Skin Foreign Object

FIRST AID Advice - How to Remove a Splinter

You can remove splinters, larger slivers, and thorns with a needle and tweezers. Check the tweezers before you start, to be certain the ends meet exactly. If they do not, bend them until they do. Sterilize the tools with rubbing alcohol or a flame.

Clean the skin around the sliver carefully with rubbing alcohol before trying to remove it. Be careful not to push the splinter in deeper. If you don't have rubbing alcohol, use soap and water, but don't soak the area if splinter is wood. Reason: soaking can cause swelling of the splinter.

Remove the splinter:

• Step 1: use the needle to completely expose the large end of the sliver. Use good lighting. A magnifying glass may help.
• Step 2: then grasp the end of the sliver firmly with the tweezers and pull it out at the same angle that it went in. Getting a good grip the first time is very important for slivers that go in perpendicular to the skin or those trapped under the fingernail.