Slivers
Michael Russell
January 08, 2010
Tweeze it : "If the sliver is sticking above the skin, it's pretty easy to remove it with tweezers. Sterilize the tweezers with alcohol, grasp the sliver as close to the skin as possible, and gently pull it out," says Louisa Silva, M.D., a general practitioner who sees plenty of slivers in her private practice in Salem, Oregon.
Needle it : When slivers don't stick out of the skin, sterilize a needle with alcohol and use it to push the sliver out from the bottom, says Paul Contorer, M.D., chief of dermatology for Kaiser Permanente and clinical professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "It's important to push the sliver out from the bottom," he says, "or it's likely to break up and leave parts of the sliver in the skin."
Slice it : Too often, slivers are deep and people poke and prod with tweezers and end up bruising the tissue all around the sliver site, according to Robert Matheson, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Portland, Oregon. "Use a new, clean razor blade," he advises, "and make an incision parallel to the sliver, right above it. Then gently spread the incision and pick out the sliver." While slicing in to your skin may sound gruesome, Contorer says it shouldn't hurt. "The top layer of skin is dead tissue," he explains. "As long as you use a sharp razor or knife and don't cut too deeply, you won't even feel it." Be sure to sterilize the instrument with alcohol first.
Clean it : Once you've got the sliver out, clean the wound thoroughly with soap and water. "Clean it really well," advises Silva. "There's a much higher rate of infection with puncture wounds that are deep and dirty." After cleaning with soap and water, Contorer likes to use hydrogen peroxide to make sure all the debris has been cleaned out. "The hydrogen peroxide releases oxygen, kills bacteria, and speeds healing," he says.
Squeeze on The Antibacterial Ointment : If the wound hasn't immediately closed up or if you've used the slice technique to remove the sliver, apply an antibacterial ointment like Polysporin or Neosporin and cover with a bandage. Contorer says he prefers Polysporin because fewer people have allergic reactions to it.
Needle it : When slivers don't stick out of the skin, sterilize a needle with alcohol and use it to push the sliver out from the bottom, says Paul Contorer, M.D., chief of dermatology for Kaiser Permanente and clinical professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "It's important to push the sliver out from the bottom," he says, "or it's likely to break up and leave parts of the sliver in the skin."
Slice it : Too often, slivers are deep and people poke and prod with tweezers and end up bruising the tissue all around the sliver site, according to Robert Matheson, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Portland, Oregon. "Use a new, clean razor blade," he advises, "and make an incision parallel to the sliver, right above it. Then gently spread the incision and pick out the sliver." While slicing in to your skin may sound gruesome, Contorer says it shouldn't hurt. "The top layer of skin is dead tissue," he explains. "As long as you use a sharp razor or knife and don't cut too deeply, you won't even feel it." Be sure to sterilize the instrument with alcohol first.
Clean it : Once you've got the sliver out, clean the wound thoroughly with soap and water. "Clean it really well," advises Silva. "There's a much higher rate of infection with puncture wounds that are deep and dirty." After cleaning with soap and water, Contorer likes to use hydrogen peroxide to make sure all the debris has been cleaned out. "The hydrogen peroxide releases oxygen, kills bacteria, and speeds healing," he says.
Squeeze on The Antibacterial Ointment : If the wound hasn't immediately closed up or if you've used the slice technique to remove the sliver, apply an antibacterial ointment like Polysporin or Neosporin and cover with a bandage. Contorer says he prefers Polysporin because fewer people have allergic reactions to it.
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