How to Remove Thorns

Video Transcript

"You know, getting a foreign piece of material or body under the surface layer of the skin can be a pretty painful process. Hi, I'm Captain Joe Bruni, and what I'm going to talk about is how to remove a thorn. The thorn type of injury some from some type of plant material, lodged under the skin would act the same as some type of splinter that would be received by a foreign piece of wood or other type of metal or plastic. The thorn will present itself much like the splinter. First, wash the area with soap and water, or disinfect with alcohol or Betadine. Then, absolutely clean a pair of tweezers, needle, or set of nail clippers with isopropyl alcohol, or even sterilization through some type of flame or heat, and then, letting the tool cool. Expose the surface of the splinter or the thorn, and grab a hold of with the pair of tweezers for removal. If it's buried too deeply in under the surface of the skin where the end of it is not sticking out, a hole will have to be made with a needle or the sterilized nail clippers to cut away and pull away the skin from the thorn. Then reach in and expose that area, and grab it with the end of the tweezers for removal. Afterwards, the area should be cleaned with some type of antiseptic, and then bandaged if there's bleeding. The removal of a thorn can be a pretty painful and traumatic experience for young children. Calming them down first and having the proper tools available for removal is key. I'm Captain Joe Bruni. Stay safe, and we'll see ya' next time."