Splinter Question

[scheherazade_79]

I have one in my thumb. I tried pulling it out with some fine tweezers, but the end snapped, and now I can't get it out at all.

Do these things work their way out naturally, or am I going to have to perform shotgun surgery on myself?

If it's not likely to come out, my idea is to hold one of the kitchen knives over a flame, slice the skin open, go back in with the tweezers, then stick my thumb in vodka to sterilise it.

It probably won't be pleasant, but I'm not squeamish and I want this damned splinter out, because it's starting to hurt.

Is anyone here an expert on splinter removal?

 

[cloudy]

a sewing needle, darling.

you can gently work it under the skin, sort of hook the splinter, and then pull it out.

 

[scheherazade_79]

a sewing needle, darling.

you can gently work it under the skin, sort of hook the splinter, and then pull it out.

cool! I'll have a dig now! Thanks, Cloudy!

 

[AngeloMichael]

My mother always said tea bags drew them right to the surface and made them easy to remove.

 

[Krak Monkey]

Fingernail clippers

 

[lucky-E-leven]

If it's small and not overly cumbersome/painful, I'd leave it alone. Your body will reabsorb it in a week or so. If it's larger and more painful/bothersome, you can use the needle technique. Just be sure to sterilize everything with some pretty potent alcohol and try not to do more damage than good. It'll eventually go away on its own, and digging more than is necessary only opens you up for more risk of infection.

Blech.

Good luck.

 

[oggbashan]

Sterilise the sewing needle over a flame before operating.

If you can't extract it easily, go to your GP's surgery and ask if the practice nurse can do it.

Og

 

[Tom Collins]

I used Elmer's wood glue once. Opened the area up a little bit with a needle and then put a couple thin coats of Elmer's over the whole area, like when you were a kid in school, let it dry completely and then carefully peeled it off. It pulled the splinter right out.

 

[Aurora Black]

Oops, I read this as "sphincter."

 

[Carnevil9]

Don't do it! Such an egregious misuse of vodka would count as "alcohol abuse"!!........Carney

 

[scheherazade_79]

I've tried everything and it still won't come out...

Thanks for the advice, though, guys. I might have another pick at it tonight when I have more patience. Otherwise I'll just have to follow Lucky's advice and let my skin digest it - or whatever it is that's supposed to happen. Why does that sound like something out of a B horror movie?

 

[Darkniciad]

If it's small and not overly cumbersome/painful, I'd leave it alone. Your body will reabsorb it in a week or so. If it's larger and more painful/bothersome, you can use the needle technique. Just be sure to sterilize everything with some pretty potent alcohol and try not to do more damage than good. It'll eventually go away on its own, and digging more than is necessary only opens you up for more risk of infection.

Blech.

Good luck.

I have to concur with this. I made the mistake of digging one out in the heel of my hand once a short while back, because it was mildly irritating ( something I almost *never* do ) and it ended up being worse than if I'd just left it alone. My work constantly exposed it to dirt 8-?? hours a day, no band-aid would stick to it ( even the "liquid" superglue type stuff ) and it just kept getting re-infected. It eventually took wearing gloves and medical taping on a band-aid coated in anti-bacterial for several days to give it enough time to heal.

If it is only causing you minor discomfort, let the natural systems take care of it.