Remove any visible splinter with clean tweezers if it’s near the surface, then wash the area and cover it. If it’s deep, under a fingernail, near the eye, or looks infected, get medical help rather than digging at it.

Safe steps

  1. Wash your hands with soap and water.
  1. Clean the finger around the splinter with soap and water or antiseptic.
  1. Sterilize fine-tipped tweezers and grip the splinter as close to the skin as possible.
  1. Pull it out in the same direction it entered.
  1. Wash again, pat dry, and cover with a plaster or bandage.

If it’s hard to reach

  • If only a tip is showing, use tweezers rather than squeezing the skin.
  • For a stubborn splinter, a warm soak or warm compress can help soften the skin and bring it closer to the surface.
  • If needed, a sterile needle can gently lift a bit of skin over the splinter before you grab it, but avoid pushing it deeper.

Get help

Seek medical care if the splinter is deep, you cannot remove it, it is near the eye, under a nail, or the finger becomes red, swollen, warm, or starts draining pus.

What to avoid

Do not keep stabbing at the skin or squeeze hard around the splinter, because that can break it or drive it deeper.

TL;DR

Wash, sterilize tweezers, pull gently in the entry direction, then clean and bandage. If it’s deep or infected, get professional help.