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How to Get Cactus Out of Your Skin

The cactus is a constant threat to hikers and campers in desert climates. These plants have adapted their leaves into thin spines, both to fend off predators and to reduce water loss. Cactus spines can be quite painful if you are unlucky enough to brush up against them, but they are also fairly easy to remove. The spines fall into three categories: clusters, individual spines and glochids, which are the tiny, delicate spines found on many cactus species.

Things You'll Need

Plastic comb
Tweezers or needle-nosed pliers
School glue
Gauze
Soap
Antibiotic cream

Instructions

- 1
  Slide the teeth of a plastic comb between the spines if they are in a cluster or still have part of the cactus surface attached. Remove them from your skin with a flicking motion.
- 2
  Pull larger individual spines out of your skin one by one with tweezers or needle-nosed pliers.
- 3
  Remove glochids by covering them with school glue, then laying a gauze pad into the glue. Allow the glue to dry, then peel the entire thing off. Repeat this process if not all of the glochids have been removed.
- 4
  Wash the affected area with soap and water, then apply an antibiotic cream to avoid infection. The wounds may bleed a bit when the spines are removed; stop this by applying pressure to the area.

Nature