There is nothing worse than removing a splinter — especially if it’s your little one who has it. Having to remove a splinter from a child is possibly as hard as trying to wrangle a bear.
They do not sit still, they have zero desire to be there, and they cry and wince in pain every time you touch them. Of course, parents are always looking for ways to remove splinters easily, to save them the time and the trouble they have to go through with their kids.
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One mom recently shared a hack that will change the way you deal with splinters for both you and your kids.
The TikTok mom shared that her daughter had a bad splinter
TikTok user and mom, Autumn Grace, shared that she was working with tweezers trying to get her daughter’s splinter out of her hand for almost 20 minutes with no luck.
Obviously, her little girl was not having all of that digging into her palm. So, the mom shared she had overheard a hack on TikTok that could make the removal a bit easier.
All you need is a cup and some water
Fortunately, all of the things you need for this hack are things you can find directly in your own home — which makes this hack genius because no one wants to be running out to the store when their child is panicking about a splinter.
The mom shares that you fill a glass with hot water and place your hand over the cup for five minutes.
Apparently, the splinter should just “come out”
After the five minutes are up, the mom says that the splinter should just come out. The hot water and steam make it softer, which can help push the splinter out of the skin and out of the body. The mom decided to try it out herself with her daughter.
After five minutes, the mom shared their results
According to her video, the splinter was still inside her daughter’s palm when the five minutes were up. However, she explains that her daughter’s splinter was very, very deep in the skin. This hack may work better with a more surface splinter.
It did make it easier to remove
Although the splinter didn’t just “pop” out of her daughter’s hand, the hot water in a glass hack made it much easier to remove from her palm. They had been trying with tweezers for 20 minutes prior to trying the hack, and afterward, they were able to remove the splinter easily.
Some people said that the mom didn’t “do it right”
While the mom was able to get the splinter out, many users in the comments said the reason that the hot water hack didn’t work right is because she didn’t do it the “proper way.” Apparently, the reason it didn’t work is because when you place your hand on the glass, you have to create an “air tight seal.”
Her daughter had her hand on the glass, but not in such a way where there was a seal to suction out the splinter.
Other people in the comments weighed in with their own advice for splinter removals
Brianna Jellison shared that everyone should have “good tweezers,” specifically sharp ones. She shared that growing up, her mom had a specific set of tweezers that were only for splinters. Now, she, too, has a specific set of tweezers just for taking out splinters.
The sharper the tweezers are, the more precise and easier it can be to remove a splinter.
Users also said you can use “sticky” things
maeveybaby said that using Elmer’s Glue can help get a splinter out if you put glue on the area, and then peel off the glue. Alleen Thigpen also shared that if you can see the head of a splinter, you can use tape — it’ll get stuck to the splinter and rip it out of the skin once you take it off.
Or, try Vick’s
Jodi Ann Dunn said that Vick’s Vapor Rub — everyone’s secret weapon — can help with splinters, too. Her grandpa taught her that mixing Epsom salt with Vick’s can help pull things out. She shared that he used it on her once when she had a bee stinger stuck in her and needed to get it out.
And use a medicine syringe
Medicine syringes, like the ones used to give babies medicine, can work by cutting off the tip of the syringe to create an open hole. Then, you place the hole on the area where the splinter is and create a suction there. Next, you pull back the syringe to draw out the splinter. Much like the hot water, except you are pulling it out yourself with the suction.
What’s your best splinter hack?
Last Updated on August 9, 2024 by Sarah Kester
