Why Does Bacon Fat Draw Out Splinters? The Science Behind This Odd Home Remedy

Splinters are one of life’s little annoyances. You’re going about your day when suddenly you feel that familiar sharp prick. Upon inspection, you discover a tiny sliver of wood or fiber embedded in your skin. Ouch!

Getting rid of splinters can be tricky. Some come out easily with a pair of tweezers. But others break off or embed too deeply for easy removal. When a splinter gets stuck and resists ordinary extraction methods, you may be tempted to try odd home remedies like gluing bread or bacon to your skin.

As weird as it sounds, the bacon cure for splinters has been passed down for generations. Devotees swear that laying a strip of raw bacon over a splinter overnight magically draws the foreign object out of your skin Is there any truth to this odd bit of folk wisdom? Or is it just an old wives’ tale?

In this article, we’ll investigate the science behind using bacon to remove splinters. We’ll discuss how it’s supposed to work, whether it’s effective, and the potential risks of this unorthodox home cure.

A Brief History of the Bacon Splinter Cure

Before we delve into the mechanisms behind the bacon splinter remedy, let’s take a quick look at its history. Using various animal fats to treat splinters and embedded foreign objects is an old practice. The grease was thought to help slowly work debris out of the skin.

The earliest references to using specifically bacon for splinter removal date back to American and British home medical guides from the 1800s and early 1900s. For example, the 1894 book Common Sense in the Household recommends bandaging bacon rind over splinters to draw them out.

Throughout the 20th century, bacon remained a staple home splinter treatment. An Atlanta newspaper from 1917 advised parents that bacon “will very quickly draw the splinter to the surface, when it can be removed with very little discomfort.”

Even in modern times sites like Reddit bloggers, and home remedy websites continue passing on the folkloric wisdom of bacon bandages for stubborn splinters.

How’s It Supposed to Work? The Hypothesized Mechanism

So how exactly is raw bacon supposed to magically draw splinters out of skin? When you dig into it, the purported mechanism is actually quite simple.

According to believers, the fat in the bacon grease gently lubricates the skin, allowing the splinter to naturally slide out. It’s the same principle behind lubricating a sticky drawer or squeaky hinge – adding grease eases movement. The bacon lets the splinter shift and work its way out of the skin more smoothly.

There’s no need to dig around in your skin trying to grasp the broken end of the splinter. Just grease the area, bandage it up, and let the bacon work its oily magic overnight. By morning, the splinter is partially emerged or ready to tweeze out effortlessly. No pain, no problems!

At least, that’s the theory. But is that what really happens when you coat your skin in pork fat?

Does It Actually Work? Evaluating the Evidence

Here’s the disappointing truth: there’s no scientific evidence confirming that bacon fat reliably removes splinters. The useful effect is theoretical only.

When investigators have actually tested the bacon bandage remedy on splinter removal, it didn’t work any better than placebo treatments. The classic bacon cure is essentially just an untested hypothesis passed down as fact over generations.

In a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2002, researchers compared results treating splinters in children using three methods:

• Raw bacon affixed with a bandage
• An adhesive bandage soaked in tap water
• An adhesive bandage with nothing added

After following up the next day, the splinters were extracted. The researchers found no significant difference in splinter removal success rates between the bacon and the two tap water/dry bandage control groups.

The study concluded that the mechanism of action (fat lubrication) proposed by bacon enthusiasts is likely invalid. Instead, they hypothesized the time and bandage compression, not pork fat, may be the true active ingredients allowing splinters to gradually work their way out overnight.

Risks and Downsides: Infection, Scarring, and Allergies

Not only is the usefulness of bacon splinter bandages unproven, there are also some potential downsides to be aware of with this home cure. Applying raw, uncooked pork to an open wound carries a few risks:

Infection – Raw meat can contain dangerous bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and staphylococcus. Introducing these bugs into the wound bed around a splinter raises the risk of an infected cut.

Scarring – Bacon grease left in contact with skin for hours may lead to inflammatory reactions. This can potentially cause more noticeable scarring around the small skin puncture.

Allergies – Those with pork allergies may react with redness, itching, or swelling when their skin is coated in bacon fat. People with alpha gal syndrome, a tick-borne red meat allergy, could have a severe and dangerous reaction.

While bacon splinters bandages are generally unlikely to cause major harm in most people, there are still some risks associated with using raw pork on open skin. It’s sensible to consider safer alternatives.

More Effective, Safer Ways to Remove Splinters

Luckily, there are much better options for removing stubborn splinters than resorting to questionable bacon remedies. Here are a few methods that are safer and often more effective:

• Soaking in warm water – A warm water soak softens skin and expands the wood, making splinters easier to tweeze out. Add a sprinkle of baking soda or Epsom salts to amplify the effect.

• Dabbing oil or moisturizer – Lubricating the area with gentle oils like mineral oil may help work the splinter free without the infection risk of bacon.

• “Splinter out” products – Specialized treatments containing acids like salicylic acid chemically react with wood to lift splinters out of skin.

• Sterilizing and tweezing – Your best bet is properly disinfecting the area, then using sanitized pointed tweezers to pull the stubborn splinter straight out.

• Seeing a doctor – For really problematic splinters, don’t mess around – make an appointment to have the foreign object safely extracted by a professional.

The bottom line is that while bacon grease seems like a quick home cure, petroleum-based oils, medicated agents, warm soaks, and professional extraction are superior options for troublesome splinters. Don’t risk complications by putting raw pork on your open wound!

The Verdict: Use Bacon for Breakfast, Not Splinter Removal

While using bacon fat to remove splinters has a very long history, scientific evidence doesn’t back up this traditional home remedy. Studies suggest pork grease offers no advantage over plain adhesive bandages or other placebos when treating embedded foreign objects.

And given the infection risks associated with applying raw meat to skin punctures, bacon should probably be avoided altogether for splinter removal. You’re better off gently lubricating the area with moisturizers or oils and coaxing the splinter out over time with warm soaks.

So go ahead and enjoy your bacon breakfast. But when you get an annoying splinter later, resist the temptation to grab that strip of leftover fat! Science tells us that bandages and tweezers, not pork rinds, offer the safest, most effective way to get those painful splinters out of your skin.