I have a splinter Now out PHOTO!

[Graham Orm]

Last Thursday, 2nd day back after 3 weeks off with a chest infection, I was fitting a pine door. I had planed an edge and as usual was running sandpaper down it's length to remove the arris on both corners. There was a spike on one corner I hadn't seen and it inevitably this found it's way into my hand.
It went into the fleshy bit of my palm just below my thumb. Instinct made me grab and pull at the bit sticking out, which snapped off. It bled a lot, then stopped within a few seconds which I thought odd. It was hurting far more than a splinter should and was sending pain through my thumb.
Not being able to grip anything I downed tools and went to the hospital, by which time my hand had swollen. They gave me anti-biotics and pain killers and sent me home with their best wishes.
Next morning my hand was inflated like a rubber glove. I now had to ring customers who had been patiently waiting for my chest infection to pass and tell them once more that I wouldn't make it.
A return visit to the hospital resulted in double the anti biotic dose and extra strong pain killers. They made an appointment for next Friday with the orthopaedic doc and a appointment for today (Wed) for an ultrasound as x-rays don't show wood.

By Sunday my hand had deflated sufficiently for me to go back and finish the door job, and has stayed deflated since so enabling me to carry on working. I have occasional stabbing pains up the length of my thumb and the entry point of the splinter hasn't healed.

The ultrasound this morning shows that it is an inch long and is touching my knuckle! Looks like I will have to have an op to remove it, probably under a local this Friday. It's the block plane from now on for removing arris's.

 

[Racers]

Ouch!
I once had a load of cheap ply splinters in my palm from stupidly letting a board slip through my hand, I dug out most but the rest went all infected and had to be squeezed out.

Pete

 

[Tomburns]

That sounds pretty grim! Hope it comes out ok and you heal up alright. Have you considered wearing gloves when working? I know they get in the way a bit but I have the mechanix ones and you can still get on with stuff productively with them on I use them for welding, gardening, wood work and wrenching their great and saved my hands and knuckles a lot of times.

 

[adidat]

Pete i did the same. I usually find if it wont come out, the splinter will flow out once it gets infected and the puss is squeezed out.

I now tend to cut the wound open with a scapel and dig it out as the 10 minutes of pain beat a week of it!

Adidat

 

[Racers]

Pete i did the same. I usually find if it wont come out, the splinter will flow out once it gets infected and the puss is squeezed out.

I now tend to cut the wound open with a scapel and dig it out as the 10 minutes of pain beat a week of it!

Adidat

It was all the tiny ones I couldn't see to dig out :shock:

Pete

 

[n0legs]

They ain't funny.
I had a load of creosote impregnated splinters after a fall down a pole, and they bloody hurt.
People laughed because splinters caused minor surgeries,. `It's only a spliner!' yeah very funny.
Hope they get you sorted mate.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Try a decent sized blackthorn splinter for infection. They move about under your skin and infect every time. My pet hate now is glass splinters off the tyres of the wheelchair - impossible to see and hence impossible to remove.

 

[Graham Orm]

That sounds pretty grim! Hope it comes out ok and you heal up alright. Have you considered wearing gloves when working? I know they get in the way a bit but I have the mechanix ones and you can still get on with stuff productively with them on I use them for welding, gardening, wood work and wrenching their great and saved my hands and knuckles a lot of times.

I wear gloves when handling heavy oak doors because it makes them easier to grip, but i find them a pain generally. Maybe I'll rethink.

 

[novocaine]

until recently I've never worn gloves when working (unless welding or handling really dirty stuff).
then I paid a very poultry amount of money for a set from screwfix, they've protected my hands from all sorts of things in recent months and now I wear them on a routine basis (still some jobs you can't do with gloves on though).
these ones.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/keep-safe-n-a ... arge/8612f

not convinced they'd have helped much in this instance though, you must have really slammed in to it to get that far in. lesson learned I guess. heal quick.

 

[Tomburns]

I was on site with my cousin couple of months back and he had a nice set of fingerless dewalt gloves that looked quite handy! Least then your fingers are few and for holding screws and nails and so on

 

[Graham Orm]

I was on site with my cousin couple of months back and he had a nice set of fingerless dewalt gloves that looked quite handy! Least then your fingers are few and for holding screws and nails and so on

Good idea, I might give that a go. I've got some thin work gloves, could just cut forefinger and thumb end off.

 

[Tomburns]

I like the sound of that! My mechanix ones are torn on the two index fingers i might replace them and butcher the old pair always a good idea to wear safety gear when you can in my opinion, I'm yet to find a pair of safety glasses that don't fog up when I have a mask on tho

 

[Bm101]

Hope it heals soon Graham. My Mrs had a fall the other week on crappy paving down the road. Skinned her hand pretty bad. Day later it was infected and oozing with a red line up her arm. Nurse drew a line on the vein with strict instruction if it reaches this mark you phone an ambulance. :shock: Double dosed up on antibiotics from the hospital and it cleared after a few days. Why it became infected so seriously we can't work out. But well worth sorting properly.

 

[blackrodd]

You have my deepest sympathies, Years ago, I ended up in similar circumstances with a douglas fir splinter, in the palm of my hand, about the size of a matchstick, and just as much sticking out!
After the DIY operation with the surgical stanley knife wouldn't budge it, just snapped it off and carried on working for a while but, much the same as you'rs it balloned up and I went to A&E And they cut it out and stitched it up take 2 weeks off they said!
Went back to work next day, broke all the stitches, blood all over the door and linings etc, back to A&E, for re stitching and a severe reprimand as more stitching was not possible on what was now left, should I do it again!
Site Agent wanted me to stay, so I was the delivery checker for a fortnight, Even then took some time to heal though.
Regards Rodders

 

[skipdiver]

Got a right brute of a splinter in my palm many moons ago and it eventually went septic, so i laid in a hot bath for half an hour to soften the skin a bit, gritted my teeth and gave it a good squeeze with the thumb of my other hand. It hurt like hell for a second, before out popped a chunk of wood and loads of puss. It actually landed about an inch away from the entry hole and it was strangely gratifying.

 

[Nelsun]

^Byyyyock! This thread really needs pictures!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Graham Orm]

You have my deepest sympathies, Years ago, I ended up in similar circumstances with a douglas fir splinter, in the palm of my hand, about the size of a matchstick, and just as much sticking out!
After the DIY operation with the surgical stanley knife wouldn't budge it, just snapped it off and carried on working for a while but, much the same as you'rs it balloned up and I went to A&E And they cut it out and stitched it up take 2 weeks off they said!
Went back to work next day, broke all the stitches, blood all over the door and linings etc, back to A&E, for re stitching and a severe reprimand as more stitching was not possible on what was now left, should I do it again!
Site Agent wanted me to stay, so I was the delivery checker for a fortnight, Even then took some time to heal though.
Regards Rodders

Poo! The last thing I need is another 2 weeks off!

 

[Steve Maskery]

I once had an iroko splinter in the ball of my thumb. I got it out, so I thought, and my tame, at the time, health professional couldn't see anything either, but it hurt. And it continued to hurt. The would sort of healed up, or at least scabbed over, but the pain continued. Eventually, several weeks later, I got my penknife out and started digging. It practically exploded out. Not pretty. But then it healed up within a couple of days.

Same health professional was doing her training in A&E once when she was given the case notes of a patient with a splinter. "Where is he?", she asked. "Down the corridor on a trolley". So off she stomps to give this time-waster a piece of her mind about abusing the NHS facilities for trivial matters. When she finds him, this "splinter" turns out to be half a gate post that entered at the wrist and exited at the elbow.

She did allow him to continue to occupy the trolley.

 

[Graham Orm]

Had a full anaesthetic today to get it out.

 

[Beau]

Ouch!