removing glass sliver in bottom of foot

My son is 13 and broke a drinking glass in the kitchen. He walked through the area with bare feet and got a very small sliver of glass in the bottom of his foot.  I have been trying to remove it with a needle.  He is soaking his foot in hot water and we have put a bandage with triple anti-biotic on it.  I have been unable to see the very small piece of glass to remove it.  Do you have any suggestions on how I can get the glass to raise to the surface?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

The following is a recommended way to remove splinters or slivers.  Use a sterilized pin to carefully remove the skin over the splinter, and then remove the splinter with a sterilized pair of tweezers. Sterilize the pin and tweezers by soaking them in rubbing alcohol for 10 or 15 minutes. Wash the area with soap and water after removing the splinter. See your health care provider if there is significant inflammation, pus, or if the splinter is deeply embedded.

If the splinter or sliver cannot be visualized, then going to the physician would be the next step.  An ultrasound could be done to visualize the sliver.  Local anesthesia and an incision may need to be performed to completely remove the sliver.  This is best done by your personal physician or a surgeon.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[lil sunshine]

My sister had to have a piece of glass removed from her foot, 3 yrs later! She didn't know what it was, went to dr and he said Plantars Wart. Apparently it was actually a "bump" from a sliver of glass.
Bonnie

[ErinF]

If it's that small, it'll work its way out to the surface.

[njben]

I do sympathize!  I stepped on a sharp rock in the summertime, cutting my heal along with getting some debris wedged up in there .. and boy was that a pain!  After about a week of no healing, I went to my doctor and she said 'That is a bad place to have a cut'.  What finally turned the corner for me was when I took one day off on bedrest.  I know bedrest sounds silly for a simple cut ... but it made a world of difference.  The healing started, the debris came to the surface, and in a few days I was able to walk almost comfortably without 2 pads on the bottom of my shoe.  Good luck!

[lindylooo]

A related discussion, painful foot was started.