Question from Alyssa
Dear Debra,
I have a question about graphite from a pencil embedded in the skin near a vein.
As a teen, I had a pencil puncture my skin in school, and a piece of graphite has been embedded ever since, for over a decade.
Over time, the graphite piece has gotten smaller and smaller. I did speak with a doctor about it at one point who told me that it was likely surrounded by scar tissue and not causing any problems.
However, recently, I’ve begun to feel pains and aches in just that area where the graphite is located.
Also, I have had slow, but consistent hair loss on my head for the last decade. It started about a year after the pencil wound, and has been consistent since then. I am female and have lost a great deal of my hair and my hair that grows back is thinner in diameter than it used to be.
Debra’s Answer
Graphite in pencils, as we are usually exposed to it, is not toxic.
However, the MSDS for graphite says:
I’m assuming that graphite residing in the body might be like mercury in dental fillings. You say it’s getting smaller, so it probably is releasing small amounts of graphite into your body.
I personally would probably remove it.
