Splinters!

Recently James, our 5 year old, had a small splinter of wood embedded firmly in the sole of his foot. He said it had been bothering him all day at school. Unfortunately for him, judging by the inflammation around the splinter, it had been bothering him for longer than that.

First Aid for a Splinter

Well it’s common sense really – the current first aid text book says to remove it with a pair of tweezers. That’s not always possible and in his case the wood was too soft. The splinter broke, with most of it staying in his foot. What his (ER nurse) mum then did probably doesn’t belong in a post about First Aid, but he doesn’t have a splinter any more!

Now tweezers, No trouble

Here are some alternative approaches to ‘First Aid for a Splinter’ we found that just might work for you. Use care with some of these, but theoretically they all could work. Numbers 2 & 5 look good, as does the last one. If you try peroxide or banana, be careful – you might just soften the wood so that the splinter comes apart and some of it stays in the skin.