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.
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
What’s awesome about this hack is that you probably already have everything you need at home. No need to run out to the store while your child is panicking over a splinter.
The mom says all you need to do is to 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, the mom says the splinter should just come out. The hot water and steam soften the splinter, which can help push it out of the skin. Autumn decided to try it with her daughter.
The mom shared their results
In her video, the mom shows that the splinter was still stuck inside her daughter’s palm after the five minutes were up. She explained that the splinter was deep in the skin, so this hack might work better on a splinter that’s closer to the surface.
It did make it easier to remove
Although the splinter didn’t just “pop” out as expected, the hot water hack did make it much easier to remove. After trying with tweezers for 20 minutes, 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.
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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?
