Dealing with a problematic splinter that’s dug deep into your skin is never fun, particularly if it involves digging into it with a needle or tweezers. Ask anyone who’s ever had a splinter, and they’ll tell you just how difficult they can be to remove – especially when they pop up in hard-to-reach locations.
There are easy hacks you could try before grabbing a tweezer to remove splinters. They are easy and relatively painless. Here are a few easy hacks:
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1. Use Some Toothpaste
Apply toothpaste all over the area of pain before going to bed – it’s best if you use paste without mint flavor. Once you wake up and find yourself surrounded by an unpleasant smell, rinse off with warm water. The dried bits of toothpaste will have pulled out any splinter particles, dirt, or sand stuck under your nail, which is likely what caused the problem.
2. Applying A Rubbing Alcohol Solution
If painless splinter removal is your goal, then you will love this hack. Place an alcohol pad over the area with the pain for 30 seconds before peeling away. Rubbing alcohol is good at pulling out dirt residue from underneath your skin, which could cause problems when removing a stubborn little wood chunk.
3. Use Some Ice Cream
This painless hack is so simple, and it seems to be the perfect solution for removing splinters that are close to your skin’s surface. Just grab a popsicle or ice cream bar from the freezer, cut off two small pieces of it with some scissors and rub them firmly over where you have a splinter sticking out to push it right out painlessly.
4. Take A Hot Bath
This easy hack can be beneficial if you have a stubborn splinter that’s close to the surface of your skin and won’t come out with any other technique. Fill up the bathtub with comfortably hot water- but not boiling, and soak until all layers of your skin are very warm.
This will soften up the tissue around where the splinter is located, making it easy to remove painlessly without breaking or causing much discomfort at all. Once removed, immediately put some ice on top of the area to reduce swelling and pain.
5. Essential Oils
Mix a few drops of either lavender essential oil or peppermint with some water to create an effective solution to remove splinters. Whenever possible, dilute the mixture by half and apply it directly over your skin where you have the wood chunk sticking out. After 30 minutes or so, you should see that the essential oils have softened up dry layers of tissue around your skin, which will make removing it much more manageable.
6. Use A Hot Glove
Fill an oven glove with boiling water, then tightly wrap it around where you have the splinters stuck to create heat. This will cause any remaining wood chunks and dirt particles to loosen themselves up, so they come away quickly.
7. Use Straw
Cut off a straw and bend one end into a point, then use it to remove the painful splinter sticking out of your skin. This is by far the easiest way to painlessly remove small pieces of wood from your skin without much anguish.
8. Use Some Fingernail Polish
This method is beneficial for removing splinters around your nail. Apply a generous layer of clear fingernail polish to where you have a stubborn little wood chunk sticking out on your fingernail.
This should help it adhere to any dry layers around there so that when you rip off the top parts with pliers or some scissors, all of the bits come up together without causing too much discomfort.
9. Use Some Salt And Oil
Equal parts salt and olive oil mixed to form an effective way of softening tough skin, making removing small pieces of wood easier. Apply directly on top of where you have a splintered feeling for about 30 minutes, then remove them after that time has elapsed. This is especially helpful if there’s more than one piece stuck close to each other as well.
10. The Cold Press
Place a cold bag of ice on top of the area with pain for 20 minutes or so. This will temporarily reduce swelling and any painful sensations in your skin. If possible, have someone apply pressure while you’re pressing the ice pack against that part of the body. Be careful not to do anything that will cause any more pain.
If all else fails, you can use tweezers to remove splinters from your skin painlessly – but be careful that the pointed end doesn’t poke through any layers of flesh! It might take a bit more time than other painless hacks, but it will work so long as you are very gentle and don’t push too hard on the wood chunk to avoid pain or injury.
11. Use Some Tape
What’s impressive about this hack is that it’s the simplest of all – just wrap some tape around the area and then carefully cut it through to remove the splinter. This will act as a type of tourniquet that should make removing any stubborn wood chunks relatively easy, whether or not they’re in hard-to-reach locations such as on fingers or toes. The process is also quite painless.
Conclusion
In the end, it’s always best to consult a doctor or medical professional about painless splinters before attempting any of these home remedies. They’ll be able to evaluate the current situation and recommend the right course of action for removing painful splinters without any need for needles, tweezers, soap, or alcohol.
