Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Fishing is a widespread leisurely activity that rarely results in an emergency. However, trauma from a fishhook piercing the skin is common. Use the following guidelines to remove a fishhook:
Use pliers or forceps to push the hook gently through the skin, following the curve of the hook.
Cut off the barb so that the unbarbed portion of the fishhook can be backed out.
Consult a doctor about available medications for the treatment of fishhook wounds. People who experience a fishhook puncture should be immunized for tetanus if more than 5 years have passed since their last inoculation.
Previous contributing editors: Ivette Motola, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine; James Kimo Takayesu, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital.
Soft tissue foreign bodies are frequently a result of penetrating or abrasive trauma and can result in substantial patient discomfort, deformity, complications involving localized and systemic infection, and further trauma during removal.
