Question: Whenever one of my children gets a splinter, a distressing scene ensues. Either they run from the mean mommy with the sterilized needle, or they painfully cry for both of us as I try to be quick about removing it. There must be another way!
Andrea Candee responds: Yes indeed, there is another way -- it’s called The Banana Trick. Whether it’s a splinter, sliver of glass, remaining tick part or any other unwanted foreign object, the customary plan of attack for embedded objects is to go in after it with a sterilized needle. Rather than expecting your child to withstand this uncomfortable exploration (or worse) or leaving it alone at the risk of its becoming painfully red, swollen and infected, call forth the banana as hero of the day.
A ripened banana peel is rich in digestive enzymes. The drawing action of the enzymes will pull the foreign matter to the surface of the skin.
The Banana Trick
• Cut a 1” square piece of ripened banana peel to cover the affected area.
• Apply the pulp side of the banana peel against the skin
• Hold the banana peel in place with a piece of surgical tape. Leave on overnight. In the morning, the banana will have drawn the foreign matter to the surface of the skin, ready for easy removal -- or better still, the object may show up in the peel when you remove it from the skin. More deeply embedded splinters may require one or two more nights of this treatment, in which case you should use a fresh section of peel each time.
I guarantee that this is a remedy your child will broadcast to the neighborhood. Once she does, it will catch on like wildfire. It certainly did in my neck of the woods!
© Andrea Candee
Andrea Candee is a master herbalist, media expert, nationally known lecturer and author of the award-winning Gentle Healing for Baby and Child (Simon & Schuster), which received The National parenting Center's Seal of Approval. Andrea is noted nationally for her unique and successful approach to Lyme Disease. She lives and maintains a consultation health practice in New York and shares much of her knowledge at www.AndreaCandee.com.
