I have a sticker in my foot!

OK medical types ,I need help here!!
Last summer I stepped on a grass burr, There are millions of them here in south Texas.
Anyway it seems that part of one is still firmly ensconced in the sole of my foot.
Usually they just fester up and I can dig em out with a pin or something. This one however seems to have dug in more deeply.
Lately I have developed a callous type skin covering and is VERY painfull!

It swells from time to time and makes it hurt to walk.
Anything I can do short of surgery to alleviate this problem? Will my body at some time reject this intruder? Is it working it’s way deeper into my foot??
Sure is messin’ up my bowling game I can tell ya that!!!

Any help would be appreciated.

I’ve still got a piece of graphite in my hand from someone stabbing me with a pencil when I was a kid. Bugs the hell out of me. Doc said just leave it be… though I suppose being in your foot would be a bit more annoying, it would probably come down to surgery.

My daughter once got a wood splinter in her forearm. We thought that we got it out, but apparently a sliver was still buried deep in there. It left a red welt that changed to a bluish bump after time, and I assumed that was scar tissue, since she never complained of pain. After six months, she poked a needle into the swelling (she’d apparently noticed some redness and soreness during that time, but never told me) and squeezed it, and the rest of the splinter popped out along with a rather incredible amount of pus and blood. I was horrified, since I was pretty sure she could have gotten a serious infection from that. Instead, however, the splinter seemed to have become encysted and she popped the cyst.

Pain usually means infection. I’d suggest you go to a doctor, but if you’re too stubborn to do that, you might try soaking your foot in warm water and then holding a hot compress against it for a while. If something’s in there, that treatment might coax it out. If my twelve-year-old were posting, she’d suggest you lance it yourself, but I have more sense than she does.

Mr. Legend;
First don’t mistake stubborness for the ability to PAY for a doctor!
I was laid off from my job last summer and since gone to work for a small company that doesn’t even offer insurance of any kind!
Even if they did it probably wouldn’t be covered since it would have been a pre-existing condition.

Even with the paltry wages I get, I make too much for the local clinic. There ain’t a whole lot of spare change around to pay out of my pocket for a doctor to send me to a specialist and pay for the surgery(if necessary.)

My OP was an honest appeal to see if I have any recourse to surgery(such as drawing creams, as I have heard some kind of salve containing flax seed or something like it would work.)

I have always respected and admired your posts and I hope the last part of your response was with tongue firmly in cheek!

crane, apply fertiliser, water it regularly and allow it to grow. when you have a substancial sized tuft of grass, dig it up. lol

Uggg, sounds like a good one. Is it really, really deep? As in deep enough to cause seriously bodily harm if you had to make an incision? If so just go to the doctors, he could probably dig it out with a few minutes of excrusiating agony. :slight_smile:

An Exacto hobby knife kit has all kinds of sharp blades you can use to cut open just the areas of skin you want exposed. A pair of small Revlon toenail/cuticle scissors are also useful for laying embedded thorns and stuff open as they are very sharp and pointed and you can precisely control the areas you are cutting into more than with a hobby knife.

Once you get the area open the main things you need are are

1: an extremely strong light source that can get close up (small halogen desk lamp witha goose neck does nicely). If the burr has gone somewhat translucent the ability to get close up is vital.

2: some very sharp and secure tweezers and needle like picks to lift up and manipulate the burr out, and once you get to that point you can grab it with the tweezers. Many Army Navy surplus stores carry cheap versions of these suitable for minor home surgery. There are also medical supply houses, although the real surgeons quality stuff is insanely expensive. Interestingly a medium-large safety pin makes an excellent pick because it is sharp and strong spring steel and you can hold it securely with the clip portion. Flame or alcohol sterilize anything you are going to use before you use it to cut open or handle skin.

Once you have removed the burr douse the wound with rubbing alcohol and when that dries put on some 3 in 1 ointment and a gauze bandage. Try to let the wound air dry as much as possible as this speeds healing while it takes a few days to heal. If you need to wear enclosing shoes change the dressing at least once a day and keep the area clean.