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Hello @buddybuddy, Welcome to Connect. I rode my bicycle into some larger cactus as a kid and remember how painful it was getting all of the small barbs out of my skin. I was not aware of Sabra dermatitis but ran across a few articles one offering some suggestions as to how local people have dealt with the condition.
"Treatment of affected skin is usually carried out at home and medical advice is rarely sought. Simple procedures include washing with warm, soapy water, shaving the area, brushing it with a stiff brush, applying a peeling. ointment, or stripping with hot wax. Probably the most
effective remedy is to strip off the bristles with adhesive tape. Persistent conjunctivitis requires expert attention and location of the glochid by examination with a slit-lamp." -- (1975) Dermatitis and keratoconjunctivitis caused by a prickly pear (Opuntia microdasys): https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA20785135_24083
-- (2020) Sabra dermatitis: combined features of delayed hypersensitivity and foreign body reaction to implanted glochidia: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2157f9g0
I'm guessing it's much harder get the glochids off than to protect your skin and face areas. The article from 1975 was from the South African Medical Journal. Have you tried any of the methods listed above to get them off?
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yes sir thanks for your response and i have tried them all and more. cactus growers will tell you glochids are for life that being said i have yet to find one that believes in sabra dermatitis . it does not affect everyone the same and i believe my severe incident is a result of continuing to fight my reality and believe it was in my head and continued wearing those shoes. i bring this up again because when this started i was homeless and got a 10 min shower every Wednesday not homeless anymore and when my sores are not as noticeable and im able i drive a public transportation vehicleSabra dermatitis is a unique form of granulomatous
dermatitis directly attributable to glochidia
implantation. The nature of the inflammatory
response is one that combines features of classic
delayed hypersensitivity and an innate foreign body
response. The glochidia are capable of eliciting a T
cell mediated immune response. It is reasonable to
assume that a TH1 cytokine signal is responsible for
the unique pattern of inflammation including the
secondary influx of neutrophils and relative lack of
tissue eosinophilia. The dermatologist should have a
high index of suspicion that a patient who suddenly
develops a vesicular dermatitis in geographic areas
indigenous for Opuntia cactus could have sabra
dermatitis. .