Removing a splinter from a 2-year-old's hand

[Adele]

I remember the salve jon_ramp is talking about. My father was a machinist and constantly had metal shavings in his hands. He used a salve called "Ithamal ointment" which indeed looked just like tar. It was great at drawing them out. I haven't seen it in years, though, unfortunately.

We had horses growing up and used it on the horse's all the time. I got bit on the shoulder bad when I was about 10 or 11 and they used it on the bite. I don't even have a scratch on me from it. Works great. I bet you can still get it from a Vet.

Adele

[atgcpaul]

Reminds me of the time I had my first tooth pulled. I was 4, about to walk to
kindergarten (can you believe kids that young used to walk to school with no
problem? Only 27 years ago), I bit into my fork while eating French toast.
The tooth didn't have a chance. My dad took me upstairs, sat me down, told
me to open my mouth. He got some thread from my mom, made a little lasso,
tied it round the offensive tooth, pulled once and it didn't come out. 2nd time
got it.

I was so prepared for what I had seen on the 3 Stooges--Moe tying string
around a door knob to yank Curley's tooth from his head. Thank God!

I don't know why I didn't put up a fight. I don't remember any bribery being
involved and no Tooth Fairy that night either. I guess you're kid is just
smarter than I was. I do remember that my dad did it so quick I had no
chance to react. Plus he made it seem like he had done it a million times
before so I had no reason to not trust him.

Good luck. I don't have any kids yet so take good notes for the rest of us in
case I'm in the same situation soon. Maybe your wife will have to have the
splinter since you're the one who has to pull it out for her and your son.

Paul

[Alex Franke]

Maybe your wife will have to have the splinter since you're the one who has to pull it out for her and your son.

Somehow I don't think she'll go for that =)

Someone at work here recommended putting some petroleum jelly on it and cover it with a bandage for several hours. She says this will loosen it up a bit and maybe it will even come out on its own. So we're going to try that.

Someone else suggested that there was some kind of spray-on anesthetic that might be helpful for any pain. Don't know what it is, though... Any ideas?

If none of this works, then we'll probably try the wood glue, then start working our way through the other suggetions. Thanks for all the ideas so far! This has got to be the best woodworking forum ever.

BTW, you're the lucky one, dsellinger!

[Russianwolf]

take him to the shop and show him the alternative meathod for removing the splinter. BANDSAW. of couse most of the hand goes with the splinter. While he's stunned, remove splinter.

[ejs1097]

Good suggestions. my 4yo had his first 1 in his foot a few monthes ago. He resorted to the same reaction as your son. We got it the next day with some coaxing. I noticed a lot of peditricians recommend just leaving it in, it'll work it's way loose on its own. I think the Pet. Jelly helps put mositure in and its easier to get out.

[JTimmons]

I remember when I was little, I went to the ol'man once and only once when I got a splinter after that I went or waited for mom. Mom was gentle and would work at it for a while. Dad on the other hand would immediately start digging. Grab my hand and hold on to it like he was wrestling a steer, then the old pocket knife would come out and it was on. I had make sure to tell her about it, when he was no where to be found, his splinter pulling authority superseded hers.

[Kristofor]

I think you may be playing this up too much and making it worse for the little guy. "If mom and dad are freaked out about this it must be bad!"

But then I came from a family with the approach of either show me your hand or your butt will be hurting worse! From experience, this was a very field expedient method, and seems to have had few if any long term consequences.

[scorrpio]

The best advice I can give is to take the kid to a doctor(rather a pediatrician than ER). This means several things:
1. Now there's three of you to do the job. Plus whatever assistants doctor got at the office.
2. Doc might have a bit more experience and might apply spray-on painkiller before pulling it - or give the kid some 100% legal tranquilizer candy.
3. If the kid screams like he's being murdered while the splinter is being pulled out, presence of a doctor should avert any child abuse issues.

Otherwise, all I can say is: You ARE stronger than him. Tell yourself it's for his own good, and apply as much force as needed to secure the hand open. Use your body weight, legs and furniture surfaces if needed. Pinning his arm to a table with one hand while holding fingers open with another should do well to steady it.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Reminds me of the time I had my first tooth pulled. I was 4, about to walk to
kindergarten (can you believe kids that young used to walk to school with no
problem? Only 27 years ago), I bit into my fork while eating French toast.
The tooth didn't have a chance. My dad took me upstairs, sat me down, told
me to open my mouth. He got some thread from my mom, made a little lasso,
tied it round the offensive tooth, pulled once and it didn't come out. 2nd time
got it.
Paul

This reminds me of what happened when our daughter was losing her some of her teeth. She had a couple that were loose and one that was almost ready to come out. Well she didn't like the idea of us just pulling it out and we tried using some paper towel so that we could grip the tooth. Well my wonderful husband , kept teasing her about getting his pliers from his work desk. When he stopped for a minute and went out of the room she FREAKED out, and thought daddy was going to get the pliers . I was sitting in front of her on the floor and she threw herself towards me and was screaming at her daddy that she didn't want him to get the pliers. A few seconds later she started yelling that the tooth had fallen out.

So we went to work on getting the next one out. What Mark was going out to get was some string and a stick. He tied the string to the stick and then to her tooth and then told her that all she had to do was pull a little bit when she was ready and the tooth would be out. So that is what she did. And was thrilled when the Tooth Fairy brought her some money for it.

Sorry to hijack this post it just got me to thinking about it. Oh and all the time that she is crying and yelling Mark was laughing.

[Alex Franke]

I think you may be playing this up too much and making it worse for the little guy.

We were actually being very calm and matter-of-fact about it. We tried once last night (not good because he was tired and cranky), and once this morning. We said we didn't want to have to take him to the doctor's office or hold him down, but that it did needed to come out so it would stop hurting and not get infected.

Otherwise, all I can say is: You ARE stronger than him. Tell yourself it's for his own good, and apply as much force as needed to secure the hand open. Use your body weight, legs and furniture surfaces if needed. Pinning his arm to a table with one hand while holding fingers open with another should do well to steady it.

Oddly, I couldn't help but laugh when I read this -- just the image of two grown adults trying desparately but unseccessfully to pin down this little tiny person. This could very will be what we end up doing though. This morning he was in mom's arms and I couldn't get the fingers open and the hand still while still being able to effectively operate the tweasers at what turned out to be a very odd angle. Plus all the crying made the baby start crying, too, so we threw in the towel. Next time she'll have to help with the pinning or the tweasing!

We'll try again tonight and see what happens... I'll keep you all posted. This forum rocks.

[MilDoc]

I used this trick on my friend's 3 year old. Adult Orajel (yes, there is an adult product with higher benzocaine content. Do not use for teething!) under a BandAde for an hour numbs well and isn't dangerous. But you still have to convince him it won't hurt. Use a lot of the OJ and a big (try 2" square) BandAde. Unfortunately the stuff I use in the office isn't available to you.

[Alex Franke]

Well, we did it! ...using a combination of these techniques.

We started with petroleum jelly on a bandage during the day, some warm water soaking after dinner, and then a looooong trust-earning exercise where we explored the splinter with a magnifying glass, talked about it and how we would approach removing it in various situations, and practiced a number of times on eachother's hands. I was filing down the tweasers while we very calmly talked about things like what species of wood it might be and how we might finally remove it when he was ready.

It took about an hour and a half of this until he let me try it for real. He held out his hand very confidently and very still, watching closely with a magnifying glass in the other hand. I went in for the splinter, grabbed the end, started to pull, then SNAP -- the tweasers lost their grip and the splinter fell back into place. Alas -- not what he expected, so he yanked his hand away.

By this time he was starting to get tired and cranky again, and didn't even want to practice anymore. After some failed bribery attempts with ice cream, we decided to offer an ultimatum: Either let daddy do it now, or we go to the doctor, or we hold him down and do it without his blessing. He kept choosing Option 1, but he wouldn't follow through. We gave him a last chance before we would make the decision, and then we chose Option 3 for him.

Mommy held him and turned him away. Uncle Mark held down his arm and pried back his fingers. And I held back his thumb and pulled the splinter out. It took about five seconds, and I don't even think he felt it.

And now I'm having a drink! I just wish I had gotten a better grip the first time in -- it would have been perfect. Oh well...

Thanks for all your input everyone!!! It was a great help! We're putting that tiny piece of wood in his scrap book!

[Warren]

I'm sorry but, I just have to ask. Is he an only child? I've found the thread fascinating, and followed it closely but . . . this seems like a lot of trauma for a sliver. And, when I say trauma I mean for all parties concerned, parents included.

I am glad that it ended well for the lad. And, now that it's over I'll relate how my dear, departed father would have handled the situation. He would have looked at me, wiped the tears away, and said, "When you want it to quit hurtin' and are ready to get it out . . . come see me. It'll only take a minute."

I trusted him explicitly to make everything better. He never let me down.

[drumpriest]

My dad was like JTimmons', about 1/2 of my hand would go with the splinter, which I think was out, but the thing hurt so bad that I didn't ever bother to check.

[Pappy]

Not dealing with young kids in a while (my youngest will be 30 in a couple of weeks), I hadn't read this thread until this morning.

My thoughts as I read thru the posts were what you wound up doing. Sit him down, with the amount of force needed, and get the splinter out. Reward him afterward, but don't use it as a bribe.

Then I read this:

3. If the kid screams like he's being murdered while the splinter is being pulled out, presence of a doctor should avert any child abuse issues.

What have we come to when the idea of child abuse comes to mind when dealing with a child's health and well being! No wonder parents are afraid to apply 'firm' discipline when it is called for. (I'll cut the soap box up for kindling now.)