5 ways to remove a splinter from your skin

How to remove a splinter quickly and painlessly? There are proven and effective methods.

Splinter in the finger - how to get it out

Human hands are the most important tool that performs many different actions and movements. Often you need to remove a splinter from your finger. It is important to know that the sooner a problem is detected, the easier and faster you will get rid of it.

Advice! Before you begin to pull out the splinter, you need to steam the skin with a hot bath or compress so that it becomes loose and soft. Then the splinter will come out of the skin easier.

Using tweezers or a needle to remove a splinter assumes that the tip is clearly visible. Otherwise, you won’t be able to catch and pull out the splinter. It is also necessary to prepare a disinfectant solution - alcohol or brilliant green. To better see what is happening, it is recommended to act in bright light and use a magnifying glass.

Procedure at home:

The skin is pre-steamed so that the tissues separate, and the splinter becomes better visible and comes out faster.
Tweezers or a needle (a large sewing needle or a medical needle from a syringe) should be treated with an alcohol solution.
The area of skin in which the splinter is located should also be disinfected with alcohol.
If you use tweezers, you need to grab the edge of the splinter and try to slowly pull it out.
If a needle is used, it is necessary to pry the splinter with the sharp end and try to pull it out from the layers of the skin.
The resulting small wound should be treated with a healing ointment, for example, Bepanten or Boro Plus: then it will heal quickly and without complications.

Ichthyol ointment or Vishnevsky will allow you to remove a splinter from a finger without a needle. To do this, you should thickly smear the area of skin where the splinter is located and wait 15-20 minutes. Vishnevsky and ichthyol ointments promote good tissue softening and also have a pulling effect, which will help the splinter slip out of the layers of skin in which it is lodged. However, you will have to apply pressure to the skin around the splinter so that it comes to the surface. To injure soft tissue less, as soon as the tip appears, pick it up with tweezers and pull out the splinter completely.

Advice! If you have a drawing pen with a thin spout at home, it will completely replace tweezers and will be even more convenient.

A paste of a small amount of water and soda will make it easier to remove the splinter from the surface layers of the skin. To do this, you need to leave the mass on the affected area for a while, then try to squeeze out or remove the foreign body with tweezers or a needle. It is important to be careful that the splinter does not go even deeper, otherwise it will be much more difficult to get rid of it.

How to properly remove a deep splinter

The splinter gets deep if it is sharp and small or inserted under the nails. How to remove a splinter if it is deep in the foot, heel or nail? The nail is less sensitive to splinters than the skin; most likely, it will come out on its own after some time.

Advice! If the splinter is deep under the nail, causes severe pain or is not visible, then it is better to consult a specialist. A surgeon or traumatologist will quickly and easily relieve you of discomfort.

If the tip is visible, you can remove the splinter from under the nail using a needle.Preliminary disinfection of the instrument and the affected area will eliminate possible complications. Under a magnifying glass and in good lighting, the splinter will become more visible, which will speed up the result. You must try to pry the splinter and bring it closer to the edge of the nail plate.

Adhesive tape (duct tape, tape, or duct tape) will help get rid of fragile and small splinters on the feet and hands, such as fiberglass, metal shavings, and some varieties of plants. Before manipulation, you should wash your hands and the area affected by splinters, dry the skin thoroughly with a towel, but do not rub! Next, you should prepare the necessary piece of adhesive tape and stick it to the area affected by the splinter or splinters. After peeling off the tape, you need to carefully inspect it - there should be a splinter on the sticky part.

Using glue you can remove a deep splinter from your finger. For this, regular glue for paper and cardboard or PVA is suitable. The substance is applied to the area with the splinter, then you should wait about half an hour until the glue dries a little, and pull the frozen part slowly so that the splinter comes out along with the substance. Next, you need to remove any remaining glue and make sure that there are no splinters left in the skin. Otherwise, you should repeat the procedure.

Important! It is prohibited to use superglue to remove splinters!

A hypertonic solution will help get rid of a splinter that is deep and difficult to see. The product is highly salted hot water. To prepare, take 2-3 tablespoons of salt and dilute it in half or a whole glass of boiling water. When the solution has cooled down so that the skin can tolerate it, you need to immerse the area with the splinter in the product or make a hot compress.Next, you should apply a loose bandage and wait until the splinter becomes better visible - then it can be removed with tweezers or a needle.

Useful information: A hot and concentrated saline solution, medically called “hypertonic solution,” relieves swelling and inflammation, disinfects the skin and reduces pain.

After the splinter has successfully come out, you should wait until the bleeding stops and treat the remaining wound with medical alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine. If the scratch is superficial, it will heal quickly and easily. A bactericidal substance - ointment or powder - should be applied to a deep wound. If the splinter mark is in the fold area, it is recommended to apply a bandage.

When a doctor's help is needed

At home, it is better to remove only those splinters that have penetrated shallowly into the skin. If a foreign body is in the face or neck, or debris gets into the eyes or respiratory tract, then urgent medical attention is needed. Emergency hospitalization is required if a splinter gets into a nerve or muscle, causing a person severe pain and limiting movement.

Situations when medical assistance is needed:

with repeated and unsuccessful attempts to remove the splinter on your own;
getting a splinter into the eyes or in the periocular area;
if the wound with a splinter is deep and contaminated;
the splinter was inflicted by an animal, obtained from meat or fish;
Tetanus vaccination was carried out a long time ago and there is a possibility of infection.

Advice! Wood and organic splinters - chips, thorns, dry grass, as well as splinters of animal origin - scales, claws, bones, etc. - contribute to the development of infection.Splinters made from inorganic materials - plastic, glass, metal - are painful in themselves, but do not provoke an infection in the skin.

If the splinter is not completely removed, then suppuration is very likely. Among the main signs of infection are swelling, discharge and severe pain, redness, local or general increase in temperature. You cannot fight these symptoms on your own; you need to consult a doctor.

Without treatment, a small splinter can cause a lot of trouble. You need to get rid of it quickly. If you cannot do this yourself, you should contact a specialist. Removing a splinter in a timely manner is the prevention of infection and complications, the key to good health and well-being.