It was bound to happen. With all the cactus we have around our house, one of the girls was destined to fall into it, and it had to be Emily, poor kid. I can't believe it only grabbed her one leg, but it did, and that is a good thing. If you are going to fall into cactus, do your research before you try getting it out. I have heard all sorts of remedies for cactus spines in the skin, including packaging tape, duct tape, and Elmer's glue, but I didn't check to see how effective those methods are. The packaging tape and the duct tape made the problem worse, breaking the spines off or driving them in deeper. And slightly cooked duct tape (slightly cooked from being stored outdoors) took skin and hair off. So then we tried gently wiping glue on, drying it with the hair dryer, and then peeling it off. Sounds like a good solution, doesn't it? It wasn't. It pulled hair worse than the tape did, and it left the spines in!
After torturing my child three times I finally soaked her in the tub, then pulled those spines (hundreds of them!) out with a tweezer. And guess what I found out when I finally did my research -- you are supposed to use the tweezers first! Oh. Sorry, Emily! Thankfully this was only beavertail (hence the pink juice on her leg, from running into a fruit) and not cholla! Don't EVER run into a cholla.
After torturing my child three times I finally soaked her in the tub, then pulled those spines (hundreds of them!) out with a tweezer. And guess what I found out when I finally did my research -- you are supposed to use the tweezers first! Oh. Sorry, Emily! Thankfully this was only beavertail (hence the pink juice on her leg, from running into a fruit) and not cholla! Don't EVER run into a cholla.
ouch !! I am sooooooo sorry for your dd. I am glad you did get those nasty prickles out. I hope she is on the mends now.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was soooooo neat your dd's got some books by helping out at the book fair. That is a fun way to get paid.
Sorry I didn't get over here before. About the granola recipe I will be including that in my up coming ebook cookbook. I might even give it on my blog as a teaser (sp?) for the ebook. I will let you know when I do that. [0= It is a low fat ( no oil) granola. I love it !
Thank you for the reminder about the books. That is on my wish list.
Sending you blessings and ((HUGS)) my SSiC
In Him<><
-Mary
Ooooh Oooowwwweeeee!
ReplyDeletePoor little thing! :-(
My poor DH DID have a run in with a cholla. :-S
We were on a hike in the Anza-Borrego and he wasn't watching where he was going. He tripped and his hand came down on one. It was AWFUL! He must have had about15-20 spines...and all we had was a pocket knife with a pliers...We both almost passed out!
I pray Emily heals quickly!
Michelle
Poor kid! Glad you finally found out what to do. I'm glad we don't have those around here.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's right, now that we have rain, the mosquitoes will come
oh dear! That picture made me feel sick to my stomach...dare I say none of the kids have fallen in a cactus yet! I sure hope it doesn't happen anytime soon, but at least I know what to do!
ReplyDeleteHope she isn't too traumatized.
marie
Oh, I am so sad for your poor Emily! Wow! That is an ordeal.
ReplyDeleteJenn