Whether at work or playing in nature, it’s easy to get a splinter. We’ll show you tricks you can use to remove the splinter.
It happens to adults just as it does to children: a splinter gets under the skin. Splinters are often uncomfortable and painful. If left untreated, they can also lead to infections. With a few tricks, you can remove the splinter easily and painlessly.
In any case, make sure you use sterile tools, otherwise the entry point can become infected. To do this, simply hold your tweezers or needle briefly over a lighter and then wipe it with a clean cloth. You can also soak the cloth in alcohol. It is important that you work calmly and carefully with the tweezers. The splinter can quickly break into small pieces that are difficult to remove.
Before removing the splinter, you should wash your hands. Also, never try to push the splinter out. This will usually push it deeper under the skin and make it more difficult to remove.
If you cannot remove the splinter and notice noticeable redness on your skin, you should seek medical advice. Otherwise, an abscess may form, which is usually very painful and, in very rare cases, can lead to blood poisoning.
Remove splinters with baking soda
Sometimes splinters get under the skin that are so small that you can hardly see them. Often you can’t pull them out with tweezers. In such cases, baking soda has proven to be a useful home remedy. You will need:
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 plaster or 1 gauze bandage
- some water
How to remove the dirt with baking soda:
- Mix water with baking powder until it reaches a pasty consistency.
- Apply the baking soda mixture to the area of skin where the splinter is.
- Cover the whole thing with a plaster or gauze bandage.
- Wait a few hours. The splinter will then disappear or can be easily removed with tweezers.
Warm water as a home remedy against wood splinters
Warm water causes the wood splinter to swell.
How to remove the splinter:
- Simply pour warm water into a bowl.
- Bathe the affected part of the body in it for a few minutes several times a day. The wood will swell so much that you can see it on the surface of the skin.
- You can then use tweezers to pull the splinter out of the skin.
Remove splinters with adhesive tape
This home remedy is suitable if you are not very sensitive to pain. You will need a very strong adhesive tape. Normal sticky tape is not suitable; duct tape or another very strong adhesive tape is better.
Here’s how to do it:
- To do this, stick the adhesive tape onto the affected area of skin.
- Gently press it onto the splinter.
- Then peel off the tape in the direction in which the splinter is sticking out of the skin.
At best, the splinter gets caught on the adhesive tape and is pulled out.
Using olive oil to combat splinters
If you cannot grab the splinter with the tweezers, first apply some olive oil to the affected area of skin. Allow the oil to soak in for about ten minutes. This will push the splinter out of the skin a little, so that you can then grab it and pull it out.
How to remove splinters from your fingertip
If you get a splinter near your fingertip, you’ll need a bottle and water to remove it. Here’s how:
- Fill a bottle with hot, but not boiling, water. Leave about one centimeter free at the neck of the bottle.
- Press the affected fingertip onto the bottle opening.
- The warm water pushes the splinter out of the skin. You can then grab it with tweezers and pull it out.
Removing splinters: The aftercare
Once you have completely removed the splinter, you should do the following:
- If the affected area bleeds, stop the bleeding with a clean cloth.
- Clean the small wound with warm water and then disinfect it with alcohol.
- Cover the skin area with a bandage to keep the wound free of bacteria.
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