Originally Posted by a1penguin

I've learned the hard way that you have to take care to identify the location of a leak in the inner tube and inspect the tire in that location. Otherwise, you can end up with a second flat in no time. I like the idea of a cotton ball rather than my finger.

Also, if you are on the road and find something pointy that is so small you can't force it out of the tire, you can try putting a folded up dollar bill in the tire. Hopefully it will be thick enough to prevent the pointy thing from puncturing the tire again. I found a very small swarf in my tire on my one flat and was fortunately able to remove it since there was enough length on the outside of the tire to grab with my fingers. It was barely noticeable on the inside of the tire.