Splinters

I was shopping for some home goods today and came across a bundle of bamboo sticks that looked great in a vase. As I was struggling to pull the bundle out from the bunch, I caught three small splinters on my fingers and they hurt bad! Especially when its inadvertently touched or rubbed the wrong way. At that very moment, I wished life had a “undo” button because I hate splinters – nasty little things.

I’m pretty good about getting splinters out on my own but it was on the fingers of my right hand, and I’m a right-handed person. Two of the three splinters weren’t buried too deep and I managed to tweeze them out with ease. But the last one, the worst kind of splinter, was beneath the surface of the skin. I had to use a needle with my left hand working against me. I struggled with it for about 15 minutes but it eventually came out.

There are other ways to remove a splinter. I’ve heard, if the splinter is protruding from the skin, you can remove it by applying a small amount of glue to the area. Wait for it to dry and peel it off in the same direction the splinter went in. The splinter should come out attached to the glue. Scotch tape can also be used if you’re not a fan of glue.

Like any open wound, injuries caused by splinters can become infected so keep the area clean and look for signs of infection. If a splinter is too deep to remove at home, seek professional attention as soon as possible. You have nothing to lose besides a nasty splinter.

For more information about removing splinters, check out eMedicineHealth.