How to Remove a Splinter: 4 Easy At-Home Methods
Splinter? No problem! Just try one of these home remedies for splinter removal.
Quick Reference: How to Remove a Splinter
- Shallow splinter: clean tweezers, or a piece of tape pulled off the way the splinter went in.
- Stubborn splinter: a potato slice held on for 10 to 20 minutes, or overnight.
- Tiny, invisible splinter: a baking soda paste under a bandage for 24 hours.
- See a doctor if: the splinter is deep, near an eye, or the area gets red, hot, or swollen.
Summer is a season for sandals, flip-flops, and bare feet, which means it is also a season for splinters. A sliver of wood from the deck, the garden fence, or a wooden spoon is painful, but most of the time you can take care of it at home. Clean tweezers or a sterilized needle work well, especially when the splinter is not too deep. Here are the gentler, more natural ways to coax one out when tweezers are not the right tool.
Before You Start
Wash your hands and the skin around the splinter with soap and water, and pat it dry. Good light and a little patience do most of the work. Tweezers and a sterilized needle handle most shallow splinters, but they can bring on screaming and crying when the patient is a child, and they are awkward to use one-handed when the splinter is in your own finger. If you would rather not dig, give one of the methods below a try.
The Tape Method
From duct tape to Scotch to masking tape, plenty of folks swear by this one. It works best for shallow splinters rather than deep ones. Break off a piece of tape large enough to cover the area, press it gently over the splinter, then pull the tape off in the opposite direction the splinter went in. The sliver often lifts out stuck to the tape.
The Potato Slice Method
This old kitchen trick uses the moisture in a raw potato to draw the splinter toward the surface. Cut a potato into thin slices and place one slice, cut side down, on the splinter. Sources vary on timing, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes up to the whole night. If you leave it on overnight, secure the slice with two bandages so it stays put. When you lift the potato away, the splinter should come with it.
The Baking Soda Paste Method
This one is best for the tiny, nearly invisible splinters, and it is worth trying only after the other methods, since the paste makes the skin swell slightly to push the splinter out. Mix about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with just enough water to make a paste. Spread it over the cleaned area and cover it with a bandage. Leave it in place for 24 hours, then remove it. The splinter may be sticking out far enough to grip with tweezers or a sterilized needle. If you do not see it yet, repeat the paste for another 24 hours.
After the Splinter Is Out
Wash the spot again with soap and water and cover it with a clean bandage. A little soreness is normal, but keep an eye on it over the next few days. While you are tending to summer scrapes, a few of our other natural household remedies are worth keeping on the shelf, and if the splinter came from an afternoon in the beds, our Gardening by the Moon Calendar will get you back out there on the right day.
When to See a Doctor
Home methods are fine for the everyday sliver, but use your judgment. Splinters can sometimes need medical attention. See a doctor if the splinter is deep or you cannot remove all of it, if it is under a nail or near an eye, if it is a large piece of glass or metal, or if the area becomes red, hot, swollen, or oozing, which can be signs of infection. Wound-care guidance from the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus notes that a puncture or stubborn foreign object may call for a tetanus booster if yours is not up to date. Do what is best for you and your family.
How to Remove a Splinter: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to remove a splinter without tweezers?
For a shallow splinter, press a piece of tape over it and pull off in the opposite direction the splinter went in. For a stubborn one, hold a thin potato slice on the spot for 10 to 20 minutes, or overnight secured with two bandages, to draw it out.
Does the potato method really work on splinters?
Many people swear by it. The moisture in a raw potato slice softens the skin and helps draw the splinter toward the surface. Place the cut side on the splinter, leave it 10 to 20 minutes or overnight, then lift it away. It works best on splinters that are not too deep.
How do I get out a tiny splinter I cannot even see?
Use a baking soda paste. Mix about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with enough water to make a paste, cover the area with it and a bandage, and leave it for 24 hours. The paste swells the skin slightly to push the splinter out. Repeat for another 24 hours if needed.
When should I see a doctor about a splinter?
See a doctor if the splinter is deep, under a nail, near an eye, or is glass or metal you cannot fully remove, or if the area turns red, hot, swollen, or starts oozing. Those can be signs of infection, and a tetanus booster may be needed if yours is out of date.
Should I squeeze a splinter out?
Avoid squeezing, which can break the splinter into pieces or push it deeper. Clean the skin first, then use tweezers, tape, a potato slice, or a baking soda paste depending on how deep it sits. Share your own favorite splinter remedy in the comments.
Sandi Duncan is the Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. Click here to read Sandi's full biography.
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Does anyone have the “recipe: for Salty Pork = my grandmother made it when we butchered hogs, it was lard and salt and it ended up being creamy and it worked better than anything on things in hands and feet, I think it was a German or Czechlosavia recipe
I have a splinter in my hand but it doesn’t hurt but it hurts when I try to get it out I tried to search up stuff to get it out and found this so I’ll try it. But tomorrow rn it’s 9:17 so yeah
When I was about 14 years old we had shag carpet in our apartment and my mom had dropped sewing needles and pins that were lost. I happened to step on a needle when I was barefooted and it went up between my big toe and the next toe. My dad tried to remove it with tweezers but couldn’t reach it. He wanted to take me to the hospital but I begged him not to take me. I walked around with a sore foot for a week or two and an old woman who lived near us asked me why I was limping so much and I told her. She said for me to come in and sit down. She looked at my foot and I showed her the spot. She took a potato and cut it up and put a piece in between my toes and then put a bandage around it and told me to keep it on all night and remove it in the morning. When I took it off the next day, the potato had the needle stuck in it all the way. You can’t imagine how grateful I was to that old woman. I wish I could remember her name so I could give her credit. Sde saved my dad a lot of money!
Wow, that’s quite a story! Next time please go to the ER! But glad it worked out!
I have a wood splinter on the surface of my foot but too scared pull it out and it hurts to much to put tape on it so what do I do?
Hi, we list a few methods in the article but if it’s really in there and painful, we highly recommend you contacting your doctor. Good luck.
Splinter
I have a deeep splinter in my thumb and it rally hurts
Are u ok
Can something like one of these help shingles P H N
pain
Wash the area with Ivory bar soap, dry the skin then use the same Ivory bar to make a bit of a paste over the area. Leave over night. Pulls out impurities without drying the skin believe it or not. This trick also works for blackheads on the face.
Take a piece of salt pork and put it over the splinter with a piece of white cloth loosely tape over the top overnight the salt in the pork will draw splinter out or to /he top so you can get to it. Works very well on cactus needles,glass slivers,wood splinters etc.
Can we eat the salted pork for breakfast when the splinters out
No use in wasting it, because of a splinter
Young Sheldon would day to be careful eating splinters so that you do not splinter your esophagus. Because that can cause splinter reflux esophagitys GERD which will make everything you say sound stupid.
The tip of my thumb is covered with many tiny splinters that sting so bad if I even bump it! I have been digging them out for three days with blades and tweezers and needles and peroxide, and magnifying glass, but I’m not getting them out, and it’s sore! Help please?
I also have those too. I’m trying the peroxide, then the baking soda paste to sleep in.. good luck