Glass in foot

[merryandbrightdelight]

Not AIBU but posting for traffic. Smashed a glass cup last Wednesday, got a small shard stuck in my heel. Saw pharmacist, used mag sulphate paste but it’s literally where I walk so anything it draws out goes back in. Can feel it under the skin and can hear the crunch with tweezers but can’t get it out!

Managed to book in with a chiropodist tomorrow afternoon - any ideas what they will do?

Maybe I'm missing something, but it wouldn't even occur to me to think "I'm injured, I'll see a chiropodist in a week". Why wouldn't you go to a doctor or a minor injuries unit and have them remove it properly?

If you have a minor injuries unit near you, hat would be a better choice. I'd simply make the cut bigger and squeeze it out, personally. Alternatively, I have a blackhead sucker that is good for splinters, would probably work on glass too.

The podiatrist will send you to minor injuries for xray and glass removal with hopefully a local or you go to minor injuries yourself.

I had some glass stuck in my finger last week and tried the drawing cream but it didn’t work. I went to the pharmacy and she sent me straight to minor injuries and I had an xray and they had to make an incision to get it out. That’s what minor injuries is for!

I spoke with a nurse after I’d done it who said it’s common, it’s literally a glass splinter, and it would either be a wait in accident and emergency (no minor injuries unit around here), or see a chiropodist who could remove it at cost, and said to try mag sulphate paste, hence why I saw a pharmacist.

Soak in warm salty water a couple of times a day ,use mag sulph and cover with a plaster to keep it soft. See the nurse at the GP if it doesn't come out in a couple of days.

A podiatrist removed glass from my toe once. It wasn’t all that painful at all and it cleared up very quickly.

I would go to A&E at a quiet time. They will want to x-ray (some might be left in if done without x-ray) and yes they will just open it up further to get it out!
I broke a glass bowl at a friend's house in 1991 (as a young adult) and stepped on a bit - still remember that moment. It's horrible.

Ah perfect! Did it take them long? Was it very far under the skin?

I had this decades ago and went to a&e. Minor injuries wasn’t a thing. They put local anaesthetic in and dug about and got it. Mine was actually metal wire fragments not glass but I imagine it’s the same to get out.

Did this myself years ago, stepped on a glass from a broken window (dodgy neighbours) and fiddled til I got both bits out that were grinding together as I walked! Think I soaked it first. I've never had any success with mag sulf.

The podiatrist will sort it.

I had glass in my foot a while ago. Went to A&E and they insisted on x-raying it. If they found anything they said I'd have to book in for local anaesthetic to get it removed. The x-ray didn't spot the glass so they poo-poo'd me and told me it was fine.
Remembered we have a podiatrist in town once I left the hospital. Limped there and he removed a shard of glass shortly afterwards.

I complained to PALS about the
hospital wasting time with an x-ray that failed to spot the glass when the nurse insisted it would.

Probably about 0.5 cm in. I didn’t know if it was glass or a thorn or something else, it was just very painful so he just took a small scalpel and went rooting around. He got a fair few shards out.

Years ago as a kid, I had leaned forward and brushed my arm across my trousers. There was a bit of glass there from an earlier smashed glass and it ended up in my forearm, it was awful. I managed to manipulate it back out over the next few days, but it broke up into 3/4 pieces and was a case of piercing the skin to get it out. So highly recommend seeking medical help!

@merryandbrightdelight Compeed blisters plasters are brilliant for drawing out thorns, splinters so would be worth trying.

Just an update - all out!

@merryandbrightdelight did you manage on your own op? Or did someone else do it?

@CatchTheWind1920Ended up at a walk in I was nearby, two X-rays and she got it out with a needle - it was less than half the size of a grain of rice!