- Don't squeeze it! As you are inspecting the splinter for the first time, don't squeeze it to try and get it out. If it's sharp, you could be embedding it further into your skin; if it's brittle, you might break it into smaller pieces.
- Clean and dry the spot with soap and water. Be gentle—patting the area dry with a paper towel will soak up the water without any unnecessary (and potentially painful) rubbing. You don't want the skin (or the splinter, if it's wood) to get soggy.
- Inspect the splinter with a magnifying glass. The size of the splinter and how it's angled in your skin will help you know what's the best way to take it out.
- See How to Remove a Splinter for a description of other methods you may want to try first. The baking soda method described here is best for tiny, invisible splinters, or deeply-embedded ones. The baking soda paste will cause the skin to swell and push the splinter out. It's best used after other methods, since it will make the other methods (tape, tweezer ,needle) more difficult because your skin will be slightly swollen.
- Make a baking soda paste. Add water to about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to make a thick paste.
- Apply the paste to the splinter. Spread the baking soda paste onto a bandage, then apply the bandage to the affected area.
- After 24 hours, remove the bandage. The splinter may be sticking out of the skin. If it's visible, pick it off with tweezers, and rinse the skin gently. If the splinter is sticking out but not visible, this may wash it away without further complications.
- Repeat the method with new paste and another bandage every 24 hours until the splinter is gone.
- Use a topical anesthetic. If the splinter is extremely painful, you might rub a bit of Baby Orajel around the affected area and wait a few minutes before trying to remove the splinter. The Baby Orajel will numb the area. Once you wait a few minutes, wash the affected area .
Steps
- Do not apply pressure. Don't even squeeze it to try and get it out. If it's sharp, you could be embedding it further into your skin by squeezing; if it's brittle, you might break it into smaller pieces.
- Wash and dry the spot with soap and water. Be gentle. Pat dry (a paper towel is good for absorbing moisture without having to apply much pressure). You don't want the skin (or the splinter, if it's wood) to get soggy.
- Inspect it with a magnifying glass. The size of the splinter and how it's angled in your skin will help you know what's the best way to take it out.
- Remove the splinter using one or a combination of the methods below.
- Clean the area that you removed the splinter from. Apply antibacterial ointment and a band-aid until it heals. Watch for signs of infection (redness, swelling, pus).
Drawing Salve Method
- This method is painless and take about one day. Purchase Ichthammol ointment (also known as black drawing salve) over the counter at a pharmacy. They may not have it out on the shelves but if you ask the pharmacist they usually have it in the pharmacy. You do not need a prescription. Put a small amount of the salve on the splinter and put a band-aide over the salve. In a day remove the band-aide and the splinter will usually be drawn out of your skin into the band-aide. (Be careful not to get the salve on anything as it is very greasy and can stain. The salve has somewhat of an unpleasant odor - similar to a car rear end grease).
Baking Soda Method
This method is best for tiny, invisible splinters. The baking soda paste will cause the skin to swell and push the splinter out. It's best used after other methods, since it will make the other methods (tape, tweezers, needle) more difficult because your skin will be swollen.Tape Method
- Place sticky tape gently on the splinter site.
- Pull it off in the opposite direction that the splinter went in. (If you look at the tweezers illustration below, the direction in which the tweezers are pulling is the direction you want to pull the tape as well.)
Tweezers Method
This is the method people are most familiar with. It works best if you can see the splinter, and part of it is protruding from the skin.- Sterilize the tip of the tweezers with rubbing alcohol.
- Hold a magnifying glass up the splinter and find the part that's sticking out. Make sure there's good lighting. If it's sticking up (or up at an angle), go to the next step. If it's leaning horizontally (laying down) against the skin, however, don't use this method. You might break the splinter when you try to grab it with the tweezers because of its angle in your skin. Use a needle or nail clippers.
- Grab the tip of the splinter with the tweezers. Make sure not to grab any hair or skin. Having someone else hold the magnifying glass helps. Don't try to squeeze the splinter to push it further out; you'll tighten your skin's grip on the embedded end and it might break. If you can't grab it without squeezing your skin, try another method.
- Pull the splinter out in the direction it went into the skin. For example, if it went in a little sideways, don't pull it straight up or else it'll probably break.
Needle Method
Use this method if there's a soft, thin layer of skin over the splinter. This is common if the skin starts to heal over the splinter before you get a chance to take it out. It's not a good method if the splinter is deep or the layer of skin is thick (like on the heel your foot).- Sterilize the tip of the needle with rubbing alcohol.
- Find the part where the splinter entered the skin.
- Stick the needle in ever so slightly.
- Apply upwards pressure, using the tip of the needle to open the skin right above the splinter. Go a little further, with an upward scraping motion.
- Pull the skin apart gently and you should be able to see the splinter.
- Use tweezers to pull it out, if the end is sticking out. Otherwise, you might have to use the needle to gently nudge it out. Get the tip of the needle underneath the splinter and nudge it up very gently. You don't want it to break in your skin. If it does, use the baking soda method immediately to extract it.
- This step requires very steady hands and very good vision.
Nail Clipper/Razor Blade Method
This is the method to use if you have a splinter buried under thick skin that's not very sensitive, like the heel of your foot or the pads of your fingers (if you have thick skin there).- Sterilize the sharp edge(s) with rubbing alcohol.
- Clip away the excess
skin above the splinter with the nail clippers, or use the razor in a
similar manner as the needle (cut parallel to the splinter). It shouldn't hurt; it should feel the same way as it does to cut your cuticles.
- Pull the skin apart gently and you should be able to see the splinter.
- Use tweezers to pull it out, if the end is sticking out. Otherwise, you might have to use the needle to gently nudge it out. Get the tip of the needle underneath the splinter and nudge it up very gently. You don't want it to break in your skin. If it does, use the baking soda method immediately to extract it.
Potato Method
- Cut a potato in slices.
- Place a slice on the splinter (yellowish side down).
- Hold it there for a while, and it will hopefully get the splinter right out.
- Do not apply pressure.
- The potato method really works! Try it if all else fails.
- Don't forget that most small splinters will work their way out of the skin on their own in a few days or a week. Sometimes it's simpler and less harmful to just let your body heal itself. Watch for any sign of infection, though; while unlikely, it is possible.
- Make sure to keep the area dry with rubbing alcohol and not peroxide.
- To numb the site before pulling out the splinter, put ice around the splinter (but not on it) or briefly put the spot in ice water (but not long enough to make the skin wrinkly). Again, make sure the spot is dry; it'll be harder to use some of the methods if the skin or splinter is moist.
Most of us are familiar with the pain and aggravation that can come from splinters, which are usually small slivers of wood, metal or glass. Splinters can be difficult to remove and sometimes painful as well. If the splinter is not removed and removed cleanly, infection can result and sometimes the infection can become a serious one. The next time you get a splinter, try one or more of these tips to get it out as painlessly and safely as possible:
* Hydrogen Peroxide. Cover the area where the splinter is with hydrogen peroxide. Often the splinter will come out within minutes.
* Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it on top of the splinter area. Cover it with a bandaid or other bandage and leave on overnight. You can also use a homemade paste of flour and water with a pinch of salt, making sure that the mixture is gooey and not runny.
* Take a whole egg and crack it (emptying the contents) so that only the shell remains. Place the inside (wet side) of the shell onto the splinter for a few minutes and the splinter should work its way far enough out till you can pick it right out.
* Place a piece of duct tape over the splinter and leave on for a half hour. Then slowly peel away. The splinter should come off with the tape.
* Put a piece of bread over the splinter and wrap a band-aid around it. Let it set overnight and the splinter may be drawn out and attached to the band-aid by morning. Another version of this remedy is to put a bit of milk on the bread.
* Before going to bed at night, place a very small piece of bacon fat on top of the splinter and cover with a bandaid. In the morning the splinter will usually have risen to the top where it can easily be removed.
* For thorns, use a piece of pantyhose to snag and pull them out. Works great for small thorns like those of cactus [needles].
* Onion or tomato. Apply a slice of fresh onion or tomato to draw the splinter to the surface of the skin.
* Honey is also effective to help the splinter be drawn to the surface. Apply honey to the area where the splinter is and see if it helps draw the splinter to the surface.
* When none of the above tips work to completely remove the splinter, you may need to resort to ice and tweezers. Apply ice to the area to numb the nerves and use a sterilized (by flame and/or rubbing alcohol) tweezers.
Once the splinter has been removed, be sure to disinfect the area with hydrogen peroxide and then apply something with good antiseptic properties to prevent infection. A combination of colloidal silver and aloe works very well, as does tea tree oil. You can also cover the area with raw organic honey, which has superior antiseptic and healing properties. The best of all honeys is manuka honey. Raw organic honey, tea tree oil and colloidal silver are all very good items to keep around the house for natural health and healing.
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