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How To Get The Glass Out Of Your Foot Safely?
Sharp foreign objects like glass splinters shouldn’t be neglected, especially on foot where you often put your weight onto. Not only painful, but the skin affected by the glass can also offer a doorway for bacteria and fungi to access, thus causing serious infections.
So, how to get glass out of foot safely? When can you resolve the pain yourself, and when do you have to seek help from a medical professional?
Please follow the detailed guideline on removing the tiny shards out of your skin.
Contents
The Consequences Of Broken Glass Stuck On Foot
Getting glass on your feet brings no fun. When a sharp piece of broken glass tears the surface of your skin, bacteria, dust, fungi, and harmful can enter the wound. If the glass isn’t removed immediately, or eventually the glass stuck in foot for months, the open area can be prone to get an infection.
If you haven’t been fully vaccinated or gotten up-to-date tetanus boosters, you can suffer from clostridia tetani, caused by tetanus bacteria. These bacteria release harmful toxins into your nervous system.
Moreover, when the glass isn’t removed from your skin, your body can have inflammatory reactions. The affected area can have swelling or redness. There might be pockets of pus to push the splinter out.
According to a report by CDC in 2018, there were more than 145 million people visit emergency annually in the US. And the main reason for their visits is the glass got on their foot. Thus, this accident is common, especially when you walk on your barefoot outside.
Therefore, you need to get the glass out of your foot as soon as possible with sterilized tools.
How To Get The Glass Out Of Foot Without Pain?
Detect a suitable method
First and foremost, you need to choose a suitable method to remove a splinter out of your foot. The method will depend on:
- The area where the splinter is stuck
- The depth of the splinter
- The size of the splinter
- The direction of the splinter on your skin
Prepare essential tools
- Soap and water: soap and warm, clean water are simple yet effective tools to sterilize the pain and protect you from possible infections.
- Tweezers: Remember to use clean, sterilized tweezers to get the glass out of your foot. You can use this tool to remove pieces of broken glass or wood stuck on the skin surface.
- Needles: A sharp sewing needle can be used to uncover the hidden glass under your skin. Use a needle when the splinter is below the skin surface. And always remember to use a sterilized needle before use.
Steps to get glass out of your foot
As soon as you notice a stuck splinter on your foot, you need to find ways to remove it. This makes the glass removal simpler and less painful.
Step 1: Sterilization
Before removing the broken glass from your foot, you should sterilize your pain and tools to ensure that you are not introducing an infection into the broken skin.
Get into the bathroom, then wash your hands and the infected area thoroughly with soap and warm, clean water. Then, use a clean, dry cloth or paper towel to clean all water drops.
Next, sterilize your tweezers and needle by boiling them in hot water. Then, wipe them off with a pad or cotton ball of alcohol.
Step 2: Preparation
You should use the tools (tweezers and/or needles) as soon as possible after being sterilized. And avoid putting them on the floor or the counter as bacteria can stick onto them.
You can put them on a dry and clean paper towel while using them. You can apply antibiotic ointment to the affected skin area.
Step 3: Remove the glass splinters
Inspect the affected area. If you can see the glass, grasp it with the tweezers, then pull it straight up and out.
But, you can’t see the glass when it is covered under skin, which makes removing it much more challenging. In this case, you should use the sterilized needle to gently scrape the skin until a part of the glass gets uncovered. Then, pull it out using the tweezers.
You can also get the splinter out of your foot with suction.
- Warm a glass bottle with a small opening on the stove.
- When the bottle is hot (but won’t burn you), leave a little moisture on the area where the splinter is stuck.
- Then, press the bottle’s opening around that area.
- As the bottle gets cool, hold it against that area to cause suction and pull the splinter out.
Step 4: Wound caring
Proper aftercare is essential to prevent infection and promote healing.
- Re-clean the Wound: Once the glass is completely removed, wash the affected area again thoroughly with soap and warm water to flush out any remaining debris or germs.
- Apply Antiseptic and Bandage: Apply an antiseptic solution or an antibiotic ointment to the wound. Cover it with a clean, sterile bandage to protect it from dirt and bacteria. Change the bandage daily, or whenever it becomes wet or dirty.
- Monitor for Infection: Keep a close eye on the wound for signs of infection, such as increasing redness, swelling, warmth, pus, or persistent pain.
Home Alternatives To Remove The Glass Without Using Needles Or Tweezers
Besides needles or tweezers, there are some alternatives to remove the glass out of your foot at home, including:
Baking soda
You can remove the tiny shards out of your skin with baking soda. Baking soda can increase osmotic pressure, causing the skin to drive the splinter to the outer surface.
After wound cleaning, mix ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with water, then apply this paste to and around the splinter. Then, cover the skin with a bandage for 24 hours. When you pull out the band-aid, the glass should come out.
Duct tape
This method is applicable for kids since kids are often scared of tweezers. Press a piece of duct tape over the skin area containing the glass, and wait for 30 minutes. After that, gently peel back the tape in the opposite direction that the glass entered the skin.
Epsom salts
Sprinkle Epsom salts onto the sticky side of a bandage, then place it on the wound. Leave it there for 7 – 8 hours, then remove it.
When you pull off the bandage, the glass will come out. If not, it will rise up to the surface, then you can grab it out by using a tweezer.
If you don’t want to use tweezers, repeat the process using a new band-aid.
Vinegar
White vinegar and apple cider vinegar are acids and can shrink the skin around the splinter. Soak your foot in vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes. If it doesn’t work, soak it in warm water before bringing it back into the vinegar liquid.
Banana peel/potato skins
Banana peels and potato skins can be used to remove splinters. Place the skin of it against the splinter, then cover it with a bandage and leave it for a few hours. After that, remove the peel/skin and use tweezers to pull the splinter out.
Essential oils
You can dilute essential oils, like lavender oil or tea tree oil, with a carrier oil and soak the affected skin area in this liquid for a few minutes. Then, use sterilized tweezers to remove the splinter.
When Do You Have To See A Doctor?
Notice the signs
In most cases, you can remove the glass from your foot at home. But if the glass is too deep into your skin, you might need to see a medical professional. Otherwise, the wound would be more serious.
You should see a doctor if noticing the following signs:
- The splinters are large and break off under your skin
- Splinters are deeply covered by your skin
- Splinters make you feel extremely painful
- Splinters can’t be removed without hurting you (like fishhooks)
- A splinter near a vein or causes nonstop bleeding
- A splinter that stays underneath a toenail
- A piece of glass that is difficult to be removed at once
- You suffer from an infection (redness, warmth, flushing, fever, oozing pus, and chills)
- You haven’t had a booster for tetanus for more than 5 years
You should also see a doctor if you are one of the following people:
- You are more sensitive to infections, like a kid or an elderly
- You have a medical history of diabetes, lowered immunity, or diseased blood vessels
What will the doctor do?
If you visit a clinic, healthcare providers like those at an urgent care clinic or a podiatrist will:
- Assess the Wound: They will carefully examine the injury, potentially using magnification or imaging (like X-rays for certain types of foreign bodies, though glass might not always show up) to locate the glass.
- Perform Sterile Removal: They will use sterile instruments (e.g., forceps, scalpel) to safely remove the glass, often after administering a local anesthetic to numb the area and minimize pain.
- Provide Aftercare Instructions: You’ll receive specific instructions on wound care, including cleaning, dressing changes, and potential prescriptions for antibiotics if an infection is present or highly likely. They may also advise on a tetanus booster if needed.
FAQs
1. Can the glass splinter come out without help?
You can get small pieces of glass located near the skin surface without pain. Moreover, the skin might form a small pus-filled pimple to cover the glass splinter. When the pimple bursts, the foreign object will be pulled out with the pus.
2. Is it safe not to remove a sprinter out of your foot?
If the splinter is super small and located near the skin surface, you can leave it with no worries. When the skin shreds, the splinter will come out. But if the splinter is big, causes pain, or the area around it has an infection, you should find ways to remove it as soon as possible.
3. Can you walk on your foot after glass removal?
You can walk lightly if the wound is clean and bandaged. Choose supportive shoes and rest as needed—vigorous activity should wait until healing progresses.
4. Do I need a tetanus shot?
If it’s been over five years since your last booster and the wound is deep, consult a doctor during or after glass removal—they’ll assess and update your vaccine if required.
5. How long until I can shower or swim?
Water exposure should be minimized for 48 hours post-removal. After that, cover it if showering and avoid soaking in pools or hot tubs until fully healed to prevent infection.
Final Words
Now, you can confidently remove a glass splinter in your foot using this detailed guideline. The best way to make glass come out of foot depends on some criteria, including the splinter’s size and depth, the affected area, and the infection status.
Always wash your hands thoroughly and sterilize all the tools before glass removal. And contact your healthcare provider immediately if you cannot access the splinter or if the infection status gets worse.