Picture this: You’re enjoying the weather outside on the porch when you brush up against a piece of wood and suddenly feel a sharp pain. You feel a sharp pain and look down. A stinging piece of wood is lodged under your skin. Ouch! If you’ve ever had a splinter, you know that feeling. Many people might immediately look for a pair of tweezers in hopes of being able to just pluck the splinter right out, but that’s not necessarily the best (or only) option. The splinter might be embedded too deeply for tweezers to grab it, you might not have a pair handy, or you might just prefer a method that doesn’t require digging with a sharp tool. You can remove a splinter without tweezers by using household items you already have.
Carolina Goncalves, superintendent pharmacist at UK-based online pharmacy Pharmica, emphasizes the importance of targeting the splinter as quickly as possible to best reduce the risk of infection. A foreign object has punctured the skin, which is a barrier that protects against bacteria.
“Splinters tend to work their way deeper into the skin over time. This can increase the pain and discomfort.
