Tetanus and splinter

[TonyaW]

So I recently posted that I was considering the tetanus vaccine. I was just thinking that I wouldn't get it for my 3yr old unvaccinated son and today he has a splinter. So now I am worried. We were at the farm yesterday and I don't know if he got it then.

What do I do to prevent tetanus? I dug out the splinter, washed and used hydrogen peroxide and gave 1000mg of sodium ascorbate.

How do you all that don't vaccinate for tetanus deal with the concern of tetanus? Have your little ones who are unvaccinated gotten splinters. I am sure we all do and don't realize it but still it has me concerned.

[MyBoysBlue]

Tetanus is much harder to get then most people realize. I haven't had a tetnus vaccine since I was under 6 and I am now 32. I've gotten my fair share of splinters and cuts. I suggest looking into the stats surounding tetanus. It's pretty hard to get you have to have just the right set of circumstances.

[ammiga]

I just don't worry about it. We are not elderly, we don't suffer from circulatory issues or diseases, and people have been getting these injuries forever. If any of us got a deep puncture wound that didn't bleed, I would open it, rinse it with hydrogen peroxide, make sure that it had access to oxygen and healed from the inside out. Other than that, we live life like anyone else.

[laohaire]

This may be helpful to you:

http://www.*********/a/tenpenny1.html

Dirty, deep puncture wounds that are contaminated with soil are at greatest risk for infection.

It doesn't sound like a the splinter in question is of great risk, even if it happened at the farm.

The highest mortality rate for tetanus is seen in the very old and the very young, but on average, it is generally reported in most literature that the mortality rate is approximately 30%. Recovery can take months but is usually complete, unless unforeseen complications occur (1).

Yes, you read it right, complete recovery.

It is an article of faith, widely accepted by doctors and patients alike, that tetanus is almost invariably fatal, especially if the person is not vaccinated. This fear is so deeply entrenched that I have personally seen patients dutifully wait in a busy emergency department for hours to get a tetanus shot because they had sustained a superficial cut while washing dishes. Before I knew better, and because the "standard of care" dictates that every cut gets a tetanus shot, I handed these shots out like candy, believing it was better to "over protect" than to risk the development of a "fatal" case of tetanus.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. I might be worried if we were talking more like a manure pitchfork impaling, but you'd be seeking medical attention for that anyway.

[TonyaW]

I have read all these things recently and all the stats. I am still a worrier. So I appreciate the stories of those who have had plenty of splinters, lack of vaccination and no tetanus.

[Mandala126]

Originally Posted by TonyaW

I have read all these things recently and all the stats. I am still a worrier. So I appreciate the stories of those who have had plenty of splinters, lack of vaccination and no tetanus.

That's us!!! Completely unvaxed. Plenty of splinters, one in the middle of the forehead - my 3yr DD gets her head into everything, my 17mo DD gets plenty in her hands and feet. Some splinters I can't even get out. Both of them LOVE running barefoot. So far, no tetanus.
Don't worry Mama!!!

[laohaire]

I'd think you could ask the majority of adults in the world. When's the last time your average adult had a booster? None for me since who even knows when.

[alegna]

Ds had a hand full of splinters a month or so back. Never could get most of them out- waited for them to work themselves out. Totally unvaxed. No worries.

-Angela

[kavamamakava]

If it didn't bleed, it didn't even puncture past the epidermis. I wouldn't worry about it.

[puddleduck]

Both my sons are unvaccinated and aged 3 and 5, they are running around, playing in mud, we are surrounded by farms, they have loads of splinters / cuts - most the time the cuts don't even get washed until they have a bath. No signs of tetnus here.