dh stepped on a nail... tetanus?

[gilamama]

ok dh steped on a new nail, that he pulled out of something he built a few days ago. it was dark, we dont know if it was rusty, b/c it is dark out and we dont know where the nail went. it went through his shoe into his foot. i washed it with soap and running water several times and gave him vit c calciuim ascorbate 1000 (they dont have SA in this country) and put iodine on it. it didnt bleed.

he had tetanus vax 12ish years ago.

i am pregnnt and nervous and reading though the threads hasnt given me much to go on. we moved recently and i dont have any vax books unpacked.


can you guys give me what info you know/ have? why would he get the vaccine? why wouldnt he? is there anything else to do?

He wants to get the vax. He has food allergies, eats those foods and is very thin, I am worried abt the vax's effect on his system, but obviously i also dont want him to get tetanus (althoughit doesnt seem so likely).

THanks so much. -Gila

[motheringforme]

Contrary to popular belief, tetanus is not caused from stepping on a rusty nail. However, tetanus often enters the body through a puncture wound, which is why they seem to go hand in hand. The vaccine is thought to be good for ten years.

[Sileree]

This study said that antibody levels can remain high even after 25-30 years.

“The current recommendations are to give tetanus booster immunizations every 10 years to all adults. Some have argued that after the first booster dose, booster doses are needed only every 20 years to maintain immunity. Balestra and Littenberg have contended that a single booster dose at the age of 65 years to those who completed the primary series of immunizations in childhood would be a cost-effective strategy to decrease tetanus in adults.”

[“A Population-Based Serological Survey of Immunity to Tetanus in the United States.” New England Journal of Medicine.]

[Sileree]

Also, I know I'd read somewhere that vaccinating again when tetanus antibodies are still present is dangerous.

Is the immune globulin available? Getting revaccinated won't protect him from this injury.

[melvis]

You could have the dr. check his titer levels.

I was highly allergic to the DPT as a baby and almost died from it, so when I was in college and I stepped on a rusty nail... I was told from the dr. that I could not get the tetanus, it could be fatal and if I did get the vax it could also be fatal. So I walked around for a couple of weeks thinking I was going to die. Needless, to say nothing ever happened as a result.

I'm sure you're son will be fine!!

If you're really worried, have the titers checked before you have him vaxed.