I actually found this forum just over a year ago when a Google Search uncovered the thread, https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.../Re_Mesquite_Thorn_Poisoning. I was doing some research after having stepped on a 3" incher while clearing some brush in my yard. Still having problems OVER 1 YEAR LATER (and VERIFIED thorn fragment in my toe via Ultrasound examination), I'm curious to learn how many folks on here ended up having a thorn stuck on a more long-term basis and what happened and especially those who underwent surgery - was it successful or did it make matters worse? If you can describe your story in the following format, I think it will be most helpful:

1. Degree of resolution with respect to thorn (please chose from one of the following):
a) Thorn has been removed or you are very confident that there is no fragment still remaining
b) You are unsure whether or not you are still living with thorn fragment but if you had to take your best guess, you ARE still living with thorn/fragment
c) You KNOW you still have thorn fragment inside of you

2. Degree of resolution with respect to symptoms/quality of life (please chose from one of the following):
a) 100% resolved / symptom free / healed in full
b) Close to 100% resolved (still have occasional problems but you function and/or quality of life is not greatly impacted)
c) Unresolved & living with mild to moderate pain or issues
d) Unresolved & living with intense pain and/or issues and/or have experienced permanent damage (such as amputation)

3. Approximate number of years (or weeks or days) you have lived with and/or dealt with this.

4. Did you undergo any surgery and what was the outcome?

5. Your story / other details if you'd like to share it.
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Here are my answers:

1. Degree of resolution with respect to thorn (please chose from one of the following):
c) You KNOW you still have thorn fragment inside of you
(Verified in July 2019 w/ Ultrasound examination)

2. Degree of resolution with respect to symptoms/quality of life (please chose from one of the following):
b) Close to 100% resolved (still have occasional problems but you function and/or quality of life is not greatly impacted)

3. Approximate number of years (or weeks or days) you have lived with and/or dealt with this.
1 year and counting

4. Did you undergo any surgery and what was the outcome?
Not yet but seriously considering it

5. Your story / other details if you'd like to share it.
I was clearing pasture and stepped on a 3 incher. I have loads of Mesquite trees on my property and what some have claimed to be "rumor" (about them getting up to 3" inches long is NOT, as I have grabbed out and measured them!). Anyhow, it went through the thick soled $150 5-10 hiking shoes like nobody's biz (obviously not all 3" went through but a good part of it) and caused a deep puncture. I pulled it out immediately but due to the amount of blood & pain, I went back up to my house to clean the injury and make sure I got the thorn out before getting back to work. I couldn't see thorn fragment and got the bleeding to stop and continued working. However, over the next two hours, the pain INCREASED pretty rapidly and it was EXCRUCIATING. Mind you, I have a wicked high pain tolerance and have taken intraaritcular needles straight to the joint, needles to tendons/ligaments/cartilage W/O any meds or lidocaine (during sports injury related procedures)... I was also able to 'wave hi" to my doc the time my horse accidentally kicked me and snapped my ulna in half... so I KNOW intense pain and this was right up there and concerning enough that I went to the ER. As others have experienced it was *practically a waste of a visit where they did an X-ray (which almost shows NOTHING) and the doc LITERALLY did a pathetic "exam" which lasted about all of 4 second where she took a flash light that was duller than my $35 hiking headlamp to quickly look at my toe and declare there was no fragment. It should be noted that by this time, I had re-examined my injury and actually SAW what I was 95% certain was fragment in there that was too deep to fetch out. *The ONLY thing good out of going to ER was getting a tetanus shot (especially given that I was about 6 months overdue). The pain in my foot was too horrific to poke around further and very slow in healing (intense pain for a full two weeks) and rather sharp pain for many weeks after. The area managed to heal sort of in full (or so I thought) but I COULD NOT DENY that if I tried to pronate normally (like when in rocky washes/drainages) and I'd go to push off, there was lots of soreness as if something were still stuck there. By about 6 months, this sensation was nearly absent... BUT then around the 7-8 month mark there was pain once again. I also could no longer take the soles out of my shoes (which I use to do to wash them & do a hike or two w/o the soles) because that toe was just too tender. Over the past 6 months, the toe has ranged from pain free to about an 8-9 out of 10 on the 'pain scale' (with 10 being the worst) when I tried to increase my training volume over 70 miles per week. It should be noted that despite many sports injuries in my life, that toe/area NEVER had any prior issues/injuries.

KNOWING that SOMETHING was still not right, (a contact of mine who is a doctor & surgeon) thought thorn fragment AND/OR scar tissue build up, so I went to a podiatrist who sent me for an ultrasound. The results were very explicit: exactly where the thorn had penetrated just over 1 year ago & where I was still have problems, the ultrasound showed that there is still fragment stuck there. The "stats" are as followed:

Fragment is a full 5 mm (or 0.50 cm) deep (explains why drawing salves have been useless)
Fragment length = a full 3 mm (or about 0.30 cm)
Fragment is just 1 mm away from a tendon in the toe

Instead of telling me what my options are over the phone, I need to schedule a follow-up with my doc (which is during this upcoming week). But I'm doing as much research as possible. If anyone's had a similar experience and how it turned out, I'd love to hear about it. I'll be sure to update this so others who have been in similar situations will hopefully have hope of a positive outcome. Among those I know personally, the only one who "has me beat" is a former hiking buddy who had an ocotillo spike logged in him for 3 YEARS before it finally worked it's way out on it's own.

Can’t help with your questions but

I can't comment on personal injury because I've been lucky in that regard. I don't even remember how many flat tires I've had to fix because of mesquite thorns.

Welcome aboard!

I have a piece of mesquite thorn in my right tricep, I can still grab it...5 or 6 years later. I tried to get my wife to cut it out with a razor blade but she refuses, I can't get to it myself, although I have tried years ago and made a bloody mess but couldn't get deep enough to grab it. Not worth going to the doc but just knowing it is there makes me want to cut it out sometimes.

Most thorns I have had just fester till they come out.

Had one stuck in the side of the heel of my foot for quite some time. It healed over and every so often would swell up turn red and then a scab/piece of skin would flake off and it would do it again. I had no idea what it was, for a while thought I got bit by something. One day I scratched the scab off and squeezed the hell out of it and a piece of a thorn about a 1/4 inch long came out. Healed over and never bothered me again.

Thanks for the welcome everyone and for the feedback for those of you who have shared you stories!

RattlesnakeDan >> 5-6 years... and counting!?! Dang! That beats the ocotillo spike that my hiking bud had for 3 years. HOPEFULLY it is not bothering you (other than the fact you know that it is there).

TexasKC >> YES, I can relate... took a Hiking Trip back in Feb and got a late start... it was pitch dark and as I approached the final stretch of road before the pull out where I was to car camp, there was a cattle guard w/ a single large strand of Mesquite poking thru... SPLIT SECOND after driving over, my tire light went on. No flats luckily but the next day I took it to a tire shop in the area and had Mesquite punctures in not one but two tires. That was the worst damage relative to the 'quantity' of brush I've driven over.

redchevy >> that is good to know and I'm glad you were able to get it out eventually. If you had to guess, was your version of 'quite some time' on the order of several years? month? or weeks? I do LOADS of off-trail adventuring so I'm constantly getting nailed by all kinds of thorny vegetation and my attitude is: extract what is obvious and/or itchy/sore but beyond that just let things be and they *always work their way out (i.e. just let it be until it starts to get itchy / sore and by that point I 'go to work' and am usually successfully and if not just wait another few days or weeks and try again and eventually they come out). *The exception would be that Mesquite thorn from over 1 year ago... but then again, I've NEVER had anything even remotely like that in terms of how deep or as painful. On my most recent hiking trip I got athlete's foot pretty bad (didn't know what it was at first cuz I've never had it... guess thats what I get for jumping in too many lakes, streams, etc.)! Anyhow, I had it in all random spots on both feet (top / side / underside / forefoot / back part of foot), and ONE of the toes that got it was the same toe the Mesquite thorn is in. As the callus from the athlete's foot were healing I noticed the craziest thing: what looked like a very tiny vertical hole... I drenched it with drawing salve daily but without luck cuz the ultrasound I got (showing the thorn in there was a week or so later... after both the 'hole' and athlete's foot had healed).

I had a grass burr in my finger I got when I picked up a quail I shot. Hurt pretty good so tried not use it for a few months. Doc said dont worry about it. Pain went away eventually after about 3 or 4 months.

Got a piece of hog panel in my arm. It finally surfaced about 8 months later... Didn't know piece actually stuck in my when using a brush blade.

less than a year from when I originally got stuck with it till it came out.

I have some aggressive mesquite and have had a thorn go through the sole of a rubber boot. Kind of sux...

During an enduro motorcycle race many years ago I road THROUGH a large prickly pear out in the Panhandle. Had to finish the ride before I could get back to EMTs who plucked thorns from my arms and chest for a very long time. One thorn was embedded in my forearm and they said, 'too deep, let it work itself out'. I could feel it there for a number or years - maybe 7 or 8 - and then it disappeared. Not sure if it finally was absorbed, or if it is still there, but deeper in muscle. It never really hurt, so...

Damn mesquite thorns could cripple a bull!

I think scar tissue just grows around it. I have broke off way to many cactus thorns to count in my fingers and hands that you can see through the skin for a while then they just disappear and stop hurting.

Ever notice all the thorns and stuff under the hide on the face/legs of deer or coyotes from south texas and other thorny regions? They are covered in thorns healed over under the skin.

GEEZE, that is crazy! I wonder if that's possible to have something that deep and have it come out w/o noticing.

Personally, I could care less about the fact that it's in there (like I've got permanent suture in one of my thumbs when a Cutco knife slipped and accidentally severed a tendon)... but the fact that the thorn just does not let up (like I'll be fine for weeks and w/o warning suddenly in pain again from it). So I definitely just want to be done with it.

Got the results today in the mail and read over the report in more detail and screw up ('inverted') a couple of the facts (luckily in my favor I would think):

Thorn is only 3 mm deep from the skin surface (instead of 5 mm like I originally posted)
Thorn length is 5 mm (or 1/2 cm) long (not 3 mm like I originally posted)

^So less flesh to dig thru to get to the thorn and more thorn to grab on to, to help pull out!

'Grass burr'...

...would that be the same as a 'goat head'? The spikes are not very deep at all thankfully and in my experience come right out (usually without even the need for tweezers) but holy schmuck... those will bring a grown man (or woman) to his/her knees in a heartbeat and have one begging for mercy!!!!!!!!!

LOL. For dang sure! Can't remember if it was these boards or on an Ag forum but last year when I was reading up on Mesquite thorns I remember reading multiple accounts of folks having busted tractor tires thanks to mesquite thorns.

thanks for the info, and lucky for you!

Many years ago, my brother, myself and a friend went bowhunting Javelinas in Arizona.Our friend had a local relative that insisted on being our guide to show us down into a canyon that was full of em'. He is leading the way down these very steep ravines when he slips and goes head over heels and lands in a giant patch of prickly pear, it probably saved him some broken bones but we had to extract him from the cactus and it was a tedious task. He was actually probably 6' in the air on top of the cactus patch...not good.
Needless to say we finally got him free and managed to pick out the big spines as much as possible after getting his clothes off. But...his body was covered in little fuzz of the small stuff and we couldn't help. His butt was one big fuzzball of cactus. Still not sure how he managed to drive home but we went hunting w/o him.

My mesquite thorn experience cost me and my insurance company $180,000.00 in medical and medication bills. Thorn went through my boot and broke off in my foot bone while I was clearing pasture. Took some meds but was still hurting like hell a month later when I went back to the dr and they said I had a bone infection. Emergency surgery and 3 months of IVs later and it was gone. Gave myself 15 shots and 5 ivs a day in my recliner through a port to finally kill it off. Foot still hurts off and on.

Don’t play with mesquite thorns gents.

I thought Locusts thorns were bad enough, thankfully I don’t have any mesquite on my place...

Stepped on a large orange tree thorn while I was a kid playing barefoot outside. Happened on a Saturday morning and mom made me wait till Monday to get it cut out to teach me a lesson. I don’t play outside without shoes on anymore.

Had a piece of one stuck in my finger for a week plus. I thought I dug it out, but the doctor had to clean it up. Nothing long term, but my finger swelled up like crazy and all three knuckles hurt to bend. Doctor put me on antibiotics and told me to wear gloves.

I hate Mesquite trees and hate them even more when it’s time to trim roads and shooting lanes.

If it bothers you have a buddy cut it out. If you can live with it go on with life. Every mesquite thorn I couldn’t pull out festered up and was easy to get. I had to cut part of a rusty nail out of my foot a 15 years ago but I was up to date on tetanus shot. I buried my grandfather with a lot of 71/2 shot in his old neck. It didn’t bother him so he left it alone for 25 years. The ones in his nose were easy to get out with tweezers

P.S I wasn’t the one that shot him.

Yes, same! I now use needle nose pliers for removing from shoes, gun straps, socks pants birds, etc! That year was crazy for them. I tried digging that sucker out for a few weeks but could never find it. Guess I absorbed it. Doc was right. Don't mess with it. They are very small anyway unlike a mesquite thorn.

I have taken a few prickly pear thorns to the shin and they swell up huge. So much so I thought a rattlesnake bit me laying in bed. Ice and whiskey helps!

We were quail hunting one year near Turkey and going through a plum thicket. Buddy grabbed a plum tree and took a thorn under his nail and broke off!! Straight to the Childress ER for him. Had a good hunt and was back 6 hours later! Ouch!

Plant thorn arthritis facts

Plant thorn arthritis is a noninfectious inflammation of a joint as a result of a thorn puncturing the joint and leaving residual plant matter lodged within the joint.
Plant thorn arthritis typically affects only a single joint -- the joint that was pierced by the plant thorn.
Plant thorn arthritis causes the involved joint to be swollen, slightly reddish, stiff, and painful. The joint loses its full range of motion and is often tender.
The symptoms of plant thorn arthritis may occur long after the thorn is removed from the affected joint.

What is plant thorn arthritis?

Plant thorn arthritis is a noninfectious inflammation of a joint as a result of a thorn puncturing the joint and leaving residual plant matter lodged within the joint. The plant thorn fragments cause a localized inflammation reaction in the joint lining tissue that leads to swelling, stiffness, loss of range of motion, and pain. The joint lining tissue is called the synovium. Inflammation of this tissue is medically referred to as synovitis. Plant thorn arthritis is also called plant thorn synovitis

What plants cause plant thorn arthritis?

The plants that commonly cause plant thorn arthritis are those that produce thorns. These plants include palm trees, roses, black-thorn shrubs, cacti, bougainvillea, yucca, pyracantha, plum trees, and mesquite trees. Exposure to these plants is the greatest risk factor for plant thorn arthritis.


What joints are typically involved in plant thorn arthritis?

Plant thorn arthritis typically affects only a single joint -- the joint that was pierced by the plant thorn. The most common joints affected by plant thorn arthritis are those that can be exposed to being stabbed by falling into or brushing up against plants with thorns. Joints that are commonly affected by plant thorn synovitis include the small joints of the hands (metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints), feet, elbows, knees, and ankles.

Plant thorn arthritis causes the involved joint to be
swollen,
slightly reddish,
stiff, and
painful.
The joint loses its full range of motion and is often tender. These symptoms may be noticed only many days after the initial thorn puncture. It is not uncommon for the person affected by plant thorn arthritis to remove the thorn immediately after the puncture and then develop the arthritis many days or weeks later and not even recall that the joint had been punctured previously! This is because the original thorn has actually left behind small fragments of thorn vegetable matter that gradually cause the inflammation of plant thorn arthritis. This form of single joint arthritis (monoarthritis) then becomes chronic until appropriately treated.

What specialties of doctors treat plant thorn arthritis?

Plant thorn arthritis requires operative intervention. Doctors who perform operative treatments include orthopedic surgeons and plastic surgeons.

How is plant thorn arthritis diagnosed?

Plant thorn arthritis is suspected in a patient who presents with a single joint that is inflamed after it has been punctured by a plant thorn. This is true even if the patient recalls removing the thorn, as described above, because the thorn can leave behind tiny fragments of thorn matter that leads to the chronic inflammation of plant thorn arthritis.

Removal of joint fluid (joint aspiration) is performed to rule out bacterial or fungal infection of the joint
.
Ultimately, the diagnosis of plant thorn arthritis requires either detection of a piece of thorn within the joint by radiology testing or surgical removal of the thorn fragments and identification of the fragments microscopically in the laboratory. Sometimes tiny pieces of thorns can be visualized using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scanning), high-resolution computerized tomography (HR-CAT scanning), or ultrasound imaging. Often, however, the residual thorn fragments are too small to be seen with these methods and are detected only when identified in tissue that is surgically removed from the joint.

The affected joint lining tissue (synovium) is examined in the pathology department using microscopes. The tissue forms a characteristic reaction, called a granulomatous reaction, within the synovium (granulomatous synovitis). The microscopic thorn fragments are easily identified using a polarized light microscope as they appear brilliantly shiny (birefringent) to the examining pathologist.



It is important to recognize that puncturing a joint with a foreign material, such as a plant thorn, can lead to bacterial infection (septic arthritis) or fungal infection (fungal arthritis) of the joint. This possibility can be excluded by removing joint fluid and culturing the fluid in the laboratory. While plant thorn arthritis is technically noninfectious, these two forms of infectious arthritis can occur from plant thorn puncture of a joint, with or without true plant thorn arthritis. These forms of arthritis require urgent antibiotic treatment.

For plant thorn arthritis, anti-inflammatory medications may quiet some of the inflammation. However, chronic arthritis eventually develops even long after the plant thorn injury because of the thorn fragments remaining in the joint. This arthritis persists until the fragments are removed with a surgical operation. Without surgical resection of the plant fragments, joint inflammation persists and permanent joint destruction can occur. There is no specific medication or home remedy for plant thorn arthritis.

The surgical operation that can cure plant thorn arthritis is called a synovectomy with joint lavage (joint washout cleaning). During a synovectomy, the surgeon will remove the affected and surrounding joint lining tissue (synovium) to be certain that microscopic joint fragments within the joint and its lining are eliminated from the body.



What is the prognosis of plant thorn arthritis?

Once a synovectomy for plant thorn arthritis has been performed, the joint tends to heal well without residual problems. The sooner the synovectomy is performed, the better the outcome as chronic joint inflammation can risk damage to cartilage of the joint. Physical therapy rehabilitation exercises can be helpful to restore normal joint function.


(link)

If I get any kind of thorn or splinter I either dig it out or have the wife do it. Guess I am lucky that I have never had a serious one break off in me in a fickled spot.