How to quickly draw out even deep splinters without a needle, pain, or trip to the doctor even if they have been embedded for some time. One minute video demonstration included.
A splinter is a fragment of any foreign object that penetrates and becomes lodged inside one’s body. While splinters can come from a variety of materials such as glass, plastic, metal or even the spines of animals, for most people, splinters commonly occur on the fingers and hands from handling some type of plant matter such as a piece of wood.
When one experiences a splinter, pain as the sharp object initially penetrates the skin is usually felt. This is because the object has cut through the cutaneous layer of skin, settling into the subcutaneous layer below. While some splinters stay put at that point, most others will continue to move around, damaging additional tissue in the process.
Splinters that become lodged in the fingers or hand as would happen while doing yard work are usually very easy to remove with a simple needle that has been properly cleaned with alcohol first.
The Problem with Removing Splinters with Needles
The problem with this approach is that children don’t like it as picking at a splinter with a pointy object can sometimes hurt until part of the splinter is exposed and the rest pulled out with a pair of tweezers or a piece of tape.
The second problem with the needle approach is that it doesn’t always work if the splinter is very deep or quite thin and hard to see.
This happened to my husband recently when he got a thorn that was about an inch long deeply lodged in his left index finger while doing some yard work.
No matter how hard he tried to dig that thorn out with the traditional needle approach, he could not even find it let alone remove it.
It was just too deep.
At first, he figured the splinter would naturally work its way out. Splinters sometimes do this – the skin “pushes” them to the surface of the skin where they are easily removed a short time later with tweezers or your fingers.
That didn’t happen with this splinter. Waiting a few days made the situation much worse as the finger got very sore and began to swell.
Going to a Doctor Instead is Expensive
I became very concerned at that point because the finger was obviously infected. I suggested a trip to the doctor, but my husband wasn’t keen on that idea as the (out of network) holistic family doctor we called said it would cost $500 for the office required consultation and subsequent removal of the splinter.
$500 to remove a splinter? Unbelievable!
My husband then had the bright idea to ask his friend who is a veterinarian about the situation.
How to Remove a Splinter at Home with No Needles
The veterinarian said that removing even a deep splinter is easy with magnesium sulfate, better known as Epsom salts. Many people are familiar with an Epsom salt bath for sore muscles or to improve sleep.
This remedy uses Epsom salt in another hugely beneficial way – to draw toxins even a splinter right out of the skin. (1)
The veterinarian said you could either soak the finger a few times a day in a cup of warm water and Epsom salts or make a poultice with it. The poultice is much faster and more effective, however.
Such a method is supported in the scientific literature and very safe as well. (2)
Epsom Salts – How to Draw Out a Splinter
My husband decided to go with the poultice route. He took a small pinch of Epsom salts, placed it on the bandage section of a regular, large band-aid and wrapped the finger with it. He changed the bandage once a day or after it got wet in the shower.
Another option is to put a bit of magnesium sulfate paste (which costs just a few dollars) on the area and cover with a bandage. Magnesium sulfate is the same thing as Epsom salt.
This one minute video demonstrates the easy process. Be sure to clean the area well and use established first aid methods before and after the splinter is out of the skin. (3)
How Long Does it Take?
Within 2 days, it was apparent that the Epsom salts poultice had worked! The end of that thorn was ever so slightly sticking through the skin!
My husband pulled about 1/3″ of thorn out, but he could tell there was still more in there.
He continued to apply the Epsom salts poultice for one more day which caused the rest of the thorn to come to the surface of the skin as well. He used tweezers to pull the rest of the thorn out, which turned out to be about another 1/2″ in length.
Best of all, the swelling and soreness of the finger quickly resolved with the removal of the thorn. It has been a couple of months since this happened and the finger is perfectly fine.
Keep Magnesium Sulfate on Hand
I will be using the Epsom salts or magnesium sulfate paste on a bandage approach to remove all splinters that occur in our household from now on. I’ve purchased a small bottle of the magnesium sulfate paste, and it is now a permanent part of my medicine cabinet.
This approach suggested by our veterinary friend is far easier than using needles or enduring the drama of a doctor’s visit and there is surprisingly no pain at all involved.
One word of caution. If you choose to use the crystals instead of the paste, be sure to buy Epsom salts that are human-grade, rather than agricultural grade.
References
(1) Magnesium Sulfate Paste
(2) Use of Epsom Salts, historically considered
(3) Foreign object in the skin: First aid
hey i have a horse who has so many cactus needles that i cant count, they are really small and hard to get.
there is to many to get with a tweezer because he rolled in the patch but if anybody had any ideas of how i could get them out would be great! i cant ride him in till their out because their in his back.
thanks!
This really worked. Got a thorn stuck in my foot at the beach and it was in my heel for over 2 weeks. I tried this method and after 3 days it finally came out. ☺
So, after that long lecture, you finally got to the point!
Magnesium Sulphate (UK spelling) is Epsom Salt.
i had a splinter and when i tried to remove it part of it was still in my baby finger deep and withing hours my finger was sore and throbbing but i tried this method and it brought the splinter out of my finger just enough that i could pull it out with a tweezers and there was a little puss i its ok. thank you whoever you are for posting this info online. thank you so very much. i thought i was going to have to suffer all weekend and thought i would have to wait till the doctors office was open on monday and have the doctor take out the deep splinter.
I used this method for 4 days and it really brought the splinter in the bottom of my foot to the surface. I then pulled it out with a tweeser
I wish I had seen this Epsom Salt paste idea, when I got many splinters from carrying some pieces of pallet wood, my husband had torn apart for me to use in craft projects. A day or so after carrying the wood, I noticed the area where I had held the boards, was very sore. In all, I had got over 25 splinters in my arm!! My husband, with guidance and a little squealing from me, attempted to remove as many of the painful splinters, as possible. We then put antibiotic ointment over the area, and wrapped it with bandages. We then repeated the process each day for approximately a week, at which time I noticed the area had an odd green color, which I had never seen such a color on an area before!! I immediately called my doctor and was seen right then. I ended up with a terrible staph infection, received from all those nasty splinters in the pallet wood! The doc gave me a warning that I felt you, and all of your readers, would like to know. He said that pallet wood was some of the nastiest wood that a person could handle, because of all the things that could have been on it and the places it had been while holding those things. His warning about pallet wood, was one which I had never thought of or considered, as I happily worked on those fun craft projects. So remember his warning, Never, Never handle pallet wood without wearing long sleeves and gloves, made out of thick material, which cannot be penetrated by the splinters in the wood.
Today, I still have numerous scars on my arms, where I held the pallet wood, the splinters penetrated, and the staph infection took hold. Each time I look at those scars, it makes me feel lucky that the staph was caught in time, but also glad that I can warn others of this seemingly, innocent looking wood. I also feel as if I had used your Epsom Salt paste, this might have been prevented. I wish I had known about this then, but I can assure you that I WILL use this paste the next time I get any kind of splinter!
I have used Epsom Salts for many years, and it does work well. It pulls infections out of sores as well. I’ve had some pretty nasty puncture wounds, and the epsom salts draw the poison out. Splinters, Spider bites, Cuts, infected toe nails, and many more. It is good stuff!
Michael
Will the Epsom Salt work to remove a splinter that has been completely healed over about a month ago? I had originally thought the whole splinter had been removed and the skin has since healed over it. Though there is no pain, the area is now swollen with a bubble of fluid and I can see a black dot which looks like it’s probably a portion of the splinter. Do I need to cut it open before applying the salt, or just apply on top of the healed skin? Thanks in advance!
Did you try the Epsom salt for your splinter? My daughter has one in her toe and it has been healed over for a long time but now she is complaining.
It was not my choice, I got a splinter from a bamboo skewer which had a cracked edge in my forfinger. I thought I had pulled it out, but after a few days, it became stiff and sour. I could hardly use it for typing.
I was ready to go see a Doc and fretting that it will involve a little surgery. So checked on line and found this and some other posts. Hence, I became a test subject.
I put some epsom salt on a bandaid (wet the cotton part to hold the salt better) and rapped with the salt on the splinter entry side (avoided putting any pressure).
The next day, it was soft and hurt less. Changed the bandage and put some fresh salt on it, and by the next day, it was not hurting and the swelling was a small aberration near the surface.
That was a week ago, and I can hardly find any sign of it. Now, I know of a good remedy for splinters. Thank you for posting.
Now, if my finger was infected deeply, and the salt was not effective the next day, I would not have hesitated to see a doc.
Thank you so much for this article. I had a nasty splinter deep in my hand and the Epsom salt technique totally worked! I put some epsom salt on top of the splinter and covered it with bandaid, left it as-is for a day. The next day, it seemed like the splinter was almost at the surface, so I used a needle to scoop it out. What a relief!! Thanks for saving me a trip to the doctor!