruit is common for use in appetizers, salads, soups, vegetable dishes, desserts, jelly, candy or entrees. During preparation, the preparer has to clean the fruit to remove all spines properly. To remove these spines, chew on a piece of bread, and swallow it. Your saliva will moisten the bread, and make it soft enough to pull out the needle as you swallow it.
The bread trick has worked countless times for Raul Puente-Martinez, a curator and research botanist in a Phoenix desert botanical garden. If the spines are impossible to remove using tweezers, you might need to go to your local hospital. However, this method might break the needles halfway, and leave bits in your skin. The broken spines may also cause fresh punctures on your skin.
As for pets , please leave the spine removal for veterinarians. What is a normal reaction to expect after a spine puncture? Expect skin irritation, reddening, or rashes.
Rush to the emergency room immediately if you start experiencing severe reactions like severe swelling, difficulty in breathing, or swallowing. Bear in mind that some spines might be carrying dangerous pathogens like bacteria and fungi which might be causing the reactions. What are the most poisonous cactus species on earth? There are no poisonous cactus species that would cause death, anywhere on earth.
There was a debate some years back about a Mexican cactus plant whose punctures resulted in wounds that would never heal. Scientists later established that the septic wounds arose from bacteria and fungi on spines.
Stay updated with the latest facts, tips, advice, and more! Your privacy is important to us. Are Cactus Spines Poisonous? Written by Cactusway Team. The cactus spines resemble needles and are an absolute necessity for the plant's survival, but what to do after an injury? Here is all you need to know. The Cholla Cactus is a cactus that shoots needles. It contains some of these same toxins as those mentioned before but it does not have any latex-like juice like the Barrel Cacti do — only its spikes are poisonous to humans and animals.
The Saguaro Cactus is not poisonous but it does have a lot of sharp, pointy spines that can cause some discomfort to humans and animals. It has been said by many people who live in the desert regions where these cacti grow best Arizona — they are considered as one type which will provide you with shade.
Euphorbias are a type of succulent that looks like cactus but are not. The sap of some euphorbia plants contains cycasin, which is a chemical that can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
If you have an allergy or sensitivity to latex, you may experience symptoms of an allergic reaction from handling this plant. Cactus needles can be dangerous because they are sharp and have a lot of surface area.
They can cause skin infections, puncture wounds, and other injuries. The needles contain chemicals that may irritate the eyes or skin. If this happens to you, contact your doctor immediately. The most dangerous cactus is the Saguaro, which can grow up to 50 feet tall. These needles have toxic sap that can cause severe skin irritation if it gets into your eyes or mouth. Yes, cactus water is poisonous to humans.
It contains a substance called saponin which can cause vomiting and diarrhea. In conclusion, cacti are not poisonous in general, but some are. Skip to content Are cacti poisonous?
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