amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

AngelaJ · 03-14-2003, 07:08 PM

My DD got poked in the palm of her hand today with a pencil. the problem is that it looks very gray, like the lead colored her skin on the way in. I do not want my child to have this for the rest of her life! I have a mark inmy palm where the same thing happened when i was in the 4th grade and it is still there almost 20 years later! Anyway, how can I clean it? Keep it from staying that color? Help!

anise · 03-14-2003, 07:58 PM

yeah, mama, i was gonna say...i was stabbed witha pencil when i was about 9 or 10 and i still have gray around it. I have no idea if its fixable. Do let us know though if you come up with a good solution.

Surfer Girl · 03-14-2003, 10:20 PM

I have that too on my ribcage...but when it happened to my 12 yr old nephew, he was taken to his family doctor, who used a scalpel to open it a tiny bit and it was flushed out with something to clean it/prevent infection and then it had 2 stitches. He doesn't even have a scar, it was on the back of his hand.

Good Luck! I wish someone had gotten mine out!

03-14-2003, 10:29 PM

I thought I was the only one in the world that had this happen!

I had a mark on my upper arm and thought it was a weird growth or something. It was getting bigger and a friend convinced me to have it looked at. My dr. removed it and we were both surprised that it was a pencil lead. I have no memory of getting a pencil lead in my arm. LOL Do you think it travelled? I have a scar there now but it looks like I had one of those older style immunizations.

Is the whole lead still in her hand. I guess I'd have it removed if it is still close to the surface.

Tanya

Nutmeg · 03-14-2003, 10:49 PM

in my right temple--resting my head on it in 4th grade.....Gurss I have a tatoo after all! LOL

BTW it's not lead in pencils, it's graphite. Harmless.

Meg

BonaDea · 03-14-2003, 11:35 PM

No advice here.
I had one in my knee from grammer school to my mid 20's when it dissapered.

Not a big deal in my book.

Janice · 03-15-2003, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CookiePantsMama

BTW it's not lead in pencils, it's graphite.

Meg

yes...I was going to say this as well, Meg.

Quote:

Pencil lead is actually graphite (harmless), not poisonous lead. Even colored leads are nontoxic. They will cause a tattoo, however, and should be scrubbed out.

from http://info.chsd.org/677.cfm

JustDoin'MyBest · 03-15-2003, 12:26 AM

I am right there with you marked for life mama's!

Mine happend in 5th grade. I stabbed myself in the hand with a freshly sharpend pencil on accident (long story). however my teacher was abolutely rude about it, too.

She was asking me questions about a book when it happend, as her nose was stuck in a book as she "listened" to me. When I brought her attention to the fact that I was bleeding and what had happend she got upset dragged me to the sink and washed it off poured hydrogen peroxide on it and handed me a band-aid, then dragged me back to her desk to finish the line of questioning. UGH!

Anyways long story short, the "lead" is still lodged in my hand as the tip broke off in my hand and the skin healed around it.

BTW I told my mom about it and she obviously didn't do anything about it. But my childhood wasn't a happy one either. In theri minds "I deserved it." for whatever reason they might have had at the time.

Yes it can be removed if you go see a doctor but it won't hurt him either.

Good luck on you decision.

Stephanie M

bwylde · 03-15-2003, 07:40 PM

Gee, all these years I thought I was the only one, lol. I too am part of the pencil lead gang. It has lightened over the years, though. I used to gouge at my hand trying to get it out, but I guess it's done me no harm. So I have no real advice I guess.

Carla V.