Whether just in the back yard, or worse yet, in a wilderness survival situation, getting a tiny splinter under your skin can cause you big problems. The pain can be distracting and make necessary tasks difficult or impossible. If left unaddressed the splinter can lead to infection which could, if you are unable to access medical help, lead to death. In order to prevent something so small from causing you big problems get rid of any splinter as soon as you can. Here are 3 ways to get a splinter out easily in different situations.
Fingernail Clippers
If you have access to fingernail clippers this would be my first recommendation. Instead of trying to pull the splinter out by its back, start at the front of the splinter and, using the fingernail clippers, carefully pinch the skin above where the splinter is laying. Continue to pinch the skin and pull it, removing the skin over the splinter starting at the front and moving towards the back until the whole splinter is exposed. This process is surprisingly painless compared to trying to pull it out using tweezers. A similar process can be done by cutting the skin with a sharp blade but there are obvious dangers in that.
Water
If the splinter is in your finger you can submerge your finger in water. This can be done in as little as a cap full of water if water is scarce. Leave your fingertip in the water until the skin on your fingertip has become white and the outer skin cells are water logged and soft. At this point it should be easy enough to remove the skin on top of the splinter with only the fingers on your other hand.
Toothpaste
If the splinter is in a difficult place to reach and no one can help you, you can apply toothpaste to the site before bed. It could be done during the day be movement and sweat will likely reduce its effect. If toothpaste is not available any clean paste that reduces in size when it dries will work like oatmeal.
Something as small as a splinter sounds like it’s no big deal, until its cutting down on your ability to get things done or getting infected and posing a serious threat to your life. Take care of it fast so you can get back to work.
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