2006-08-14 19:30:55 · 5 answers · asked by birdwings_65 2 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ First Aid
Splinters under the nail suck. In the emergency department we attempt to grab them, from the end, with a pair of tweezers and pull them out. This is, of course, after covering everything with an antiseptic such as betadine. If this fails, we often end up making a cut into the nail over the splinter and pry it out from above. This usually does not hurt much, as the nail has no nerve endings and any pain will come from the nail bed as we extract the splinter. The nail will usually grow out at it normal rate, obscuring the cut. The whole thing usually takes only a few minutes and you have to wear a Band-aid over it for a day or so.
Since all of the pain will come from under the nail, topical numbing agents such as Burn Gel will not work...they will not penetrate the nail.
If the splinter is very long, or you cannot pull it out with tweezers (have someone else try, they are apt to have more luck that you operating on yourself will) then you should follow up with your doctor. Whatever you do, do it quickly. Splinters are often pretty clean, but the longer that it is in there, the more likely that you are to get an infection.
Good luck.
2006-08-15 02:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by Wayne D 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you can't get it out, try Burn Gel Plus for about $5 at Wal-Mart. It kills the pain after an hour or so. Once the area is numb, you may be able to dig it out.
2006-08-14 19:40:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Use tweezers.
2006-08-14 19:37:41 · answer #3 · answered by Christine 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
cut off the finger
2006-08-14 19:42:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
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2006-08-14 19:34:37 · answer #5 · answered by angelsrokk 1 · 0⤊ 5⤋