Have you ever stepped on a needle?

[mamallama]

Yikes. I have been sewing for a long time. My kids have been sewing with real needles since they were about 3. My girls have their own pincushions & I harp appropriately about using them...but in the end have to admit, I'm somewhat lax about the whereabouts of pins and needles.

This morning I stepped on a tapestry needle that dd had left on the floor. It broke off in my foot. The piece I pulled out was completely buried--it was deep--the broken part was 1.25". It went in at an angle. I'm pretty sure it didn't hit bone.

My foot is really sore. I'm kind of surprised that it hurts as much as it does.

Has anyone ever done this? Did you get an infection or need medical care?

[JanB]

My piano instructor accidentally rammed a needle into her finger while dusting her coffee table once (cringe) and after a few days when the fragment wouldn't come out, it started to get swollen and infected, and she did have to go in to have it surgically removed. If your foot is bugging you, I'd probably go get it looked at.

[momto l&a]

I have stepped on needles though none have broken off.

I just got the needle out and put H2O2 on the area where the needle was. Never had any problems.

[stellimamo]

I stepped pn a needle as a kid and just pulled it out and put hydrogen peroxide on it and promptly forgot. 3 days later I had a green line running up my leg, it was a staph infection. I almost lost my foot. Be really careful!

[falcon]

Dh stepped on one of my misplaced pins once : After pulling the pin out (it didn't break), he rinsed his foot with H2O2, and put on a bandaid. Thankfully, he was fine, but I'd definitely get my foot looked at if it was continuing to bother me.

[mamallama]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm a little worried about infection, but I don't want to take antibiotics unless it's totally necessary. I'm telling myself that the bleeding it did when I pulled it out flushed out any ickies that might have been lurking on the rug. It bled a lot.

It feels better. I soaked in the bathtub & then put on shoes & socks. Wearing shoes for most of the day helped. It looks bruised now, but it doesn't hurt nearly as bad.

[Dakota's Mom]

Stepping on a needle hurts for days after. But I think the worst thing is sewing through your finger. I got under the needle of my machine once. There was no way to get the needle out other than going ahead and letting it go deeper into my finger and then back out. It was horrible. I didn't want to sew for the longest time after that. But I finally did. Although I am much more careful now.

Try some Neosporen if you're worried about infection. And keep it clean. You should be fine.

Kathi

[fallriverfox]

Being a frequent needle-in-the-foot victim I would suggest just keeping an eye on it. If it gets swollen, really red, or starts radiating red lines I would worry, but probably neosporin or triple ointment and a band-aid are enough. It just hurts like mad for a while, even without an infection.

[Corri]

Letting it bleed for a bit was the best thing you could have done - that will have washed out most of whatever got in there with the needle. Definitely keep a close eye on it - previous posters are absolutely right. I assume the needle wasn't rusty or anything, but is your tetanus up to date? ( : from the anti-vaxers)

[mamallama]

My tetanus is not up to date...but as tetanus lives in soil & in horse manure & my needle was fairly new and never near either...I'm not concerned. Staph or strep are my big concern.

I'm kind of surprised by the bruising. I didn't expect it to be quite as extensive.

I found another needle on the floor today : I took dd's pincushion. She's still allowed to sew, but now I'm doling out the needles and monitoring their use. I'm annoyed. As if I need one more thing to keep an eye on!

[ColoradoMama]

Ouchie! Sounds like that hurt.

[SleeplessMommy]

I sat on a awl once :

A family member with adult onset diabetes and nerve damage in the feet stepped on an open safety pin, and got a very bad toe infection that required at least 2 surgeries. So good to keep them off of the floor! You can use a big magnet for cleanup.

[mamadodson]

OUCH!! Ugh that sounds so painful, keep an eye on it for signs of infection, i have stepped on them, but they didnt go in to far.