Splinters under fingernails...

[Fecn]

A couple of weeks ago, I got a tiny hardwood splinter under my thumbnail - It didn't bother me much at the time, but two weeks later, it's still there, reminding me of it's sharp and pointy existence every time I press the space bar.

I figure I can't be the first person this has happened to... How long did you have to wait for impossible splinters to work their way out.

 

[StevieB]

About 6 hours in A&E - took 4 injections into my thumb and quite alot of tugging with a pair of tweezers/forceps. Mind you it were a big pipper and didn't half hurt!

Steve.

 

[ByronBlack]

I just usually work them out with a needle and cut the nail back a bit if possible, I had a couple last month, still got the remnants of one but the skin seems to have hardened around it and I don't feel it anymore.

Failing that, a quick swipe through a tablesaw or mitre-saw will remove the offending finger in no time at all, then you don't need to worry about using a space-bar

 

[Evergreen]

Fecn

By a strange coincidence, I had the same problem last week. A bit of thorn deeply embedded under my right second finger nail. I soaked my finger in hot water until the flesh went a bit soggy and then I dug away with a needle that had been sterilized by passing it through a flame. I got out most of the splinter and the finger seems OK now.

A tiny, tiny fragment can cause quite a bit of discomfort but by the sound of it, you might have an infection around the wound site. Don't rule out a trip to the GP if it doesn't clear up in a couple more days.

Regards.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Wood splinters don't bother me, you can see them. I think metal splinters are far worse, last one to get me was when I used me thumb to remove the wire edge of a chisel, couldn't see it but god I knew it was there for more than two weeks.

 

[LyNx]

Wood splinters don't bother me

The iroko one i pulled out from the side of my finger last night would have. Hand was shaking like no tomorrow trying to get is out.

Dangerous things splinters are, should be removed straight away.

 

[Fecn]

A tiny, tiny fragment can cause quite a bit of discomfort but by the sound of it, you might have an infection around the wound site. Don't rule out a trip to the GP if it doesn't clear up in a couple more days.

Fortunately, there's no sign of it looking infected, and I'm up to date on all my jabs... The skin is hardening around, so sooner or later it'll get pushed out naturally.

... and just as I was writing that.. I noticed that a bit of the splinter was now visible under the nail and just managed to get the little beggar out using a tiny flat bladed screwdriver

Excellent - Back the shed for me now.

 

[ike]

What a toe-curlingly 'orrible thread!. It's made me squirm just reading it!

 

[CNC Paul]

If I cannot get it out with a bit of digging I try this method.

Get some magnesium sulphate from the chemists, liberally apply it to where the splinter is, leave it over night covered with a plaster, and in the morning is should have drawn to the surface.

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

usually dig them out with a stanley knife blade tip or a needle.

leaving them in can lead to real problems witrh infection etc........

 

[Chris Knight]

I find that the Optivisor (headband magnifier thingie) is essential for this sort of thing. With a very fine pair of tweezers (really needle pointed) I can dig out most splinters without problem.

Trouble usually starts when I am too lazy to get the magnifier and use my Swiss Army knife or similar - I gouge a lot without getting the pipper!

 

[SammyQ]

Be careful, leaving them in to pass out naturally can be tricky, from the allergen point of view. I had a teak splinter go right up in below the nail (1 cm?) and By God did it start a histamine back-reaction. There was no way it was going to lie back and think of England. A&E doctor froze the radial nerves either side of my digit and was preparing to 'flip the nail up' when he caught the striations of his forceps on the tip of the little blighter and pulled mightily....

 

[mailee]

Many years ago I caught a splinter from some scaffold board in between my finger and thumb, (the fleshy bit) Hurt like hell but I managed to remove or so I thought after digging out about a 1/4" of splinter. Over the following days it hurt more and more with redness and swelling around the area. I finally went to the Doctor when I noticed a red line starting to creep up my arm! the Doctor did a bit of digging around with a local and pulled out another half inch of splinter! :shock: As an aside I have been informed that if the splinter is a hardwood one it normally goes sceptic but if it is softwood it doesn't, not sure if this is true or not.....anyone?

 

[Mark68]

I was always led to believe that if it is a wood or metal splinter, that they will kind of work their way out,,,,but glass or thorns (brambles/rose) splinters will work their way in deeper ???

 

[Racers]

Hi,

I had a palm full of splinters from some Far-easten ply I managed to dig what I thought was most of them out, but a couple of days later my palm wasn't getting better in was red and infamed so I dug around and got some more splinters out and it settled down and started to heal, tropical wood has allsorts of nasty stuff in to stop the insects eating thats what you react to.

pete

 

[bodgermatic]

I _still_ have a short length of glass fibre embedded in my left arm from reaching under a bath. I pulled it out as soon as it went in, but obviously missed a bit. Wasn't until the scab had gone that I could tell there was more left in there. Off I go to see the nurse who gives me a local anesthetic and digs around with a scalpel and tweezers for about half an hour. "I can see it in there, but you're all swollen and I can't get a grip on it she says, you may be reacting to the anesthetic, come back tomorrow and we'll have another go without it" So I went back the next day and we repeated the same performance, this time without anesthetic, still no dice. I decided the glass had probably earned it's place in my arm and called it a day... I'm not too worried about it though. Typing this has reminded me about it, and sure enough having a quick feel, I can still feel it under the skin...