I need any suggestions you may have with getting out a splinter which is under the skin at the bottom of my daughter's foot. She is 10 and put her foot up on our bar stool which has like a bamboo type material on the seat part and it got stuck in her foot. She got scared and pulled it out herself and it looks like she didn't get it all. I soaked her foot, but it the skin is so tough at that part of the foot. She freaked every time I tried to even look at it - tweezers were out of the question! I read somewhere about putting a piece of an onion on the spot for about an hour and it would raise the splinter - so that is what we are trying at the moment. I am just not sure if that will work and thought I'd reach out to anyone else that might have another idea that might work. There is no piece of it sticking out of the skin - I can see a faint piece of coloring below the skin - so I do believe there is something in there. It did bother her to walk on it - so not good!! I thought if she could walk on it fine - we would soak it a couple of times a day and see if it works itself out and of course watch for any sign of infection, but if it is bothering her to the touch - I know that is not good. Any help would be greatly appreciated - thank you!!
I read this somewhere: brush on some clear nailpolish and let it dry - make it pretty thick I would imagine - so that then you can PEEL it away and the splinter will come with it. Good luck.
Hi J.,
My grandmother swears by Desitin. She says that if you put in on at night with a bandaid, it will draw out whatever is stuck in the skin by morning. An added bonus is that it doesn't hurt!
Good luck.
J. M.
Hey J.,
Sorry to hear about the toothpick. My daughter (now 31) was a little younger, but same thing. Her tooth pick was green! I thought I got it all out... we went skiing for school vacation (poor kid, never complained), got home and she had a red line heading up her leg.... this was an infection from the toothpick still in her little foot (which I was unaware of). Took her to the DR. He removed it and she took some anti biotic. I would absolutely bring your daughter to the Dr. for removal. Not fun, but it is essential to get this out.
I put teething gel on the skin to numb it a bit before I pull splinters out of my son, but this seems a bit deeper, maybe go to your doctor and they can get it out with local pain number. Ouch! Good luck!!
I had a similar thing happen when I was about your daughter's age. We did have to go to the doctor to get the rest out. It was a pretty big piece so it bothered me to walk too. It was pretty quick and no pain afterward.
try putting ice on it then use a needle to make the hole bigger untill you can see the tip of the splinter then use tweezers to pull it out. Put the ice on every time she feels your touch. Make sure she can't see what you're doing so she doesn't freak out when she sees the needle.
Ok this might sound weird but it works! If you take bread and wet it and stick it on the foot. just wrap some gauze around her foot to hold it there and leave it on for a few hours. The wet bread will draw out the splinter. I have also heard the onion works. Now I am not sure if this still works if the skin has healed over the splinter though...I do know it works when it first happens.
Or does she sleep heavy? Wait till she falls asleep and try to work as
fast as possible to get it out. Or you can wait...the body usually pushes it back out over time.
I agree with the ice method mentioned earlier - but really make sure you have the ice on long enough to make it completely numb - like 10 minutes before you even start with the needle. Then you can work for a couple of minutes, but as soon as she feels something, hold the ice on again for another 5 minutes. I did this with my 8 year old, who was freaked out about it but willing to try - and once she realized how numb she was, she let me work. Or you could go to the doctor and they'd likely put the "numbing creme" on for 20 minutes and then get it out for you. Good luck!
My daughter also had a splinter in the bottom of her foot last summer. I worked on it while she was sleeping because she would get very upset if I came near her with the tweezers when she was awake. I used the Dermoplast antibacterial pain relieving spray(Walmart) on it first and then gently pull some of the skin away to expose the wood with a sterilized sewing needle or tweezers. I have also had someone tell me that if you see it sticking out to put duct tape on it and pull it off quickly.
Good Luck!
Hi J.,
As much as I love home treatments, I would definitely take her to the Dr. for this one. Wood swells in water, so a wood splinter is not likely to work itself out after being soaked. It's really easy to get an infection from a splinter. Better to be sure it is all out.
Good luck!
J.
Hi J.,
I have a friend who swears by a product called Prid, it's a drawing salve. I have found it at WalMart in the first aid aisle, it comes in a small tin container. I usually wait until my children are really asleep and try tweezers then. I've been very successful with this tactic! Hope this helps!
Whenever my son gets a splinter, he refuses to let me get it out - he's a bit dramatic to say the least at 4 years old. I wait until he is asleep to remove it - this saves a big battle. I've never heard of the onion trick but its worth a try. Otherwise, if it is hard to get at and painful, it may require a trip to the doctor - they put a topical on it so it won't hurt when they remove it. Good luck.
Try some black drawing salve (can't remember the exact name - Itch... something)and than cover with a band aid. Sometimes it takes a few days.
Watch for swelling or redness.
Good Luck
Hi - I don't have a great deal of experience with splinters. I do remember that whenever I had one, white blood cells would form around it to prevent infection and push it to the top. I hope by now your daughter's splinter is out and if not I'd suggest a doctor visit.
you should go to your local pharmacy and get ichthamol. it should be behind the counter of the pharmacy. it is a drawing agent that is like a black tar and should help draw it out. i would definitely also do an antibiotic ointment after that just to make sure it doesn't get infected. if after all that it still hurts her I would let her md know, they might give her oral antibiotics. sorry, i am a pharmacist so that is my recommendation.
