Splinter sensation in finger

Earlier this week, I was sitting on the sofa using my laptop, and out of nowhere, I had a splinter feeling in my right ring finger, on the left side of the front segment. The sharp pain is typically felt when the area is brushed (e.g. a finger or something else slides against it, even gently), not pressed. The pain was worst the first day, but persisted to today, and seems to worsen or become more noticeable after washing hands or showering (not sure if due to touching it more or the water). No other sensations in that finger or the others.

No splinter was found, by myself, nor at the urgent care clinic or dermatologist. To try to find a splinter, I tried a warm water soak, baking soda bath, scouring the area for hours, flashlight held against finger. Urgent care doctor said it may look dry, so try vaseline twice a day for 3-4 days. I first applied it yesterday and it did not seem to help; still felt it to no lesser degree hours later. Also, the sensation sometimes feels deeper than the top skin layer. Dermatologist today, who admittedly did a relatively brief look through her magnifying tool, did not even say the skin looked dry; she said skin-wise everything looks fine.

Urgent care doc and a redditor also opined that it's unlikely to be peripheral neuropathy. My B12 level is around 400, down from 600 a few months ago. I've been vegan since Jan, consuming supplemental B12 50 mcg daily, and added an additional 500 mcg 2 days ago. Urgent care doc said B12 deficiency symptoms typically appear only with a profound sustained deficiency. Redditor suggested that since the pain is localized and only felt on a specific type of contact, it doesn't sound like neuropathy to their knowledge. On a couple of nights since January I had numbness and/or pins and needles in one hand or the other but since it happened rarely I chalk that up to sleeping in a bad position.

Does this sharp sensation sound like a neurological issue? Vein issue? Or a skin issue after all? What's the next step if it persists? A neurologist? What kind of imaging could find out what's wrong (ideally not a CT scan due to the radiation amount)? An x-ray is apparently generally bad at finding splinters but could it detect if there's a small injury or other issue here? Or should I continue the urgent care's suggestion of vaseline although the dermatologist found nothing wrong?