2 Different Ways to Remove a Splinter

 My daughter is extremely stubborn when it comes to shoes.  When I think she doesn't need them she insists on having them, when I want her to wear them she refuses to let me put them on her.  Most of our conversations about shoes end in an end of the world scenario with wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Because of this she has gotten a few splinter this summer.  My method of removal is to hand her the ipad, wait until she is thoroughly enjoying Pocoyo, then attack the sliver with tweezers and a needle.

I kept hearing about other methods of splinter removal, so I turned to my trusty Internet friend and found a website that offers 8 ways to remove a splinter, I decided to try two of them.

How to Remove a Splinter with a Potato
You will need:
A potato

Directions:
Cut a potato into slices. Place the sliced potato on the splinter, yellow side down. Hold it there for awhile and hopefully it will get the splinter right how.

 I love that the directions say "hopefully." Apparently the writer didn't have much confidence in this method.

I set my daughter up with the ipad to distract her then got a sliced potato.  I have no idea what the original writers definition of "awhile" is, so I held the potato on her splinter for 10 minutes.

The Verdict: I'm not shocked that it didn't work.  Her foot looked exactly the same when I took the potato off.

Before Potato Application

After Potato Application

Moving on to method #2

How to remove a splinter with baking soda
You will need:
baking soda
water
band-aid

Directions:
Mix the water and baking soda until you get a paste.  Spread the baking soda paste onto a bandage, then apply the bandage to the affected area.  After 24 hours, remove the bandage. The splinter may be sticking out of the skin. If it's visible, pick it off with tweezers, and rinse the skin gently. If the splinter is sticking out but not visible, this may wash it away without further complications.  Repeat the method with new paste and another bandage every 24 hours until the splinter is gone.

I don't know about your kids, but mine have never left a band-aid on longer then about 2 hours so leaving one on for 24 hours was out of the question.  But I could shoot for twelve and see what happens.

I mixed the paste, put it on a band-aid and covered my daughters splinter.  I then put some footie pajamas on her and tucked her into bed.

The Verdict: Nothing!  The band-aid was still in place but the paste had mysteriously disappeared.  Her foot was completely dry with just a few speckles of baking soda. I guess this method could work, but who wants to wait at least 24 hours for a splinter to come out?  It would drive me crazy knowing it was there and that I could have it out in about 30 seconds. 

I have heard of some people using Orajel to numb the skin before pulling a splinter out, but I have yet to try it.  I never seem to have the stuff around when my kids get a splinter.