# Any experience of wood splinter gone into your finger? - How did you get it out?



## diytoolbox (11 Apr 2022)

Yesterday I picked up some MDF woods for projects, and when loading them into the car hurriedly something stung my finger.
It was the wood splinter pierced into my middle finger. I tried squeeze out, but it went even further.
I waited until coming home, and tried to take it out, but half of it came out, half is still in the finger.
I read from internet advice wrapping with baking soda mixed with water and plaster bandage,
I did that, but in the morning the remnant of the the tiny splinter has not surfaced to the skin.
No pain on the finger, but wondering what to do next. 

It happened exactly same way last time a few month ago, and I just left it and it has disappeared from the hand.
When handling woods or boards or MDFs, please wear protective gloves.


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## Pedronicus (11 Apr 2022)

When 'er indoors was a practising vet she kept a large box of syringe needles to hand. These are very good at removing splinters. I won't go into the actual procedure but it is quite painless and very effective.


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## Jonwar (11 Apr 2022)

A brand new stanley blade does the trick its sharp enough to cut around the splinter and the point is great for getting under it o just to push it out.


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## shed9 (11 Apr 2022)

MDF is not something you want as a foreign body in your hand. I'd be getting that out sharpish rather than using plasters, baking soda and time. Pop into your local surgery if easier and preferred.


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

I doubt the splinter's MDF.


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## diytoolbox (11 Apr 2022)

Phil Pascoe said:


> I doubt the splinter's MDF.



What could it be? Something long, thin and sharp has gone into the middle of the middle finger, and part of it came out. The pierced finger was bleeding lightly. The end part about 3-4mm long bit it still in the skin. It looks gone in deeper than last night. It has gone in slant way, and now buried further away from the punctured entrance making it impossible to take out via the entered hole. No pain in the finger, but when pressed I can feel something sharp is in there.


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## Adam W. (11 Apr 2022)

I had a piece of oak in my finger for a week or so, couldn't get it out as it was deep. I used a hot saltwater bath for my hand for a few evenings and was able to squeeze it out with all the puss that had built up.

It popped right out like a cork.


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## SamG340 (11 Apr 2022)

Jr hacksaw ran along your skin moving against the direction the splinter went in ( take a look at the splinter, pull it out on the same angle it went in so you're not ripping it out) , works a treat


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## diytoolbox (11 Apr 2022)

Adam W. said:


> I had a piece of oak in my finger for a week or so, couldn't get it out as it was deep. I used a hot saltwater bath for my hand for a few evenings and was able to squeeze it out with all the puss that had built up.
> 
> It popped right out like a cork.



Will give it a try, or my wife tells me keep wear rubber gloves for a day, and the hand will sweat making the skin soft, and then take it out with needle.
It happened a few month ago, and it was impossible to take it out at the time too. But it was splinter from hardwood, not MDF. I left it, and it has disappeared totally. Maybe it has grown out as hair  
But this time, it is a thicker splinter and it being MDF is a bit worrying.


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## shed9 (11 Apr 2022)

Phil Pascoe said:


> I doubt the splinter's MDF.


Me too


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## diytoolbox (11 Apr 2022)

Found a relevant thread in the search.

!*@#ing Splinters! [Archive] - Woodwork Forums


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## Blister (11 Apr 2022)

Scalpel and tweezers , cut open grab pull out some sanitiser plaster , Job done


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

diytoolbox said:


> What could it be? Something long, thin and sharp has gone into the middle of the middle finger, and part of it came out. The pierced finger was bleeding lightly. The end part about 3-4mm long bit it still in the skin. It looks gone in deeper than last night. It has gone in slant way, and now buried further away from the punctured entrance making it impossible to take out via the entered hole. No pain in the finger, but when pressed I can feel something sharp is in there.


More likely to be something that just happened to be there, I'd have thought. Have you ever seen a long, thin sharp piece of MDF? By the bye - get to a minor injuries unit before it infects.


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## Against_The_Grain (11 Apr 2022)

Tape a tomato to it overnight.


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## recipio (11 Apr 2022)

There are no nerves in the outer layer of the skin ( the epidermis ) so it is painless to open the puncture a little. Nothing beats a hypodermic needle combined with massaging the sprinter out.


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## niemeyjt (11 Apr 2022)

Mother used to use a sewing needle rather than a hypodermic - easier to obtain at least where we lived.

Then tweezers with a flat end - the sort used for pulling out hairs.

Then loads of Dettol and a plaster to keep it clean.

I hate needles and injections - but strangely don't mind digging out splinters - although now using gloves more and more (another topic)


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## Jacob (11 Apr 2022)

I have a roll of "Micropore" tape on hand for this. If i can't pick it out I put micropore on or around it - it stops hurting and I forget about it. A few days later it will have found its own way out.


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## AES (11 Apr 2022)

Jonwar said:


> A brand new stanley blade does the trick its sharp enough to cut around the splinter and the point is great for getting under it o just to push it out.




+1. Also a NEW blade in a Swann Morton scalpel (straight blade, No. 11 I think).


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## Doug71 (11 Apr 2022)

I use whatever is handy, can be anything from a panel pin to an inch chisel.......

Magnesium Sulphate will draw it out if you don't want to go down the diy surgery route.






Boots Pharmaceuticals Magnesium Sulfate Paste BP - Boots


Browse Boots Pharmaceuticals Magnesium Sulfate Paste BP and earn Advantage Card points on purchases.




www.boots.com


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## Jameshow (11 Apr 2022)

Blister said:


> Scalpel and tweezers , cut open grab pull out some sanitiser plaster , Job done


Swan Morton of course! 

Other scalpels are available....


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## Rich C (11 Apr 2022)

I use a sharp pair of tweezers.


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## Ollie78 (11 Apr 2022)

Agree with the scalpel and tweezers method.
Good quality tweezers with perfectly machined tips are certainly worth the money.

Once I had a splinter go directly in the top of my thumbnail and all the way past the knuckle of my thumb so it wouldn't bend. Couldn't get it out with pliers so drove to the hospital a and e.
When I told them I had a splinter I thought they were going to throw me out, then I showed them my thumb.
The nurse numbed it up and pulled some out, "all done" she said.
"I don't think so" I replied. 
"What do you mean ?" she said. 
"I still can't bend my thumb".
She looked again and pulled a matchstick sized bit of wood out. Not fun, my thumbnail still grows with a ridge there. 

Ollie


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## Pedronicus (11 Apr 2022)

recipio said:


> There are no nerves in the outer layer of the skin ( the epidermis ) so it is painless to open the puncture a little. *Nothing beats a hypodermic needle* combined with massaging the sprinter out.


Indeed, and also very sharp on both the point and the sides of the slope of the tip down to the point.


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

OP - think yourself lucky it's not a blackthorn.


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## Pedronicus (11 Apr 2022)

Or Burberis.


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## Jameshow (11 Apr 2022)

Ollie78 said:


> Agree with the scalpel and tweezers method.
> Good quality tweezers with perfectly machined tips are certainly worth the money.
> 
> Once I had a splinter go directly in the top of my thumbnail and all the way past the knuckle of my thumb so it wouldn't bend. Couldn't get it out with pliers so drove to the hospital a and e.
> ...


Ok you get the biggest splinter award!!!


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## clogs (11 Apr 2022)

can I show u mine.....unloading old pallets.....
top bit snapped off and this was inside for about a week.....
Norm use a stanley blade or a freshly sharpen'd chisel but this was too deep.....
went to AE here and they sent me to the specialist.....
who said come back tomorrow and we'll take it.....
not spending any more time at the hospital bugxxing about, had another go...
The puss had pushed it to the surface, just needed a split and a good squeeze....
The wife enjoy's inflicting pain on these occasions.....hahaha....
Still have the splinter in my wallet ......lol.....


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

Jameshow said:


> Ok you get the biggest splinter award!!!


I had a splinter of utile (soaked in old engine oil) go through my palm and out between the knuckles.


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## Ozi (11 Apr 2022)

Phil Pascoe said:


> OP - think yourself lucky it's not a blackthorn.


Black thorn is a B itch.

Many years ago looking at a friends hand said "what have you done to your thumb"

"Nothing"
"It's twice the size of the other one"
"Oh.....OH dung"...... Squeeze pop 

Thorn over an inch long gone in level with the top of the nail parallel to the bone must have been almost to the joint, ( if this was my thumb I'd be saying twice that size) horrible amount of puss and he had no idea it was there! No pain, no brain as they say.


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## Ttrees (11 Apr 2022)

Just wondering if you folks sterilize those implements before use, as I'd imagine various oils wouldn't be great for oneself.
Just noting say if you look at various piccs posted here regarding magnified edges from D_W
you can see that the oil isn't easy to remove.

I must look this up again, but if I'm not mistaken, I think I've heard some bushcraft/survival folk mention to hold said tool under a flame and get red hot beforehand, and not to wipe the carbon off,
as it's now sterile.

Just wondering if this is better than not doing it?

Cheers, interesting thread.
Never had a thorn or splinter like some here, but plenty a dirty cut, and always used lots of neat dettol in a little tubular container of some sort packed with tissue, often going back for seconds,
and not stopping until the skin is nice and wrinkly.


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## Bm101 (11 Apr 2022)

Doug71 said:


> I use whatever is handy, can be anything from a panel pin to an inch chisel.......
> 
> Magnesium Sulphate will draw it out if you don't want to go down the diy surgery route.
> 
> ...


This gear is great. I had a metal splinter that I couldn't cut out. Proper irritant. Asked the pharmacist while I was in for summat else and he suggested this. For a couple of quid you get a massive supply as you only need a tiny amount.


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## Ttrees (11 Apr 2022)

How does the magnesium sulfate store..
Does it have a long shelf life?


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## Awac (11 Apr 2022)

I always have a watchmakers eye loop and watchmakers tweezers which have a fine sharp point, they really grip that splinter!


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

It's Epsom salts - it'll keep as long as you keep it dry.


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## Rich C (11 Apr 2022)

@Ttrees I sterilise by using some neat isopropanol. It's to hand and won't ruin the temper.


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## diytoolbox (11 Apr 2022)

My daughter got the vet's syringe needle, came home, and punctured my finger, and took the splinter out with the tweezers.
It was a bit scary at first, and sore, but it came out from the skin. Now feel much better.
The punctured skin was rubbed with a sterilising wipe and put on a bandage, healing.


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## Keith 66 (11 Apr 2022)

Years ago i was working on our old wooden boat towards the end of her rebuild. I had fitted a new oak keel to her & was sitting underneath raking the garboard seam out a bit wider with a seam rake.
The rake came out of the seam & my knuckles went along & down the keel to the rebate i had chopped out that morning for the rudder gear. A splinter of oak went in under my third fingernail & came out the top of the knuckle above the nail It broke off leaving about a quarter inch sticking out beyond the fingertip, total length about 1 1/4".
I felt faint & called to my mate "Can you bring me some pliers quick", He rushed over & saw what i had done then went white.
I got hold of it & whipped it out fortunately in one.
Didnt half sting i can tell you!
Went home after that!


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## Sideways (11 Apr 2022)

A vote for isopropyl alcohol, scalpel or other sharp blade. My preferred antiseptic is the savlon aerosol one - bright yellow iodine powder in a small aerosol. That and micropore lives in the door pocket of the car so easy to hand when visiting friends sheds.


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Apr 2022)

My eyes aren't brilliant - I read that by the word and started to laugh before I got to sheds.


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## AES (11 Apr 2022)

Ttrees said:


> Just wondering if you folks sterilize those implements before use, as I'd imagine various oils wouldn't be great for oneself.
> Just noting say if you look at various piccs posted here regarding magnified edges from D_W
> you can see that the oil isn't easy to remove.
> 
> ...




Dunno, but I have acetone kicking about 99% of the time. A drop of that on the scalpel blade and the needle-nose pliers (small ones, better than any tweezers I've got) and away you go. Another drop of "Ace" on the entry would after the op and you'll never get infected. Stings more than "hot hell" mind!


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## TRITON (11 Apr 2022)

I wear gloves.


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## AES (11 Apr 2022)

TRITON said:


> I wear gloves.




Which would NOT stop some of the "hairy examples" that we've seen above. Not that I'm against gloves though, wear 'em quite a lot myself


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## Inspector (11 Apr 2022)

I use Uncle Bill's Sliver Gripper Tweezers that I bought from Lee Valley. There are other sellers. They are good for at least 95% of the time I have to get a wood or metal sliver out. Large or small. I kept one on my keychain when I worked because it was handy and better than the ones in the first aid room.

Pete


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## Bingy man (11 Apr 2022)

Had a fair few splinters and hawthorn needles in my time but have always used a sterile needle to remove, a fellow engineer once passed me a length of old copper pipe and the rough end cut my finger at the joint with my hand -no probs washed it and a bit of insulation tape and good to go, a week later it swelled like a sausage on steroids and the pain told me to go to a/e -the nursed cleaned it and then squeezed it and I could of cried . ah she exclaimed and produced a 3 mm sq chunk of green copper . It had caused an infection hence the sudden pain .


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## Thingybob (11 Apr 2022)

diytoolbox said:


> Will give it a try, or my wife tells me keep wear rubber gloves for a day, and the hand will sweat making the skin soft, and then take it out with needle.
> It happened a few month ago, and it was impossible to take it out at the time too. But it was splinter from hardwood, not MDF. I left it, and it has disappeared totally. Maybe it has grown out as hair
> But this time, it is a thicker splinter and it being MDF is a bit worrying.


Never heard of MDF splinters mostly made up of dust maybe somthing stuck to MDF then went into your finger i usualy dig it out with a needle


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## TRITON (11 Apr 2022)

I was joking, I don't actually wear gloves.

I should wear gloves, I know I should, and each time I get a splinter I say to myself. I really should wear gloves.
I dont, because of how I was taught that wearing gloves and machinery dont mix. Same reason i put my sleeves up above the elbows before starting any machine. I did the HSE stuff and seen in full glorious colour what happens when jumpers become combined with rotating tooling. We were taught gloves were the same business.

I suppose for handling timber, where you're trying to manhandle long boards across a surfacer or through a thicknesser its a good idea, but probably like so many here just was trained initially in the old ways.
I expect in places like Germany,its more the thing, where you see the archetypal carpenter, in full regalia, with waistcoat,braces and always in gloves its how they train. But here theres less emphasis on it.

for removing the little devils, I try to pick the area a bit more open using a needle, then using a 10x lens(which is difficult to hold and hold tweezers at the same time, try to look to catch the end to withdraw it. Victorinox tweezers are pretty god. they're small enough but the bent in ends make getting a grip of it a bit easier.

I think what should be available is an app for a phone, with magnifier at 10x plus, so you could suspend the phone above your finger/hand, look at it really closely and get to it that way. Problem always seems to be those really tiny ones you can hardly see, and appears only as a tiny black dot


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## Jameshow (11 Apr 2022)

I've just asked my Mrs about purchasing the A50 Norris plane advertised here just now... any one know how to remove the broom handle now lodged between my ears...!


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## DBC (11 Apr 2022)

Splinters = occupational hazard. Not to worried about these as your hands seem to be able to do a magical thing where a really deep splinter that isn’t infected just works its way to the surface over the course of several weeks until you can get at it with the stanley knife or chisel.

I get a lot of little metal splinters from screws running through my fingers as I start them off. Hurts more than wood but they’re only short so can be easily removed.

What really gets my goat is staples. I’ve got scars on both hands from staple rips. A lot of builder’s merchants - in my experience B&Q are the worst - staple shipping documentation etc. to the endgrain of a packet of timber. At some stage these document get ripped off for filing or whatever and what often seems to happen is that one end of the staple stays in the endgrain and the other end is left sticking out waiting for me.


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## Thingybob (11 Apr 2022)

Jameshow said:


> I've just asked my Mrs about purchasing the A50 Norris plane advertised here just now... any one know how to remove the broom handle now lodged between my ears...!


All the right letters just in the wrong order


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## stuckinthemud (11 Apr 2022)

Finger nail clippers are very effective both at nipping back the skin and at grabbing the splinter


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## thetyreman (11 Apr 2022)

I wear 16th century gaultlets when handling woods


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## pgrbff (12 Apr 2022)

shed9 said:


> Me too


Me too, too.


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## KevinLycett (12 Apr 2022)

Plus one for magnesium sulphate.


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## fixit45 (12 Apr 2022)

I've never heard so much fuss about a splinter!!! If you want to stop any infection when the wound is open pour some TCP on it.


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## Davyc (12 Apr 2022)

Sharp sowing needle sterilised in the flame of a lighter, dig in and remove splinter then douse with aftershave....my dad always used that method on us as kids as we were always getting splinters picking up old timber to make toy boats and bonfires etc...still use the same method yet....


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## Phil Pascoe (12 Apr 2022)

Where did you get your sowing needle? Off the back of a tractor?


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## kinverkid (12 Apr 2022)

My kit:

Jewellers LED eyepiece, eyebrow tweezers, scalpel, tacking pin, alcohol and iodine swabs. But sometimes I just use a chisel, pliers or teeth.


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## Jonm (12 Apr 2022)

Ttrees said:


> I must look this up again, but if I'm not mistaken, I think I've heard some bushcraft/survival folk mention to hold said tool under a flame and get red hot beforehand, and not to wipe the carbon off,
> as it's now sterile.


As a child, if I got a splinter, my mother would do the same, and she said wait for it to cool and not to touch it or you would get germs on it.

Amazing what I can remember from years ago, yesterday is a different matter.


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## stuart little (12 Apr 2022)

Against_The_Grain said:


> Tape a tomato to it overnight.


A squashy mess by morning, no doubt!


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## stuart little (12 Apr 2022)

Jonm said:


> As a child, if I got a splinter, my mother would do the same, and she said wait for it to cool and not to touch it or you would get germs on it.
> 
> Amazing what I can remember from years ago, yesterday is a different matter.


What day was it yesterday?


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## stuart little (12 Apr 2022)

I use a new #11 or #16 scalpel blade.


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## IanA (12 Apr 2022)

Contrary to many posts whatever you do, don't ever attempt any amateur surgery with a blade on your hand. You'll be asking for the most dreadful consequences and in all likelihood you won't be able to find the splinter once you've opened up your finger. Instead you can easily sever tendons, nerves and blood vessels in addition to introducing infection to the bone and soft tissue . If the pain continues go and see your doctor who might refer you to a surgeon trained to carry out hand surgery. If it isn't painful then eventually the body will reject the splinter and it will come out through the skin by itself. IA


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## Thingybob (12 Apr 2022)

Ah now i know what a splinter group is lol


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## Thingybob (12 Apr 2022)

kinverkid said:


> My kit:
> 
> Jewellers LED eyepiece, eyebrow tweezers, scalpel, tacking pin, alcohol and iodine swabs. But sometimes I just use a chisel, pliers or teeth.


Any room in your workshop for tools


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## PhilBT (12 Apr 2022)

I completely agree about the hypodermic needle, speaking as a retired GP. I have removed many splinters, both my own and my patients'. The hypodermic needle is quite different to other household needles because it is very, very sharp. The secret is to have a bright light and a magnifier (preferably with a built-in LED light like someone suggested) and then to spear the splinter at 90° (think of it as the angle you would fire a bullet into a standing tree trunk). Then move the point of the needle in the direction of the splinter away from the skin and it will come out. You can even do this if there is actually nothing projecting from the skin so long as you can see it just under the skin.
All the talk about disinfectants is a bit of a red herring. We all get small breaks and scratches to our skin and if we are generally in reasonable health without any underlying serious immune problems we don't get infections. I had a doctor friend who used to give himself his insulin injections through his trousers without any skin cleansing and never had a problem. 
Don't take up valuable GP time with the splinter until you've tried to get it out yourself.
tweezers are also good but they need to be good quality ones which can get a firm grip on the splinter. No good pulling and the splinter just stays where it is and the tweezers slide off which is what happens with cheaper tweezers.


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## Jameshow (12 Apr 2022)

Your never going to get close to seeing a GP with a splinter!


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## Roseland 2 (13 Apr 2022)

Mag sulphate paste and one of these:





Precision Stainless Steel Watchmaker Tweezer Anti Static Pick-up Tool TS-14 : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools


Shop Precision Stainless Steel Watchmaker Tweezer Anti Static Pick-up Tool TS-14. Free delivery on eligible orders of £20 or more.



www.amazon.co.uk




Andrew


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## h-magic (13 Apr 2022)

I use a safety pin, and start to lift the skin around it till I get to it and just lift it out. 
you’ve got 8/10 layers of skin so just do it gently and you will get there.
Sometime you can try to get it out after a bath but it don’t always work.


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## owen (13 Apr 2022)

If I can't get them out with a stanley blade or pin, I just stick a plaster over it leave it a day or so and they normally come out on their own.


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## John Hall (13 Apr 2022)

Good eyebrow tweezers that have an angled flat end…fine sewing needle to dig them out…jewellers loupe to see them…tea trea oil an antiseptic…and a good light source.


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## Davyc (13 Apr 2022)

@Phil Pascoe ....my mistake.....sewing needle....was too early in morning....


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## Lefley (14 Apr 2022)

Jonm said:


> As a child, if I got a splinter, my mother would do the same, and she said wait for it to cool and not to touch it or you would get germs on it.
> 
> Amazing what I can remember from years ago, yesterday is a different matter.


Short term memory always goes first. Long term last a long time!


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## Fergie 307 (14 Apr 2022)

Wow some scary home surgery going on in some households. I would upvote a very fine needle to just pick the skin apart to one side of it and roll it out sideways, or use good tweezers. I have a number of pairs of the cheap reading glasses that I use for watchmaking work, +4, +5 and +6. The bigger the magnification the closer you have to get, so with +6 you will be like Mr Magoo, with your finger practically in your eye! +4 is probably about right for this sort of thing. I find the artificial skin that comes in a little bottle and can be painted over the wound is quite useful to keep muck out of any holes you make, especially if it's in an awkward place which they usually are.


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## Sandyn (14 Apr 2022)

I don't have access to one now, but when I worked in electronics I could use the X20 stereo microscope in the lab. It was absolutely perfect for removing even the tiniest metal skelf . 
Great magnification, great lighting, a supply of scalpels and some IPA to sterilise the area after the operation........OUCH!!!


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## Awac (14 Apr 2022)

PhilBT said:


> I completely agree about the hypodermic needle, speaking as a retired GP. I have removed many splinters, both my own and my patients'. The hypodermic needle is quite different to other household needles because it is very, very sharp. The secret is to have a bright light and a magnifier (preferably with a built-in LED light like someone suggested) and then to spear the splinter at 90° (think of it as the angle you would fire a bullet into a standing tree trunk). Then move the point of the needle in the direction of the splinter away from the skin and it will come out. You can even do this if there is actually nothing projecting from the skin so long as you can see it just under the skin.
> All the talk about disinfectants is a bit of a red herring. We all get small breaks and scratches to our skin and if we are generally in reasonable health without any underlying serious immune problems we don't get infections. I had a doctor friend who used to give himself his insulin injections through his trousers without any skin cleansing and never had a problem.
> Don't take up valuable GP time with the splinter until you've tried to get it out yourself.
> tweezers are also good but they need to be good quality ones which can get a firm grip on the splinter. No good pulling and the splinter just stays where it is and the tweezers slide off which is what happens with cheaper tweezers.


I remember being in a jungle for a few weeks and we was all issued with hypodermic needles to remove little guests with. One lad sat down for 10 mins and we pulled 25 ticks out of the back of his neck. Hypodermic needles are indeed very good, but I am left with lasting memory's of someone finding a tick in a very sensitive area, and the look in his face before he left for the toilet….


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## DBC (14 Apr 2022)

Awac said:


> I remember being in a jungle for a few weeks and we was all issued with hypodermic needles to remove little guests with. One lad sat down for 10 mins and we pulled 25 ticks out of the back of his neck. Hypodermic needles are indeed very good, but I am left with lasting memory's of someone finding a tick in a very sensitive area, and the look in his face before he left for the toilet….



I was in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in 1996 and got a leech on me in a tender place that I couldn’t actually see. I had to ask this girl who I only sort of knew for help. So humbling and embarrassing. Anyway, we got married roughly a year later in New Zealand. Our 21 year old son is arriving home from uni on Saturday to spend Easter with us. Yay, can’t wait.


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## thetyreman (25 Oct 2022)

I've just had the worst splinter I've ever had, had to take anti biotics and couldn't get it out, I'd think twice about taking anti biotics again because of the side effects


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## Bm101 (25 Oct 2022)

Magnesium sulfate paste. Haven't read last 4 pages because this is the answer. Costs a couple of quid. Lasts forever.


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## Alwyn (25 Oct 2022)

Jameshow said:


> Swan Morton of course!
> 
> Other scalpels are available....


Mag sulphate always worked for me. My grandma used it on us when we were kids back in the 50's


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## Suffolkboy (25 Oct 2022)

Pedronicus said:


> Or Burberis.


or Iroko.


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## Stuart Moffat (25 Oct 2022)

My Dad back in the 60’s taught me how to do it if it was in a location that made it hard to get out himself. He’d pass me the tools, usually a fine needle and good tweezers, and the instruction to “get it out, do it quick and it will hurt me less”. If I was over cautious he would calmly repeat it. It would always be me he asked, never my 3 siblings and no chance that Mum would do it. For me today, my beloved wife is no use whatsoever though ver practical in every other way!


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## clogs (25 Oct 2022)

Just notes.....
my wife loves having a go at splinters...I think it's some kinda pay back....!!!!!!!!!!
as for Hypo needles.....I have a lot of blood tests, I always ask for a sharp one....suprising how many are blunt.....
as for me getting em out, found Stanley knives no real use.....I prefer the weight of a just sharpened 1inch bench chisel.....
I slice to the side of the splinter and roll it over in the skip flap.....then it's easy to remove....
then either fold the flap back if it bleeds or just cut it off.....plasters are the work of the devil....hahaha..

HAS anyone seen the "Hoof GP' now thats entertaining if u want to see splinters or nails embedded.......


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## Jameshow (25 Oct 2022)

Adam W. said:


> I had a piece of oak in my finger for a week or so, couldn't get it out as it was deep. I used a hot saltwater bath for my hand for a few evenings and was able to squeeze it out with all the puss that had built up.
> 
> It popped right out like a cork.


Quite therapeutic I guess!


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## stuart little (25 Oct 2022)

niemeyjt said:


> Mother used to use a sewing needle rather than a hypodermic - easier to obtain at least where we lived.
> 
> Then tweezers with a flat end - the sort used for pulling out hairs.
> 
> ...


A hyperdeemic nurdle is probably easier to find than a sewing needle nowadays!


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## Bingy man (25 Oct 2022)

Apply the paste and cover with a plaster , repeat before going to bed and it should be out by the morning-if no luck then as others have posted - a/e or a walk in centre .


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## Seascaper (25 Oct 2022)

diytoolbox said:


> Yesterday I picked up some MDF woods for projects, and when loading them into the car hurriedly something stung my finger.
> It was the wood splinter pierced into my middle finger. I tried squeeze out, but it went even further.
> I waited until coming home, and tried to take it out, but half of it came out, half is still in the finger.
> I read from internet advice wrapping with baking soda mixed with water and plaster bandage,
> ...


Hello,
If you served on an old warship like HMS Victoria death commonly came from oak splinters caused by canon balls splintering the wood, oak goes sceptic. I had to go to my doctor to have a splinter removed from my shin, I dropped a piece of oak and a small splinter went in and after several attempts I could not remove it. After a week it had gone sceptic and was very painful. Tip - don’t be afraid to your GP.
Regards


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## Jester129 (26 Oct 2022)

Our GP would send you to A&E, IF you could get to see him/her in the first place!


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## fenhayman (26 Oct 2022)

When picking sloes from blackthorn bushes splinters from thorns always turned septic.


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## Cozzer (26 Oct 2022)

Many years ago I was visiting a company that churned out hand-made plaster covings and the like.
Part of the operation - which is fascinating to watch, by the way - involves wood lats (laths?) layed along the full length of the mold.
This character wandered up to me in the workshop, his hand covered in blood - he'd got the biggest splinter I'd ever seen! Three or four inches, and tapered like a dagger. I could feel the colour draining from me, as he asked me to pull it with a pair of pliers!


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## Drifter2406 (27 Oct 2022)

I get a Stanley knife with a new blade, cut along and down to the splinter then take it out, after that get a bottle of Detol and pour it on.


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## Bm101 (1 Nov 2022)

Seascaper said:


> Hello,
> If you served on an old warship like HMS Victoria death commonly came from oak splinters caused by canon balls splintering the wood, oak goes sceptic. I had to go to my doctor to have a splinter removed from my shin, I dropped a piece of oak and a small splinter went in and after several attempts I could not remove it. After a week it had gone sceptic and was very painful. Tip - don’t be afraid to your GP.
> Regards


Some of the oak splinters were 4' 7" long and went through your skull as a result of cannon shot mind. That's what you call a through and through experience.


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## Cozzer (20 Nov 2022)

Drifter2406 said:


> I get a Stanley knife with a new blade, cut along and down to the splinter then take it out, after that get a bottle of Detol and pour it on.



Nothing to do with splinters as such, but a few weeks ago I managed to get a "paper cut" from (of all things) a Morrisons supermarket shopping bag.
Very straight, very clean...and stung like a good 'un!
As I reached for a plaster, my better half uttered "Don't bother - try this instead..."
"This" was a spray canister, containing a substance that solidifies in seconds, creating a barrier over the wound.
I held my finger out for her to demonstate her new purchase...a quick shake of the can, and a quick spray...

J_eeeeeeee_eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*EEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!*

Sting?!!!

I nearly put my head through the ceiling!


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## Thingybob (20 Nov 2022)

Cozzer said:


> Nothing to do with splinters as such, but a few weeks ago I managed to get a "paper cut" from (of all things) a Morrisons supermarket shopping bag.
> Very straight, very clean...and stung like a good 'un!
> As I reached for a plaster, my better half uttered "Don't bother - try this instead..."
> "This" was a spray canister, containing a substance that solidifies in seconds, creating a barrier over the wound.
> ...


So next time buy her the coat she wanted and hide the WD40


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## redefined_cycles (20 Nov 2022)

One thing I'd add to the cut and pull method (which is what I've used plenty times effectively) is to ensure anything you're cutting into thw skin with is sterile. I usually use a little heat on the tip of the blade to ensure it's fully/effectively sterilsed before going in!


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