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Care at Home
  1. Tiny, Pain-Free Slivers: If superficial slivers are numerous, tiny, and pain-free, they can be left in. Eventually, they will work their way out with normal shedding of the skin or the body will reject them with a minor skin infection.
  2. Tiny Plant Stickers: Plant stickers (e.g., stinging nettle), cactus spines or fiberglass spicules are difficult to remove because they are fragile. Usually they break when pressure is applied with a tweezers.
    • Wax Hair Remover: Apply a layer of wax depilatory (wax hair remover). Let it air dry for 5 minutes or accelerate the process with a hair dryer. Then peel it off with the spicules. Most will be removed. The others will usually work themselves out with normal shedding of the skin.
    • Tape: Another option is to lightly touch the area with packaging tape or another very sticky tape.
  3. Needle and Tweezers: Remove larger slivers or thorns with a needle and tweezers.
    • Check the tweezers beforehand to be certain the ends (pickups) meet exactly (if they do not, bend them). Sterilize the tools with rubbing alcohol or a flame.
    • Wash the skin surrounding the sliver briefly with soap and water before trying to remove it. Don't soak the area if foreign body (FB) is wood (Reason: can cause swelling of the splinter).
    • Use the needle to completely expose the large end of the sliver. Use good lighting. A magnifying glass may help.
    • Then grasp the end firmly with the tweezers and pull it out at the same angle that it went in. Getting a good grip the first time is especially important with slivers that go in perpendicular to the skin or those trapped under the fingernail.
    • For slivers under a fingernail, sometimes a wedge of the nail must be cut away with fine scissors to expose the end of the sliver.
    • Superficial horizontal slivers (where you can see all of it) usually can be removed by pulling on the end. If the end breaks off, open the skin with a sterile needle along the length of the sliver and flick it out.
  4. Antibiotic Ointment: Wash the area with soap and water before and after removal. Apply an antibiotic ointment to the area once after removal to reduce the risk of infection.
  5. IF your child becomes worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.
  1. Symptom Description
  2. Should I Call?

Parent Care for Pediatric Symptoms. Copyright © 2000-2008. Barton D. Schmitt, MD
Reviewed/Modified: Jan. 2008 by Intermountain Healthcare, Inc.


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