I know we have some medically knowledgeable people here, and I had a quick question that's worrying me a little: I was harvesting some peas from my garden and one of the nails on the trellis scratched my arm slightly by my elbow. The nails have rusted a lot... I didn't bleed or anything, just got the slight "white" color you get if you scratch yourself where you can see the scratch. Anyways I've washed it with soap and put neosporin on it and don't even see a red mark or blood - I can't find where it got scratched. The most concerning thing is life's irony... I went to the doctor today to get a tetanus shot as well as some blood work and ask some questions. But I came down with a sore throat last night so I figured I'd get the tetanus shot in a week or something. Am I fine or should I get a tetanus shot? I hate the emergency room! I'm guessing I'm fine since this has happened before where I got a slight scratch am I'm still alive. I've never been vaccinated. Thanks! (I always turn a quick question into a not-so-quick question.)
I think it would be unlikely that those nails would have the tetanus-causing bacteria on them. However if you were going to get the tetanus shot already, I don't see why you wouldn't get it now. You can be pretty sure that you aren't actually at risk (after all, there must be thousands of people that scratch themselves on rusty nails daily and don't get tetanus), but the peace-of-mind is definitely worth something.
They are unlikely because they are about a foot or two above the ground? Also I can see a small red scratch. Anyways idk what u mean by "now." go to the ER now or in a few days? I may as well go in a few days. I'm not sure that's good enough to prevent anything?
I wouldn't worry about it, I'm not a medical person, but I do work in a metal shop and we have plenty of rusty steel laying around. I've scratched and cut myself plenty and not worried about tetanus. You didn't break the skin and even if you did I wouldn't worry unless you stabbed yourself real good or stepped on a nail, or a deep cut. Then I would get one. But from the sounds of it, I wouldn't worry. If you were going to get one if a few weeks then get one, but I don't see the point (or the waist of money) unless you really need one.
Yeah, basically. If it was something like a rusty horseshoe nail that had been laying around in the grass for a couple of months after being in a horse's hoof then you'd have a cause for concern (funnily enough, this is how one my relatives got tetanus after one stabbed right into his foot). Sorry. I meant seeing as you were already planning on getting a shot, then get one, but don't get one specifically because of this incident. I'm not a medical professional either but like TeeJay I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
This. I'd be shocked if you actually got tetanus from a scratch that didn't even break the skin. But on the other hand a tetanus booster is a good thing to get. So get the shot, but don't feel like you need to worry about it.
My understanding is that tetanus is contracted pretty much only from environments where there are farm animals, and even then, the risk is pretty remote. Robert Mendelsohn, MD, a respected pediatrician, researched this extensively during his lifetime and ultimately came out and said that unless one was going to be exposed to environments where there was a lot of manure and farm animals, he did not recommend tetanus shots. But it's also one of those relatively harmless vaccinations so it's really your choice.
Thanks everyone I feel much better. I was planning to get the tetanus shot because I like to garden but I always have cuts on my fingers from biting my nails and cuticles. I do deal with those kinda of natural fertilizers minimally... There's some composted chicken manure in the compost mix I use and I fertilized with worm 'castings' so yaaa. I
In 20 years of practice, I've only seen one case of tetanus. And it took about a week before someone figured out what it was. It's that rare in developed countries. The reason that we don't see much tetanus is because most of people in the US have been immunized and because most adults aren't working in dirty conditions. Tetanus is a bacteria in the Clostridium family- a group of bacteria that prefer oxygen-free, dirty environments. These bacteria just love dirt and love the gastrointestinal tract. Tetanus is something you would get if you were a child playing in the dirt, a farm worker or if you did construction work and didn't get a chance to wash wounds afterward. Your risk is extremely low if your scratch was superficial, dirt didn't get into the wound (rusty nails aren't an issue as long as there's not dirt on the nail) and you were able to wash the wound with soap and water afterward. If you are working in construction or doing farm work, you should always be current on your tetanus immunization. Otherwise, it's not as much of a concern for most people in westernized countries.
