# Heads up on splinters, they could be more than you'd think.



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

*Addition to this forum topic: I'm going to have to see a infection specialist. The bone infection is very difficult to get rid of. It's a persistent staff infection. They'll put a stint in my chest so that I can give myself twice daily injections of antibiotic for 6 weeks. The prognosis of stopping it is low. The last digit of my index finger will probably eventually be amputated. So, Don't take cuts and splinters lightly. and if they fester for very long see a doctor. Geesh…. .This is one of those mountains out of a molehill thing. *

This is not like those stories of some guys who have caught their fingers in a sawblade. It's much milder but a heads up to woodworkers as it could lead to big issues.

I got a splinter in the end digit of my index finger long ago. i can hardly remember it. It was while moving some FAS oak boards. Like all of us, I looked at it, grabbed it and pulled it out and continued working.

For the next year I kept getting a bulging pressure on the digit. It would then form a small blister and pop and puss would ooze out. this would occur once a week or sometimes once a month randomly. No pain, just a popped blister. Sort of like a zit when we were kids. I brought it early on to the attention of my doctor who said I probably had an infection.

During my last appointment I said that it was persistent.. about a hear and a half. He sent me to a joint specialist. They took an xray and found that the bone in that digit had undergone several bouts of infection and the sides of it were scalloped out, damaged, deteriorating. You could easily see it on the xray.

I now have to go get an MRI on it to see the extent of the damage and to determine the type of antibiotic regimen to use on it before the joint is damaged. I've also got to have a head xray first because I also weld and if a metal shard is in my eye it could be moved by the MRI magnets to bad places.

I've had no pain or discomfort so like I said, this isn't like some of you who have had some real bloody damage that I've seen posted. No sympathy needed. But, if you get a splinter and the area blisters up over and over for a long period of time. Get it looked at or you might end up with an MRI and having your head examined like me!


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## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I get splinters a lot. My wife is a nurse specializing in wound care. She has seen this quite a bit. Therefor every splinter I get I have to come in, remove it, and soak the area in Hydrogen Peroxide (ouch). After that some Alcohol goes on (double ouch) then a bandage. I only follow this for the "bad" ones because I always thought she was over reacting, but after reading this, I will have to be more careful!

For me it's plywood. Every time I work with plywood, my hands look like a porcupine.


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## sandhill (Aug 28, 2007)

Thanks I will for shure keep it in mind.


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## Alexandre (May 26, 2012)

Amazingly, In South Africa, I always got splinters.
Here in Canada, I don't… Surprising…


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

I hope that everything works out OK.


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks for the info. I know what you mean about a seemingly small thing turning into a big problem. Hope you get it all cleared up OK. Last week I noticed one of the piles of firewood I have behind the house looked like it was tipping at the top of the pile. I went over and started pushing the split wood back into postion. I accidentally scraped the bottom of my wrist on one of the logs. Didnt seem like much of anything. Bled a little but was only a small scratch about 1 1/2 inches long. The next day it started getting really sore and for the next few days it got so bad I couldnt bend my hand down without a lot of pain. It was getting all red and swollen. I started to put peroxide on it and now its clearing up, but would imagine I will have a scare there the way it looks. Never can be too careful with stuff like that.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

Peroxide is a versatile liquid. I always use it on cuts, splinters and even use it as a mouthwash.


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## KenBry (Sep 13, 2011)

I wear gloves helps cut down on the splinters allot. When I need to handle things bare handed I almost always get a damn splinter so I just got into the habit of putting on the gloves.


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Something similar happened to me, although the timetable was much faster (months), and when the infection flared up, it just kept getting worse. I finally gritted my teeth and squeezed the spot like a zit (upper part of palm just below fingers). The deepest part of the splinter, that hadn't come out with the part I pulled out early on, popped out along with a blob of pus. I was really surprised at how strong the feeling of relief was.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Osteomyelitis from a splinter isn't something you hear of very often. I'm a little surprised you didn't have pain and/or restricted motion. You might just be tough I would have to ask Lysdexic, but I'd imagine that i.v. antibiotics need to start flowing your way. I hope everything works out.


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## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

Thanks for sharing, I figured you could get infections from a splinter, but nothing that was so mild and not noticeable and yet so damaging. I will certainly take better care of my splinters in the future.

-jeremy


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Thanks for the heads up, I must of had 2 million splinters by now ,but you never know as your story indicates.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 25, 2007)

A friend of mine had a knee replacement … got to feeling pretty good after a few months, and went into his shop just to clean up & piddle around. Got a sliver in his foot … infection set in … it went RIGHT to the new knee, and they had to remove it. He was in an immobilizer and a wheel chair for months before it cleared up. ThE they had to do the replacement all over again.

I had both of my knees done 8 weeks ago, and while I have visited my shop a few times, nothing but safety shoes, long pants, and an abundance of caution is in use.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Wow, Fuzzy, I had no idea! I had surgery a little over 6 weeks ago; nothing as bad as yours. Hope everyone stays healthy.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

"Amazingly, In South Africa, I always got splinters.
Here in Canada, I don't…" 
IT may be because of humidity difference. I find I get more slivers in this desert I now live in compared to when I lived in a much more humid Wisconsin. When I start to get slivers I lotion my hands to make them more pliable and this avoids slivers for me.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 25, 2007)

Bertha … thanks for the well-wishes … my new knees are doing GREAT !!! I finished physical therapy two weeks ago with better than expected results … the surgeon and the phys. therapy folks were wonderful … they were all like family by the time we finished up.

I've already been able to get out & mow a few times (on a riding tractor) ... weed eating & walking are still a bit difficult … now that my legs are finally straight, I have to get the rest of my bones to know how to react !!! It's really a weird feeling, learning to walk on someone else's knees, but it's not been a bad experience at all. They told me this recovery would be a year long process, so, at eight weeks, I feel extremely fortunate to be as well as I am.

I hope your recovery is progressing as well.


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## PRGDesigns (Jan 25, 2012)

I was handling some 16' 4/4 RO by myself and managed to drive a large splinter into the back of my left hand between my thumb and index finger. The splinter felt like it was directly on a nerve. I removed what I thought was all of the splinter that I could see parallel to the skin. I had a continuos pain in my left hand for a couple of weeks, but couldn't see anything in the wound. The wound never quite healed. One day, as I am concentrating on the wound, I happened to squeeze it a little bit. Out came one of the biggest/longest splinters I have ever had. It had gone perpendicular to the skin and so all that was visible was the pinpoint end of the splinter. The nerve pain in my hand went away immediately and the wound healed almost overnight. The lesson I learned was it is not always what you can see is the whole problem.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Heads up for Wenge - nasty stuff if you get a splinter.


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## Sodabowski (Aug 23, 2010)

Aw dude, talk about Murphy's law… I hope you'll be okay.


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