Can't get splinter out of 2 year olds finger!!

[Washimal]

2 year old DS got a splinter in his finger yesterday playing in the garden. He won't let me near it, if I so much as try to hold his hand to have a proper look he goes ballistic. I tried to get it out with tweezers but there isn't a bit sticking out to grab onto and he was thrashing around so much it made it impossible. Tried to do it when he was asleep but he kept waking up. I've read that a warm bath helps it work its way out so we tried that but doesn't seem to have done anything. I don't know what to do. There are no walk in centres near us, so it's GP (who aren't open as it's bank holiday) or A&E and it seems daft to go to A&E for a splinter but on the other hand I don't want to leave it and it get infected. Any advice gratefully received!

Hold it in the warm water for as long as they will let you it will either pop out enough to grab it with tweezers or will come out by itself.
You need the skin to be as soft as it can be to make it less painful

You can get a paste from the chemists that will soften and draw out the splinter. It’s called magnesium sulphate.

Yup, magnesium sulphate and a lovely plaster. It's like magic.

This is going to sound a little bit ‘woo woo’ but I swear it works!

Get a plaster and rub soap onto the cushioned bit (use a BAR of soap, liquid soap doesn’t work). Then sprinkle sugar over the top of the soap. Stick the sugar/soap onto the splinter, and leave it. Some how it draws it out.

My mam swore by it when I was small, and I’ve done it myself since.

Hope it works!

Draw it out with a calpol syringe

@YouLikeTheBadOnesToo

This is going to sound a little bit ‘woo woo’ but I swear it works!

Get a plaster and rub soap onto the cushioned bit (use a BAR of soap, liquid soap doesn’t work). Then sprinkle sugar over the top of the soap. Stick the sugar/soap onto the splinter, and leave it. Some how it draws it out.

My mam swore by it when I was small, and I’ve done it myself since.

Hope it works!

Its called a sugar poultice.

Another vote for a calpol syringe

You don’t even need the salt and sugar or mag sulph - just stick a plaster on it and it’ll work its own way out. Please, and I cannot emphasise this enough, PLEASE do not go to A&E.

Just leave it- I mean try the various plasters, but essentially the body will take care of it.

Even if it gets infected, that will be a swelling and a wash of pus to flush it out.

Don't wrestle to hold your tot down to treat it. It will be fine.

Unless it’s really bothering him I’d just leave it. Our dc have had many splinters over the years and most have resolved themselves if they wouldn’t come out with tweezers. You could try the ideas above if it’s bothering him but otherwise I’d just watch and wait.

Drawing paste (magnesium sulphate) or sugar and soap as suggested above.

Get a sultana and put it over the splinter under a plaster and leave it 24 hours. Draws it out like magic !

Thank you @Plump82 All these years of having it done to me/ doing it myself, and I never knew that it had an actual name!

Besides the above ideas to remove the splinter, you can buy a local anaesthetic cream which numbs the skin called Emla cream. Its used in A&E to numb the skin prior to cannulating children/taking blood etc.

You can buy it from larger pharmacies or order online. You put a pea sized blob on the skin, wrap in the occlusive dressing and leave for 1hr. It handy to have in your first aid kit if you need to remove splinters that don't some out themselves or other painful procedures.

@YouLikeTheBadOnesToo

Thank you *@Plump82* All these years of having it done to me/ doing it myself, and I never knew that it had an actual name!

You can also use a bit of bread as well!

Please, and I cannot emphasise this enough, PLEASE do not go to A&E.

I knew I shouldn't have mentioned A&E. Just to clarify, I would only ever do this as an absolute last resort. I only mentioned it in the context of it being something I am really keen to avoid but reading back that wasn't very clear from my post! Unfortunately, I have a family member who left a splinter in their finger and ended up being hospitalised with a very nasty infection. They were told if they'd delayed going to hospital another day they would have lost their finger. That's why I'm reluctant to leave it and let it work its own way out as has been suggested, but I appreciate that in the vast majority of cases that's probably perfectly safe to do.

Tried the calpol syringe trick and it didn't work unfortunately. DH has gone in search of magnesium sulphate.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Wrap in a ‘Blister plaster’

Also - if they won't let you near it, I've done the magnesium sulphate and tweezered out at night when they're deeply asleep.

I'm sure it's morally repugnant, but it saved pain and infection.

Olive oil and a plaster for 24 hrs. It works.

Op did anything work?
My DS has one on bottom of foot and won’t let me touch it