Using Baking Soda for Splinter Removal Naturally

Did you know baking soda could come handy for removal of a splinter? Read on till the end to know more about it.

Splinters can be extremely painful. We dread them not only for the pain that comes along with, but also because of the needles and tweezers that are used to pull the splinter out of the skin. As if this was not enough, you will have to pay hefty fee to doctor which will burn a hole in your pocket.

Removing the splinter is one of the most difficult tasks, but you can use baking soda splinter method to make it easier. Some people are using the needles to remove the splinter by digging the skin. It is one of the painful methods and also requires a lot of skills and patience.

You should look for an easy way to remove the splinter as like the use of the baking soda. With the help of this, you can save yourself from the pain and the other types of issues. There are many simple tips which can help out in removing the splinter without giving pain.

But we have a simple, yet tried and tested remedy to deal with the excruciating situation. It is Baking Soda. Not only it is effective, rather it works on all kinds of splinters- Large or fragmented, Biological or non-biological.

How to Remove a Splinter with Baking Soda?

Baking Soda being alkaline pulls up the fluids from the body. This movement of fluids towards the surface, brings the splinter out or on to the upper layers of the skin, along with it.

Take out Baking Soda from your kitchen cabinet and follow the below mentioned steps to remove the pesky splinter:

1. Make the paste of baking soda powder

All you need to do is to make a paste of the baking soda powder. For this, Take some baking soda and mix it with water to form a thick paste of applicable consistency.

2. Apply the paste to the affected area

After preparing the paste, you need to apply it to the affected area. If you want to apply the paste in an easy manner, so you need to take a bandage first. After this, spread this Baking Soda paste on a band-aid/ bandage.
And put this band-aid/ bandage on the affected area.

3. Wait for a day

You need to leave the paste for a day to work effectively on the affected area of the skin. The baking soda paste takes time to work for removing the splinter from the skin. Let the bandage remain there for 24 hours without any disturbance.

4. Take the bandage off

After waiting for one day, remove the bandage. Splinter would have come out automatically when you pull off the bandage. It may naturally come, if it does not come out, splinter must be visible somewhere near to the upper layer of the skin. In that case, you can squeeze it carefully and pull it out using tweezers. Take care to use sterilized tweezers. If you don’t have a sterilizer at home, use alcohol or boiling water for the purpose.

If the splinter is stuck in the deeper layer, it may take 3-4 days to come to the upper layer. It is advisable to change the bandage every 24 hours till the splinter comes out on its own or is visible enough to be pulled out with tweezers.

NOTE: Swelling is obvious in the area where you have applied the baking soda. As discussed in the working mechanism, it will pull the fluids which will be seen in form of swelling. So don’t panic on seeing swollen body part.

5. Topical anesthesia

When you remove the splinter with the help of the baking soda paste, then you may feel pain on the affected area. In order to get rid of the pain, you should use the topical anesthesia. It will help in reducing the pain and to give you relief.

With the help of all these steps, you can easily remove the splinter without feeling the pain. Using the baking soda is one of the beneficial methods, and there is nothing much better than it for removing the splinter. Follow all the given steps properly and get relief from the pain that you are feeling due to the splinter related problem.

Follow with the application of an antibiotic ointment. It is advisable to apply antibiotic ointment twice daily for the following 2 days to avoid infection and septic.

PRECAUTIONS

• You may be tempted to squeeze or pick the site of splinter. Don’t ever do that. It will only drag it further into the deeper layers, or at worse break it into smaller pieces adding to the complication of the situation.
• Use only sterilized tweezers.
• Application of antibiotic ointment is highly recommended after the splinter has been removed.
• If the splinter is in deeper layers, and you don’t see it coming closer to the surface even after two days of the application of baking soda & water paste; don’t hesitate to see a doctor.
• Bleeding may occur at any stage of treatment. Don’t panic. If it is uncontrollable, go to the doctor.
• Make sure you are immunized against tetanus.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Baking Soda is such a wonderful commodity. It was earlier in our kitchen cabinets only, gradually we started keeping it in our beauty cabinets; and now it is time to add it to our first aid kits as well. Baking Soda can be used for painless and hassle free removal of a splinter, no matter what size it is. It can save you multiple trips to doctor; thereby saving you from needles, scissors and tweezers that he would be using to take the splinter out. Moreover, it is a pocket friendly option.

So next time you have a splinter (we wish it does not happen), don’t run to the doctor. Try this effective home remedy to get rid of it in a day or two.

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