Toothpick-sized splinter through toe and into foot

[DunDun]

I slid on my wood floor and my sock pulled up a sliver of wood which then lodged in my foot, about the shape of a toothpick and an inch long.  It grazed the surface of one toe, went through my little toe, out the other side, and into my foot.  By pulling on the toe the small end came out of my foot, which I then cut off with wire cutters (soaked in alcohol). Then I soaked the toe and splinter in alcohol, and pulled it out the way it came with alcohol-soaked tweezers (it turned out the sliver was tapered, so I chose the best direction).  :)  

It doesn't seem to be tremendously swollen or tremendously painful, but they say that all puncture wounds to the foot should be suspect.  I've washed it as well as I could and put triple antibiotic on it.  The sliver looks smooth, like there aren't going to be little fragments left inside my toe, but you can never be sure, right?  Certainly there will be microscopic fragments no matter what you are punctured by, but the body can remove those over time, right?

What should I do?

[DunDun]

Had a general practice doctor look at it today.  He said it looked fine and gave me a tetanus shot.  

[DunDun]

Thank you for your help.

I called a local medical group this morning and they wanted to know if I want a podiatrist or orthopedic?  I'm not sure.  I think I will call tomorrow and try to get an appointment again.  I guess even a family practice doctor would be fine?  I don't go to the doctor often so I don't know how to do this.

More details: It happened at 6 PM on May 25.  The splinter was about an inch long before I cut off the narrow end, about 1/16 inch wide at the thick end.  Looking through a magnifier, it has sock fibers stuck to it, which worries me.  I've been soaking it in water with sea salt and cleaning it with alcohol.  Monday I scrubbed the wounds with a scrub brush to open them up and make sure there wasn't anything embedded right under the surface.  They bled a little after the abrasion, but there was no pus or anything, and the bleeding stopped pretty quickly.

Today, May 27, it feels fine.  There is no pain, the holes are closing up, the color of the toe is the same as all the rest, it is not swollen.  Even if I squeeze it pretty hard I don't feel much pain, just a little bit of dull pain in the middle.  If I poke the skin anywhere with a sharp object I feel pain, so my nerves don't seem to be damaged or anything.

If there are microscopic fragments present, how can they be detected?  Are microscopic wood fragments harmful, or can the body destroy them over time?

I don't know when I last had a tetanus shot, but I don't feel sick or anything.

[Dr_Aparna]

Hello,
I would recommend that you do see your local doctor and have the wound examined. Considering the fact that it is a wooden splinter and the fact that it has more than one entry and exit point it would require a thorough cleaning and dressing. Additionally you might have to get a tetanus shot if you haven't already got one in the past year and a course of antibiotics. You have said that it is not tremendously painful or swollen but do you have some pain and a slight swelling maybe?
What you have done is basically a first-aid measure which is good. Even though the sliver looks smooth there could be minute or microscopic fragments left behind. In some cases no further harm will be done but to be on the safer side do pay a visit to your local doctor.