Mt 3 year old got a tiny sliver in her foot..wood. We tried to get it out with tweezers, I tried the baking soda trick...and nothing. It's been a few days and now is a bit red and tender. It is fairly deep so it would take digging with a needle next...which I am not sure I can stomach..or she will allow me to hurt her.
Any other way I can get it out myself or is it time for a dr visit?
Red and tender means it's getting infected. I wouldn't dig at it. Call the pediatrician and get ready to take her in.
EDIT: Normally I wait for splinters to find their own way out and it often works, but after this much time and the fact that it's getting infected are signs to me that the method isn't working out so well.
It should work its way out. Treat with antibacterial cream (e.g. bacitracin) and a bandaid, and let her soak periodically to soften the skin. If any of it is protruding, you can sometimes scrape it with a credit card. Scrape in the direction it's pointing. Otherwise try numbing with ice - it can shrink the skin so the piece protrudes enough for good tweezers to grab it, and it can make it numb so you can manipulate things a bit. Also, a magnifying glass can help you see what little bit sticks out. Unless it's badly inflamed, I wouldn't go racing in to the doctor - not sure what he can do that you can't, short of lidocaine. Ask them if peroxide would help to bubble it up a little. A phone call costs nothing.
The last time I took the First-Aid course the new recommendation was to let splinters work their own way out, just to keep the area clean.
I know this sounds weird but put a small peice of a tomato over the splinter and cover with gauze and tape it up so it can't leak tomato juice all over the place. Leave it overnight and by morning the splinter will be gone.
It has something to do with the acid in the tomato. I don't know how it works but it does. I got a glass splinter in my foot and couldn't get it out with tweezers because the glass was so brittle it kept on breaking. A peice of tomato on it overnight and it was gone the next day.
When the splinter is gone treat the possible infection with an ointment like Neosporin and she will be fine.
We learned to put some ice and then some teething cream on the spot, let it slightly numb and then you can try the tweezers or needle. Otherwise keep it clean and watch for infection.
Unless it is really deep it should work its way out.
My daughter has gotten quite a few in her hands, from the playground at preschool, and she NEVER lets me come near her with the tweezers! Sometimes they have gotten a little red, but I just kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't get infected and need medical attention. And, miraculously, they have all worked their way out :) BTW, the playground got rehabbed and now has artificial turf! No more splinters! Whoo hoo!!
A good rule of thumb is redness one inch or greater from the site of the injury (in this case, the entry wound from the splinter) indicates infection. If it's that red, or getting progressively redder or more tender, take her in. It's better safe than sorry when it comes to infections.
