Are lead pencils dangerous under the skin?!
Question: I accidentally scratched my arm with a lead pencil (mechanical pencil). I looked at my arm and there was blood, and the lead in my pencil got broken. I couldn't find the "tip" of the lead so I'm assuming that it went inside my skin. Is that bad?!
Answers: I accidentally scratched my arm with a lead pencil (mechanical pencil). I looked at my arm and there was blood, and the lead in my pencil got broken. I couldn't find the "tip" of the lead so I'm assuming that it went inside my skin. Is that bad?!
Pencil lead isn't really lead. It's graphite: a fragile form of Carbon. I don't think it'll do any REAL damage, but you might want to get it out to prevent infection.
But of course, mechanical pencil "lead" is extremely fragile, so I'm guessing it probably poked your skin, causing you to draw blood, and then ruptured and then a small portion of the tip broke off and fell onto the floor
Overall, I don't think it's anything to worry about.
They're made of graphite, not lead, so you'll be okay. Your body will naturally expel it after some time and you'll probably find it's encapsulated in a protein covering (fibryotic tissue--aka scar tissue).
Common misconception. Now days, pencils (even mechanical ones) have trace amounts of lead in them. Not enough to give you lead posioning.
No, because the lead in the pencil does not contain real lead as most people believe, otherwise pencils would have been banned a long time ago at least from the kids . The lead is completely safe and will work itself out of your skin eventually.
The key thing here is the risk of infection, so put a plastic bandage on it with some antibiotic ointment. Change it twice daily, and if the appearance worsens after two days, see a doctor. It will probably clear up without any problems.
So far............so good. I'm still alive. I still have 2 pieces of lead you can see under the skin. Just pencil tips. Nothing you can actually pull out. I got mine 25 yrs. ago in grade school. With as much lead stuff as we eventually are exposed to in this polluted world, I wouldn't sweat it.