We went swimming today in the bay again. After hearing about sea urchins I have been swimming in my keens. They are a little heavy but today I realized they are worth it. A few of the girls stepped on some getting out of the water, one of them got it pretty bad. They hobbled back to the house and we discussed how to get the spines out. The following is what happens when you don’t have the power of google.
Suggestion one
Source: Man on the road on the walk back to our house.
Go home, and boil some oil. It needs to be very hot. You need to boil it. Then you put your foot in it.
Feeling: Um, well, I’d like to not deep fry your foot, so maybe we won’t do that.
Suggestion two
Source: Me
I’ve done foot surgery twice already this week (other splinters and rocks from swimming) I can sterilize some tweezers and give it a go.
Reaction: We tried, turns out as much as these spikes look like they’d just pull out, they don’t. They crumble. There is just not tweezing these suckers out.
Suggestion three:
Source: Call Ann (our professor)
Pee on it immediately!
Reaction: Well, it was about four hours ago now so I’m pretty sure we missed the “immediately” window a while ago, and I’m also thinking that’s for jellyfish and has something to do with ammonia and a sting of some kind, not sea urchins the just stab you (man I wish we could google, I don't really know if I know what I'm talking about). Hang up.
Suggestion four:
Source: Unknown person at the Mombasa hospital (after getting transferred 7 times. PS the exchanges between Briget and the people on the other line were priceless as she tried to explain what she was talking about)
Come in to the emergency room now.
Reaction: Damn. Not convinced this is emergency room worthy. Let’s call Rocky. Rocky knows everything.
Suggestion five:
Source: Rocky
Come down to the street corner, there is a man making cassava chips, he will help you.
Reaction: Street corner? Random man? Maybe the burning oil thing is half legit. Went to the street corner, came back with super hot oil that unknown numbers of cassava chips had been cooked it. Seemed super sketch and still not quite sure what the hot oil was going to do but sure why not.
Suggestion six:
Source: Same man on the street as suggestion one who I ran into with my pot of hot oil.
Addition: After you put the hot oil on it, put your feet over some red hot coals for a while.
Reaction: More burning flesh?
We got back, heated up the oil some more and I proceeded to apply the oil to the feet of the girls. It didn’t really seem to do anything but they claimed they felt better.
Suggestion seven
Source: Google
Someone with a wireless modem in the apartment finally came out with a computer to Google this. Turns out the oil thing is half legit. It helps the break up the spikes and helps your body work them out a little faster. But apparently the real trick is to soak your feet in vinegar. The ehow said something about the calcium/carbon composition of the spikes breaking apart in the vinegar and the remnants just come out. What would we do without you Google? Now where can we get vinegar in Mombasa…?
photo from foot surgery preparation from earlier in the week
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