M Johnson (Bothell, WA) on 07/27/2023
When my son was little he went barefoot in bark mulch and got a huge number of splinters sticking straight out of the bottom of his little feet. My quick thinking neighbor ran home and grabbed a pot of wax used to remove unwanted hair. She heated it to warm and spread it all over the bottoms of his feet. When it cooled, we peeled it off. It removed the vast majority of the splinters. I was able to remove the rest with watchmaker tweezers, which I've used many times to pull out thorns and splinters.
Baking Soda Poultice for Splinter Removal Servant (Farmville, VA) on 02/04/2021
For several days I tried repeatedly soaking in Epsom Salt which kept down the infection, but the toothpick was very deep and didn't come to the surface of my skin. I made an appointment with my family doctor. She tried digging down to find the toothpick splinter and was not able to locate it to extract it. She sent me home to continue my Epsom Salt soaks, but said that the only other thing I could do would be to go to a surgeon to have it surgically removed.
Later that day I saw a YouTube video by a doctor who was sharing ways to extract splinters. She said to prepare a paste of Baking Soda and water, place this poultice on the affected area and cover with a bandage.
The Baking Soda causes the skin tissue to swell and this will bring the splinter to the surface where it can be extracted with tweezers. I tried this and after several hours of using the poultice, the tip of the toothpick had moved up to the surface of my skin so that my husband used simple tweezers to grasp the toothpick and easily pull it out. This was quite a large section of that toothpick that had been painfully embedded in my toe. I placed that extracted toothpick in a small plastic zip bag along with written instructions concerning the Baking Soda poultice and brought it to show to my doctor in hopes that she would adopt this method for splinter removal. I'm thankful that the Lord led me to that YouTube doctor who had just the answer I needed.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Splinters Dean (Illinois) on 02/03/2021
I figured it would work its way out by itself, but a month or more later it had not. I still couldn't see anything there, but I could definitely feel that stab when that part of my thumb was touched.
So I poured a little apple cider vinegar out, warmed it to 130F, and stuck my thumb in it for about 10 minutes. Then I washed it off, and looked with a magnifying glass. Still couldn't see anything. So I just scraped and scraped along that part of my thumb with a fingernail. Somehow, it must have come out, because I can run my fingernail along that part of my thumb now and there is no pain. Incredible!!!
Mike (Kent, UK) on 12/17/2020
It seemed to work for me too! It's hard to know what did the bulk of the work - the ACV, the needle I dug it a bit with or the tweezers that I eventually used to pull it out (much to my very high level of relief! ).
The splinter was in a knuckle on my left hand. The ACV did seem to make the skin very pale and a bit numb I guess. It was only on it for about 3 minutes. And then the tweezers yanked the splinter right out!
So yeah, seemed to work well!
John (Ontario) on 01/01/2017
Mutsa (Zimbabwe) on 01/01/2017
Alison (Ca) on 12/24/2016
Remedies Helped Fiberglass Splinters, But Took 6 Months Diane (Southern Ca.) on 09/07/2016
This is what I did!
I found that soaking my hand in Epsom salt would bring out the splinters, but usually only the top of the splinter. Then I would use calamine lotion on the infected area and let it dry on my hand and the lotion would attach itself to the splinters when it was dry so I could pull or scrap them off with my finger nails! This was not the end as most of the fiber glass splinters had gone deep into my hand. I had to repeat this process every day to get the fiber glass splinters out completely!
I even went to the doctor and that didn't help. Also to help get the splinters out I used Vaseline worked into my hand followed by caster oil worked into the skin, and even vicks! The 3 oils would help work some of the splinters out! Then I would go back to the Epsom salt again and repeat the process all over again, the Epsom salt, the calamine lotion and then the oil.
It took me about 6 months to get all the splinters out! And it was HELL!
Please use gloves when working outside! My infected hand was so bad that I actually was worried that my hand would infect and I could lose my hand! Also Tinactin the fungus powder would help soothe my splinter filled hand and give it a rest. Then I would continue to treat my hand again. My hand is finally back to normal! I will never do yard work without gloves ever again!
Vinegar for Splinter Works a Second Time! Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 08/13/2016
One time wine vinegar was used and the second: plain white distilled vinegar.
Both times, the splinter "appeared" (1/2 popped out of the skin) only a while later, when I had given up staring at it!
Mike (Abington, Pennsylvania) on 06/19/2016
Filled a dish with ACV, soaked the toe for about 2 mins, then used a swiss-army knife to scrape away some skin, so the splinter had an exit. It was delicate and required a bit of patience, as the splinter was deeply seeded. After three soaks for 2mins each, piece by piece, I was able to remove the splinter completely with the knife and tweezers. ACV is a wonderful home remedy!
Laura (Fort Wayne, In) on 01/30/2016
Kate (Germany) on 10/20/2015
My 14 month old and I handled a prickly pear not knowing what it was :(. No advice given in store.
My wee one screemed in pain half an hour later and I had stings all over my hands.
I read on another side to use pumice stone to reduce the pain levels. I have one with a very fine side to it, so I very gently rubbed it over my daughters hands and then over mine and she stopped screaming immediately. It worked for most of the stingers, I think.
I then used white wine vinegar and bathed our hands in it for 10 minutes. I felt better immediately but as I touched my daughters left hand I could feel, she had a pretty big splinter in the soft palm. I sucked at it for a few minutes, drawing it out and then used a tweezer to get it out completely. She is absolutely fine now and the redness on her hand is disapearing as I write this.
I won't be buying this fruit for quite a while to come as it is not child proof!
Thank you for this great piece of advice.
All the best...
Danielle (Saint Louis, Mo) on 07/07/2015
Corin ( Hanburg Ny) on 05/03/2015
Toni (Henderson ) on 03/27/2015
Mama to Many (Tennessee, US) on 09/11/2014
My husband got a splinter in his hand from a 2x4. He removed the splinter. The next day, his finger was swollen and red where the splinter had been. It was above his wedding band on his ring finger; I had visions of having his ring cut off as there was no way he was going to get that ring past the swelling. He figured that in removing the splinter, he must have introduced some bacteria and now the area was infected.
I put a charcoal poultice over it, a bit of plastic wrap and some cohesive tape to secure it. He went to work and we thought nothing of it until evening. We removed the bandage and poultice. The swelling was gone and so was the redness. And right there at the cut in his hand was the splinter! Apparently he had not gotten it out (or at least, all of it) and the charcoal drew it out.
I love charcoal! :)
~Mama to Many~
Adstradamous (Cincinnati, Oh) on 07/15/2014
My sister and I noticed a large red bump on my sons butt cheek one afternoon. We had no idea what it was and could see nothing inside when we examined it. The next day my sister decided to soak his bottom half in an epsom salt bath and a splinter surfaced! It was obviously infected, but as soon as the splinter came out it began to heal. I soaked him about 3 more times and made an appointment with his doctor just in case. Later that night a small, pale yellow bump surfaced as well! The epsom salts were also pulling the infection out! By the time we saw the doctor, there was no infection and nothing left behind in the skin!
White Vinegar for Splinter Tiffany (Northern California) on 02/24/2014
Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 09/22/2013
D (Naples, Fl) on 11/03/2012
I heard so much about ACV on Earth Clinic I decided to give it a try. It seemed to help ease the pain a bit so that I could try to at least touch them. I used a magnifying glass and tweezers to try to remove the tiny white, almost non-visible needles from my hands. I washed again with Apple Cider Vinegar and then soap and water. I will continue to wash with ACV for the remainder of the evening and tomorrow if necessary to help ease the stinging now that the needles have been removed. I did find that prickly pear is used to help in a number of things, one being diabetes and maybe even hair loss because of it's nutrients. If you decide to give it a try please use caution in handling. I am so grateful to Earth Clinic and it's readers for your help and feedback over the years--I hopes this helps someone else who may have been stung by the pear needles.
