Causes

• Most of these are slivers or splinters of wood. Others are slivers (thin fragments) of glass, metal or plastic. A few are thorns or cactus needles.
• Organic slivers (e.g., wood or thorns) usually become infected if they are not removed. Nonorganic slivers (e.g., metal or glass) generally do not.
• Pencils contain graphite (harmless), not poisonous lead. Even colored graphite leads are nontoxic. They can cause a tattoo, however, and should be scrubbed out.