Tetanus qeustion

[mia_jean]

My son got a shallow cut on his palm today on our sort of rusty fence. We haven't done any vax and I am pretty solid on this decision. Today however I'm wavering on if I should run to the urgent care and have him vax'd for tetanus or not. I probably won't but I'm really anxious about it. I did read through most of the archived information on Tetanus and I feel better than I did an hour or so ago. Maybe it's because I'm pms'ing,trying to build a chicken coop, dealing with my tween's second period...... The cut is just that, a cut. Not a major puncture wound. He just plays in the dirt so much....ugh. Anyway, I guess I'm just looking for some support or even a push to do something different.

[Fyrestorm]

First off..take a deep breath - The Dtap (which is what you would get) would have ZERO effect on this injury. It takes weeks to build up the antibodies he would need. You would need the tetanus immune globulin (TiG). TiG is a blood product.

It's a cut. Tetanus in healthy children is almost unheard of in the developed world. It is generally a disease of the elderly, diabetic and those with poor circulation. Tetanus can not live in an oxygenated environment.

If it bled, it was oxygenated. Clean it and keep and eye on it for infection. Tetanus would be the least of my worries?

Are you UTD with Tetanus? If you cut yourself would you go running off for a shot?

[Emmeline II]

It is not the rust that causes tetanus, so a rusty fence in and of itself is not the issue. Tetanus needs an anaerobic environment to thrive. A wound that has bled is not typically that environment. Keep it clean and covered.

[beanbean]

Also, there were only 12 cases of tetanus reported in the entire US last year.

I will have to recheck but I am pretty sure they were all in adults (usually the elderly or diabetics who have compromised circulation).

[mia_jean]

Thanks for the replies. It's good to breath and refresh my knowledge.