Splinter

A splinter is a fragment of a larger object (especially wood), or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initial pain through ripping of flesh and muscle, infection through bacteria on the foreign object, and severe internal damage through migration to vital organs or bone over time.

Splinters commonly consist of wood, but there are many other types. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), common types of splinters are glass, plastic, metal, and spines of animals.

Splinters can necessitate amputation; if it is in the finger for more than 2-3 days, advice should be sought from a doctor.

Generally, a splinter causes an initial feeling of pain as the sharp object makes its initial penetration through the body. Through this penetration, the object cuts through the cutaneous layer of the skin, and settles in the subcutaneous layer of the skin, and can even penetrate further down, breaking the sub-cutaneous layer, settling in muscle tissue, or even the bone. Some splinters will remain in place, but most will continue to migrate through the body, further damaging their surroundings.

According to the AAFP, some of the most common foreign bodies contracted by people fall into two official classes: Biological splinters, and Nonbiological Splinters. Within the class of biological splinters such foreign bodies include bone, fish spines, teeth, and wood. Within the nonbiological class some of the most common splinters contracted by humans are glass, metal, aluminum, fishhooks, pencil graphite, and plastic.

Rarely, one may become infected with splinters from more unusual sources. Common cases of exotic foreign bodies include sea urchins, insect stings, stingray spines, and even grenade shrapnel.

Splinters are often first detected by the person with the splinter in their body. There are many signs that a splinter has entered one’s body.

Many times, if the presence in a body is not known, but only effects are felt, modern technologies will be employed. Depending on the type of foreign body the patient is infected with modern detectors can range from Computed Tomography, Radiography, and Ultrasonography. If manual detection and localization fail, such modern technologies may be utilized accordingly:

There are many medical techniques to remove splinters safely. Common medical techniques include the Elliptical Technique and the String Technique. In the elliptical technique the surrounding area of the splinter is sliced in an elliptical formation. From there the flesh in the elliptical area is cut (in the shape of an upside-down cone) and the whole chunk of flesh, containing the splinter is removed. The Needle Cover Technique is limited to fishhook removal. A string is looped around the base of the hook, and as the hook is pressed further into the skin, the string is pulled, allowing the barbs to be unhooked from muscle and follow the path of the rest of the hook out of the body without snagging any additional flesh.

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Wikipedia