How to Remove a Splinter
Remove a splinter with sterilized tweezers or a needle, lift fiberglass with tape and cactus spines with white glue, keep a wood splinter dry, and know when to see a doctor or get a tetanus shot.
You will end up with the splinter out, the spot cleaned and covered, and a clear rule for when a splinter, or the wound it leaves, needs a doctor.
Pick the method by what you can see. A splinter with an end sticking out comes out with tweezers (step 2). One that is fully under the skin needs a needle to expose it first (step 3). Tiny splinters and fiberglass come off with tape (step 4), and cactus spines come out with tweezers and white glue (step 6).
Some splinters are not a home job. Check the list in step 8 before you start, because a splinter in or near the eye, under a nail, or deep in the skin belongs with a doctor.
Fine-tipped tweezers Small sewing needle Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) Magnifying glass Bright light source Soap and water Petroleum jelly or antibiotic ointment Clean bandages Duct tape or packing tape (for tiny splinters and fiberglass) Wax hair remover (if tape does not lift fiberglass) White school glue and a piece of gauze (for cactus spines)
Check that it is a home job, then clean the area
Check first that the splinter is one to remove at home. Go straight to step 8 if it is in or near your eye, under a fingernail or toenail, deep in the skin, or very large, or if it is glass that is hard to see or has a barb, like a fishhook. If it went into the skin straight up and down, read the step 2 callout before you touch it. Wash your hands with soap and water. Then clean the skin around the splinter the same way and pat it dry. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says to do this first to prevent infection. Gather fine-tipped tweezers, a small sewing needle, rubbing alcohol, a magnifying glass, a bandage, and petroleum jelly or antibiotic ointment. Sterilize the tips of the tweezers and the needle with rubbing alcohol. Check that the tips of the tweezers meet exactly. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says to bend them until they do. Use a bright light and the magnifying glass to look at the splinter before you touch it. The AAD says to check how big it is and which direction it entered the skin. Look also for any part sticking out above the skin, because that decides between step 2 and step 3. If the splinter is in thick skin, such as the sole of your foot, and is not wood, soak it first (step 5).
Pull it out with tweezers
Use tweezers when part of the splinter is sticking out of the skin. Do not squeeze the skin around it to push it out. The AAD warns that squeezing may break the splinter into smaller pieces that are harder to remove. Grip the exposed end firmly with your sterilized fine-tipped tweezers and pull it out slowly in the same direction it went in. Cleveland Clinic says pulling along the same path helps keep the splinter from breaking. Check that the whole splinter came out. Then wash the area again with soap and water, apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly, and cover it with a clean bandage, as the AAD advises. If a piece broke off and stayed in, go to step 3.
Heads up: Get a firm grip on the first try. The AAP says that matters most for a splinter that went in perpendicular to the skin, and Cleveland Clinic advises seeing a provider for one that entered straight up and down. So with a vertical splinter, make one firm pull only if an end sticks out above the skin, and go to step 8 if it does not come out on that pull.
Use a needle to expose a buried splinter
Use a needle when the splinter is fully under the skin with no end poking out. Look through the magnifying glass and gently pierce the surface of the skin at one end of the splinter with the sterilized needle, as the AAD describes. Cleveland Clinic advises gently "feathering" the skin open and not pinching it, because that pressure can break the splinter into pieces. The AAD notes that this may need a second person to help. Keep working the needle until one end of the splinter sticks out. Then switch to your tweezers and pull it out in the direction it entered. If the end breaks off and you can still see the rest, open the skin along its length with the needle and flick it out, which is the AAP's method. If you cannot see the rest, or you are not sure all of it came out, stop and see a doctor. Stop after 10 to 15 minutes without success, too. Cleveland Clinic lists that as a reason to see a healthcare provider and says not to keep digging if the splinter is not coming out.
Try tape for tiny surface splinters and fiberglass
Use tape for very small splinters near the surface and for fiberglass. The AAP says fiberglass spicules and fine plant spines are fragile and usually break when you press on them with tweezers, so skip the tweezers for those. Press a piece of duct tape or packing tape gently over the area. Peel it off slowly in the same direction the splinter entered, as Cleveland Clinic advises. If the first piece does not get it, try again with a fresh strip. If tape does not lift the fiberglass, the AAP's next step is wax hair remover. Apply a layer, let it air-dry for 5 minutes (a hair dryer speeds this up), and peel it off. The AAP says that removes most of the spicules, and the rest usually work their way out as the skin sheds.
Good to know: Do not use tape on cactus spines. In a 1987 study on laboratory animals that compared removal methods, tape left more spines behind than doing nothing at all. Step 6 gives the method that worked best.
Soak thick skin first, unless the splinter is wood
Check what the splinter is made of first. Do not soak a wood splinter. The AAP says not to soak the area when the splinter is wood, because soaking can make the splinter swell. Cleveland Clinic's soaking advice does not mention wood either way, so follow the AAP and keep wood dry. For a splinter that is not wood, in thick or calloused skin such as the sole of your foot, soak first. Cleveland Clinic says soaking softens the skin. Soak the area in warm, not hot, water for about 10 minutes, adding about a tablespoon of Epsom salt to a small bowl if you like. Then pat dry and use tweezers (step 2) or a needle (step 3).
Use white glue for cactus spines
Use this method for cactus spines and other fine plant spines. A 1987 study in the American Journal of Diseases of Children compared removal methods for cactus spines on laboratory animals. The best one used tweezers to remove the clumps of spines, then a thin layer of glue covered with gauze, which was left to dry and peeled off to take the single spines with it. Tape and a facial mask left more spines in the skin, and more inflammation 3 days later, than no treatment. The American Academy of Family Physicians gives the same method in a 2020 review, with polyvinyl acetate glue and a mesh pad. Lift out the clumps you can see with tweezers first. Then spread a thin layer of white school glue, which is a polyvinyl acetate glue, over the area and lay a piece of gauze on it. Let the glue dry completely, then peel off the gauze and glue together. Clean the area and bandage it afterward. The AAP's home care page gives tape first for cactus spines, then wax hair remover, and does not mention glue. We recommend the glue, because the 1987 study is the only comparison of methods we found, and the 2020 review gives the same method.
Heads up: Use white school glue only. Do not swap in super glue, which is a different kind of adhesive. No source we read describes using it on spines or splinters.
Clean, bandage, and watch for infection
After the splinter is out, wash the area with soap and water one more time. Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly, as the AAD advises, or an antibiotic ointment such as Polysporin, which the AAP suggests once after removal. Keep the area covered with a bandage until it heals. Check the spot every day for the next few days. The AAP lists redness, red streaks, swelling, and pus as signs that the site looks infected, and says to call your doctor right away, day or night, if it does or if a fever starts. It also says to call if the pain gets worse after the splinter is out.
See a doctor for these splinters, and check your tetanus shots
Some splinters belong with a doctor from the start. Cleveland Clinic lists a splinter that is deep or hard to reach, one under a fingernail or near the eye, and one that went into the skin straight up and down (the step 2 callout covers the one pull to try first if an end sticks out). The AAD adds a very large splinter, and Mayo Clinic adds an object that is hard to see, such as clear glass, or one that does not come out easily, such as a fishhook. See a doctor, too, if you have tried for 10 to 15 minutes without success, if a piece broke off and you cannot reach it, or if the area shows the signs of infection in step 7. Check your tetanus shots after any splinter. The CDC's wound guidance counts penetrating and puncture wounds, and wounds with dirt or soil in them, as dirty or major wounds, so a deep splinter or one from dirty material belongs in that group. For those, a person who completed the primary tetanus series needs a booster if their last dose was 5 or more years ago. For a clean, minor wound, the gap is 10 or more years. Anyone who never had the primary series, did not finish it, or does not know their history needs a tetanus vaccine for any wound. If one of these applies to you, call your doctor. The AAP says to call within 24 hours for a deep puncture wound when the last tetanus shot was more than 5 years ago.
If the spot gets redder, more swollen, or more painful after the splinter is out, or starts to drain pus, call your doctor (step 7). If you can still feel something in the skin, a piece may have stayed in. Go back to step 3, and call your doctor if you cannot get it all out, as the AAP advises. Look up the date of your last tetanus shot today if you do not know it, because the rule in step 8 depends on it. FAQ 3 below covers splinters that break off, FAQ 4 splinters under a nail, and FAQ 5 glass or metal.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Tiny ones can. The AAP says superficial slivers that are numerous, tiny, and painless can be left in, because they work their way out as the skin sheds, or the body forms a little pimple around them that drains on its own. Remove anything larger or painful. Cleveland Clinic says an embedded, painful splinter should not be left in because of the risk of infection, and that wood and other organic splinters should come out quickly, because they become infected more easily than glass or metal. A 2007 review in American Family Physician says wood and plant material must be removed, and puts infection, the most common complication of foreign bodies in the skin, at rates of 1.1% to 12%.
Yes. Tetanus is caused by bacteria called Clostridium tetani, which the CDC says are found in the environment, and the CDC tells you to consult a healthcare provider about a puncture wound, a deep wound, or a wound with dirt or soil in it. Step 8 gives the CDC's rule for when a booster is due. Tetanus symptoms usually start 3 to 21 days after exposure, most often with spasms of the jaw muscles, according to the CDC. Contact a healthcare provider right away if they appear, because the CDC says tetanus needs immediate treatment in a hospital.
If you can see the rest of it, open the skin along its length with a sterilized needle and flick it out, as in step 3. If you cannot reach it, or you are not sure it all came out, see a doctor. Cleveland Clinic lists both as reasons to see a healthcare provider. The 2020 review from step 6 lists chronic pain among the long-term complications of foreign bodies left in the skin, and a piece of wood or plant material also carries the infection risk in FAQ 1.
If the end sticks out past the edge of the nail, grip it with fine-tipped tweezers and pull it out in the direction it went in. The AAP says getting a good grip the first time matters most for splinters trapped under a fingernail. If the splinter is fully under the nail, see a doctor, as Cleveland Clinic advises. The AAP notes that a wedge of the nail sometimes has to be cut away to expose the end, so leave that to the doctor rather than cutting the nail yourself.
Treat a glass or metal splinter you can see like any other, with tweezers (step 2). Mayo Clinic says to get medical help if the object is hard to see, such as clear glass. The 2007 review in American Family Physician says metal carries a lower risk of infection than wood or plant material, and that a doctor may leave an inert piece of glass or metal in place when it is hard to find or remove. Cleveland Clinic singles out splinters from something rusty or dirty for the tetanus check in step 8.