I'm just taking a stab here, but I bet that it would be better to cut the leaf off than to peel it off the stem. If you peel it off, isn't it kinda like a hangnail, where it just keeps peeling skin, and by the time you get up to your elbow it is taking out chunks of flesh? It would be a much smaller surface area of an open sore if you cut it. Less chance for infections. On the other hand, you really ought to wait until it comes off when gently tugged on. That is unless there is no way to bend or pinch it out of the way of young nodes.