Splinters

[DietCokeLover]

DS got a splinter in his finger. It's a pretty decent size, but he absolutely will not let me get it out. DH held him down and I tried, but short of traumatizing him, I can not get it out.

What do you do for splinters?

[kellij]

Ugg, no fun! We have figured out that if you let them soak in the bathtub for a long time, it seems a lot easier and less painful to get them out of soft skin than otherwise. We just try to explain how much more it will hurt if they don't let us get them. I'm sure bribes have been offered in the past. Last fall DS1 crawled in a bunch of stickers and his poor palms were covered in little sticker splinters. We talked him into letting us dig a lot of them out and then we finally had to give up on a couple. They eventually just came out on their own.

[MamaMolly]

I have heard letting Elmer's glue dry on it then peel it off, and duct tape. No BTDT though

[kms00]

If part of it is sticking out I'd try the tape. Otherwise I have put Orajel/teething stuff on to help numb it first. My kids say it helps some. Or maybe an ice cube to numb it a little.

[LMPC]

DD has one in her finger right now. She will not let me anywhere near her finger with anything sharp.... It's pretty superficial and I am keeping an eye on it. I figure it will work it's way out. If it starts looking red or infected, I'll take it up a notch and try the glue/tape trick...but until then, I'm going to leave it alone.

[DietCokeLover]

The one in DS's finger s completely in there, nothing that is out of the skin. I'll just have to keep an eye on it I guess.

[elephantmeg]

I traumatize them, sit on them and take them out. But as a peds nurse am pretty used to traumatizing kids (IV's, catheters etc). DH doesn't like to help but he does.

[newg]

I took DD to the ped. That was after a week of trying. She wouldn't let me touch the finger with a ten foot pole.....but she's very sensitive to boo-boos and scrapes.

[maestramommy]

Hmmm, we squeeze the area and pick it out. I try using my nails, if that doesn't work, tweezers. And yeah, sometimes it hurts. Recently Dora had a pretty big one, and Dh botched the extraction somehow. I had to take over and by then she was already howling. But what can you do? If you don't take it out, it'll keep hurting :(

[fauve01]

I have heard letting Elmer's glue dry on it then peel it off, and duct tape. No BTDT though

:yeahthat: we did this with the glue and it worked like a charm. hardest part was keeping it still and being patient while the glue dried!

[Gracemom]

My DS got several in his hand over the summer on an old deck and wouldn't let me go near them. I let him play in the bath for a long time, and a couple worked their way out. One persisted and after a week he finally let me get it out. I figure if it's not bothering them too much you can let it be for a while.