Something stuck in child’s foot… pic attached!!

[SparklyOliveCat]

We were on holiday a couple of weeks ago and my child said they had a sore foot. There was a very small mark on their foot, and I thought maybe a minor splinter. I knew we would be swimming a lot etc, so thought it might just work its way out. DC hasn’t mentioned this to me again until today and said it’s hurting to walk. The pictures don’t show this but the area around it is swollen and hard feeling.

Does this still sound like a splinter? I can’t get it out as it’s under the skin and not sure what to do. Please help!

Did you swim at a beach? Could it be a weaver fish fin?

It's not a verruca is it?

They’d know if it was a weaver fish fin. Absolute agony!

I would call your GP surgery and ask if the nurse can have a look at it.

Sorry the images are under review. It doesn’t look like anything major in the pics, but the swelling is making me a little concerned. I’ve seen numerous verrucas and this doesn’t seem to be one.

It's probably a foreign body, impossible to say what, I've seen them pop out by themselves several years after they buried themselves in there with no ill effect. You could try salt bath to soften the skin and encourage it out. If it's starting to cause pain you could go to your minor injuries unit to get it looked at, they might X-ray it to see if it's glass or metal. Chances are that they'll put some mag sulphate on there and get you to come back in a few days. If your kid will tolerate it and it's fairly superficial they might numb the area and then see if they can get it out with a scalpel or needle.
obviously in the meantime keep an eye out for redness heat ooze etc etc

Maybe a sea urchin spine? I used to get them in my feet when I went snorkelling as a child. It can happen so easily. I think mine were dug out with needles, but probably best to visit the GP or minor injuries.