I stepped on a nail.. What is going to happen??!
Question: I stepped on a nail this morning.. it was sticking out of the wall from the side of the stairs and cut the back of my foot. The nail is about 1 or 2 centimeters long. It started bleeding but I had to go to school so I just put a bandaid on and carried on with my day. Now I am home and have read about Tetanus and other things that might happen.. I checked the nails, and not a lot if any of them appear to be rusted. I was wearing only a thin sock when I cut my foot, and I am 13 years old. My mother does not know when I was last vaccinated but she states that I "probably got one when I was younger". My mother is planning to call my doctor when she gets home from work tommorow (around 11am) and is going to take me there for a shot. From the time of me typing this, It has been approx. 14 hours since cutting my foot. Right now there is some Neosporin and a bandage on the cut. Is there anything I can do? I think I might be overreacting but I really don't know...
Answers: I stepped on a nail this morning.. it was sticking out of the wall from the side of the stairs and cut the back of my foot. The nail is about 1 or 2 centimeters long. It started bleeding but I had to go to school so I just put a bandaid on and carried on with my day. Now I am home and have read about Tetanus and other things that might happen.. I checked the nails, and not a lot if any of them appear to be rusted. I was wearing only a thin sock when I cut my foot, and I am 13 years old. My mother does not know when I was last vaccinated but she states that I "probably got one when I was younger". My mother is planning to call my doctor when she gets home from work tommorow (around 11am) and is going to take me there for a shot. From the time of me typing this, It has been approx. 14 hours since cutting my foot. Right now there is some Neosporin and a bandage on the cut. Is there anything I can do? I think I might be overreacting but I really don't know...
Don't worry. Nails themselves, even rusty ones (which is just the metal breaking down) do NOT all carry tetanus. Tetanus is a bacteria found in dirt and animal intestines (and their poop--like horses & cows). They used to have nails in the pasture fences and wounds from those nails allowed dirt & possibly tetanus spores to enter the wound (that's where the rusty nail stuff came from). Also, tetanus has been part of almost all your vaccinations so even if you are due, you have a partial immunity. Then its a booster every ten years (not sooner as that is leading to tetanus allergies).
More likely than tetanus is infection--and sounds like you have been keeping it clean. Signs of an infection are increasing pain, reddness, warmth, and pus.
You'll need to go for a tetanus booster injection - one tetantus vaccination isn't enough for a lifetime, people need boosters after accidents like that. As long as the cut was cleaned properly and disinfected, the booster should sort you out.
take a pen and draw a line to where it is swollen for reference. now cut this section of your foot off...
haha just kidding. yah, like the other guy said, get a tetanus shot. this same thing happened to me a couple years back, you get the choice of either the needle in the shoulder or the butt. not a huge needle, about an inch and a half or so as it goes into the muscle.
Keep it clean...I would pour hydrogen peroxide on it. It will most likely sting but it will clean it really well. Neosporin and a bandaid is the best thing to do after you clean it. You will need to get a tetanus shot...you get vaccinated when you about 1-2 years old...you're supposed to get a tetanus booster every 10 years....hope this helps!
The doctor's office should know when you had your last tetanus shot. If it has been more than 8-10 years you will need another one. It's really good to keep track of timing in the future because any kind of cut can let infection into the blood stream.
If the nail had been rusty I wouldn't want to wait too long but sounds like if you keep it clean and use antibiotic cream you will probably be ok.
I stepped on a nail and it went over an inch into the bottom of my foot so in that case was more of a pain than the shot needed.
as long as you had a tetanus shot less than ten years ago, you will be fine. But, if not, you need to get one as soon as possible. As you are thirteen, I wouldn't worry too much, most immunization schedules include a tetanus booster just before you start first grade, in fact, most schools require it.