During the course of a day, it can happen that small accidents are caused by splinters and thorns that get into the skin, causing minor pain in less serious cases or infection in more serious cases

It happens mainly on the hands – especially on the fingers, mainly the thumb – when we grab a fruit or a thorny object, and on the thighs, when we sit on old wooden benches which, under our weight, shatter into splinters.

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Removing splinters and thorns from the skin

What is the best way to remove thorns and splinters?

The first thing to do when a splinter or a thorn has found its way into your skin is to wash the affected area thoroughly with cool running water.

Then dry and disinfect the affected area to prevent the unwanted object inserted under the skin from causing an infection.

First of all, then, clean and disinfect the place where the splinter or thorn has penetrated, whether it is made of wood or any other material.

After that, it is necessary to think about how to extract it. How to do this?

Observe the situation.

If the thorn or splinter has an external part, the ideal solution is to use normal make-up tweezers, which have been washed and disinfected, to gently extract the foreign body so that it does not break.

It may hurt a little, but only for a few seconds.

If splinters break in the skin

The wooden splinter or thorn, e.g. from a rose or a cactus, may break off during extraction with tweezers.

In this case, it is advisable to use a needle disinfected with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and gently create a space to extract the last piece of splinter under the skin.

After disinfecting, simply cover with a plaster and wait two days, when the situation will be back to normal.

When wood splinters stick in the thighs

When wearing skirts and shorts, it is easy for a wood splinter to get lodged in the thigh when sitting on old benches or wooden artefacts.

In this case, the extraction operation can be more delicate, given the lower thickness of the skin (compared, for example, to that of the hands) and the fact that our weight can contribute to the penetration of the splinter.

In this case there are two solutions: either proceed with the usual tweezers and needle, taking extra care not to break the splinter, or be patient and wait for the skin cells to renew themselves.

After a maximum of 10 days, the skin will regenerate and the splinter will be removed by itself.

Extracting splinters with a natural remedy

Finally, a natural remedy for extracting splinters and thorns: you can use an ichthyol ointment, a natural ointment ideal for treating small skin infections, which has an astringent power that can help the skin to expel the thorn.

Simply apply it and cover the affected area with gauze for about 12 hours.

When you remove the gauze you will be surprised to find the splinter expelled.

But beware, this remedy is only effective for splinters and thorns that are superficially embedded.

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Source:

Humanitas