When assessing initial thorn removal, when should probing stop immediately?
Answer
If you cannot easily grasp the object or if it has broken off.
The initial care protocol strongly advises against excessive manipulation of a wound caused by a thorn. If the foreign material, such as a piece of thorn or wood, is deeply embedded or if it snaps off beneath the surface, attempts to retrieve it with tweezers should cease immediately. Further probing increases the risk of driving the contaminant deeper into vital structures like tendon sheaths or joint spaces, or introducing more surface bacteria into deeper, less accessible layers of the tissue. If the removal is not simple and obvious, seeking medical assistance with specialized tools is the safer course of action to minimize potential collateral tissue trauma.
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