# My son stepped on a nail last night



## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

Not just any nail but one from a very old (20 years or so) structure I was taking down in the turkey coop.

The nail was old, rusty, attached to a board that was laying in mud (we've had lots of rain) in a pen that had pigs last year and turkeys this year.

He is 9 and had a tetnus shot 4 years ago but I am concerned about infection. I made him a doctor's appointment for this afternoon.

My husband (who is very anti-doctor) thinks I'm being ridiculous and he'll be fine.

He woke up about 5am with it throbbing and I gave him some tylenol. I put some hydrogen peroxide on it last night but there could be bacteria up in it that the HP can't get to.

Am I overreacting?

Beth


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## WindowOrMirror (Jan 10, 2005)

no, you are not. A doctor's visit is warranted unless you have the medical training to flush the wound. If it's deep, take him in.


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

he will get another tetanas once he sees the dr since it's been 4 yrs and a rusty old nail. watch for a red streak. No you are not over reacting a puncture wound can be a nasty thing. keep us posted. i will say a prayer for healing in Jesus name! JIL


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Soak it. Yes trobbing is bad, puntures need to stay open. Tetnus shot dosen't stop Blood poisioning.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

I'm anti-doc as well because 90% of the stuff people go to the doctor for they could very easily treat themselves. With that said, puncture wounds are a near automatic dr visit and a deep puncture wound from something outside the house *IS* an automatic visit.

Such wounds must be allowed to drain and heal from the inside out which means it must remain open. While if it were necessary you COULD do this at home the dangers of infection very much out weigh any possible reason for not going to a doctor.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Yep... what everyone else has said. One of the few things that are automatic is a puncture wounds.
And if you have any doubts...
A friend's kid was somewhere in the woods he wasn't supposed to be and stepped on a nail. He didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to get in trouble for disobeying....
That was one sick kid and darn near died. Serious hospital stay. Sent home with an IV still in and carried a bag with a line in for something or other for another month etc...
He was 9 too.
It was a bad, bad, bad scene!


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

I skip doctors visits quite regularly, lapping up my own lacerations and such. Been known to set my own broken bones and things even. 

Get the kid to a doctor and don't play around. A deep puncture by a rusty nail laying in the mud of a livestock barnyard is not something to play around with. Tetanus is quite unlikely, but there's a whole bunch of other stuff that's a whole lot more likely.


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## nomad7inwi (Nov 30, 2005)

I stepped on a screw last summer. Actually bled alot, but I knew it was nearly 10 years since my last tetanus shot. So I went in for the shot, the Dr (a friend of mine), saw me there and asked to look at it. She cleaned it out and cut away the dead skin and prescribed antibiotics. It was a smart thing to do. By the time an infection would become symptomatic its could be too late. As it happened I did start get symptoms, but the antibiotics were already fighting so not a big deal. A week later we had a goat get sick with tetanus, so it happens. 

BTW, second time I had seen a dr since we moved here 5 years ago. Drs do come in handy on occassion. This is a time its warranted.


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## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, my husband took him to the doctor (I am at work). By the time they got there it was showing signs of infection (red, puffy and starking to get red streaks). He stepped on the nail last night after dinner so that didn't take long. 

They gave him 2 different types of antibiotics. I'm not sure what they are yet since I haven't seen the scripts. He's getting them filled now.

I sure am glad my husband took him in. I kept telling him I was worried about infection.

Anyway, please pray that these antibiotics do their job and clear this up!

thanks!

Beth


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

what kid on a farm has not had a nail in the foot. Clean it out, get a tetanas shot, smack him on the but and tell him to watch out next time.


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## TRAILRIDER (Apr 16, 2007)

I did that years ago. Had to use a crow bar to pry the board off of my shoe! It was horrid. A doctor visit is not over doing it. I'd opt for antibiotics as a just in case. And hydrogen peroxide always works for me. Poor kid, that's gonna hurt a while. Mary.


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

soak the wound in a solution of Epsom salts and hot water, as hot as he can stand! i soak wounds at least 3 times a day or as the wound gets dirty on *all* critters!. check on the tetanus was a good idea!


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Yup, just had a similar issue. My Doc advised to do what Ford Major said. I needed to take antibiotics also for the bacterial infection..


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Epsom salts does wonders for deep wounds and infection. Soaking will keep the wound open so it can drain. The throbbing was an indication of infection. Even with the antibiotics you don't want this wound to heal over until the infection is cleared out. Lancing and draining later is much worse than the original wound. Get the kid some new shoes (if he had shoes on and the nail penetrated the sole) and make him wear shoes until the wound is clear and healed. You don't want new dirt in the old wound.


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## Wiste (Jul 9, 2009)

Puncture wounds are particularly prone to infection because the bacteria can get pushed in so deep you can't wash it out so I think it's a good idea. Worst case, your son gets another tetnus shot and you don't have to worry so much the next time he steps on a nail. Personally, if I can afford it I'd rather go to the doctor than die of something stupid.


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

When I was a kid (45 years ago), living on an old farm, I probably stepped on a 100 rusty nails (not all at one time  ).

Since he has had a tetanus shot, I'd pass on the doctor, unles it get infected.

What will a Doctor do anyway, other than inject antibiotics, even though he may not need them?


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## CottageLife (Jul 20, 2009)

I'm so glad your husband took him in - sounds like he already had an infection going on.


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## Shepherd (Jan 23, 2005)

I think you made a wise decision. Sure glad your DH got him in for the appointment.


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## VOR. (Feb 3, 2009)

The last few construction jobs I worked, I seemed to step on nails about once a week. I had a recent tetanus shot, so I never went to the doctor. However, I would always take my child to the doctor for something like that.


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## mtman (Sep 2, 2004)

a shot is good for anout 10 years now 
any puncure will get red and throb , red lines well thats a little fast for blood poisoin


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

No, it's not fast for blood poisoning. Dd got blood poisoning from a spider bite on New Years Eve several years ago. Less than 6 hours after getting bitten she had red streaks running up her foot. The docs in the ER said blood poisoning can occur in a few hours under the right conditions.

If you get a puncture wound even the Mayo Clinic recommends a booster if the last one was received more than 5 years ago.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tetanus-shots/AN01497


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## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, as of this morning, the red streaks have not spread. He had 2 doses of antibiotics yesterday. Hopefully we will see some improvement by tonight.

Great idea about the epsom salts. I thought I had a big bag but couldn't find it so I will pick some up today and soak it tonight.


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## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

If we had been building something and he stepped on a nail I probably wouldn't have taken him to the doctor. 

But since this was a really old nail, on a really old board, laying in the mud in a livestock pen I really was worried about infection.


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

never think that a visit to a doctor for such a thing is frivolous! any dirty wound should be seen by a doc! (and soaked! draws out the muck!) my doc regularly gives me tetanus shots even though the first one he gave me (nearly 40 years ago!) resulted in him having a bruised jaw! (from a startled 9 year old!) he warns me now when i get a needle!


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

This is so not something to mess around with. We had a puppy about a year and a half ago. The puppy had chewed up a pencil, we picked up the pencil but didn't vacuum immediately. My middle daughter (11) got a puncture wound from a pencil shred deep in the carpet. Honestly that night I didn't think anything of it at all, ran some hydrogen peroxide over it and stuck a band aid on it. The next morning she had red streaks going up her foot, it had punctured in by her big toe, on the side, and the red streak was up by her ankle bone (this was less then 12 hours later). 

End of a long story, it took us something like 6-8 months to clear up. She went through rounds of antibiotics, MRI's with dye to see why it was still infected, they were talking to us about a short hospital stay because the infection was not clearing up with an IV drip of antibiotics. I guess they don't like to operate on feet, especially where her infection was but they were also considering that. It was a horrible long drawn out affair, I had NO idea that night, NONE. She did up ending have a small in-office procedure just to drain some puss off to test the puss (she also had rounds of blood testing because her body kept fighting the infection and they were watching some of her numbers). 

Anyways, they said they think the puppy probably had some bacteria on her mouth, they said there was nothing I could do to clean it that night, they said a puncture wound, by it's nature, sends bacteria deep into the body and then when the item (nail, pencil, ect) is pulled out it automatically SEALS the bacteria inside the body, hence the infection. My daughter hit her bone, she never developed a bone infection but that was the worry because it wouldn't clear up for so long, it was a real bummer. 

She is just fine now and hasn't had any signs of infection for the last year so we are obviously in the clear. While tetanus is always a worry, like others said, there are plenty of other bacterias that could also cause huge problems.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Tetanus is deadly. You absolutely made the right decision. I'd go the the Dr. for me, cause I have not had a tet shot in a very long time. And blood poisoning is it's own separate issue.


Thankfully, the Lord has been watching over me often during my life.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

You can also soak the foot in whey if you have it. That or milk helps to draw out the infection. Also a soak in salty water a couple of times a day. Do the soaks even with your son taking the antibiotics.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

What did the doctor say?


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Joshie said:


> What did the doctor say?


See posts #9 and #22.


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