# Tetanus shot question



## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

Today my 4 r old ds's babysitter took him to the pool. When they got home she said he has stepped on a rusty thumbtack 

First, I am very over protective and this is a new babysitter and I have been trying to trust a little bit to have ds with her- she is fine, kind of inexperiencedm early 20's.

I know being as protective as I am I would not have missed that rusty tack and let him step on it. Anyway I was kind of upset.

So I guess he stepped on it, it didn't go all the way in. There was a drop or two of blood. She then took him back in the pool- ( she shold have cleaned it right away) and when he said it hurt ( I think a few minutes in? have to ask her tomorrow) the lifeguard disinfected it and put a bandaid on it.

Then they came home, and told me. I put him in the bath and wased it with soap and warm water. then disinfected it ( I just had wich hazel at the house) and put a bandaid on it, and socks.

It looks like just a little small pinprick pink dot, and then two scrapes. She sadi he scraped it more than a big pncture.

It was clean when I saw it and didn't get any dirt in it. He was slightly limping on it, but alternating with running.

I called his doctor to ask if we needed to get a tetanus shot. DS has no vax's. It took a whle for the doctor;s office to get back to me ( they called and I missed the message, I called back) I finally spoke to the nurse and explained it. She said she had to ask the doctor and call me back. They didn't call back so I have to call again tomorrow.

Meanwhile I know tetanus is very dangerous. I am not sure what to do. I feel like maybe I shold bring him into the doctor. Of course I am waiting to see tomorrow what they say. We live a little far from his doctor because we used to live closer to the doctor and then moved but like the doctor. 

Anyway- ds seesm fine, the wound is clean and just looks like two scratches and a dot. The thing is it was a rusty tack.

So my main thing is does he need a tetanus shot?
Also, I am workkingg on trying to trust more with other people caring for my ds. I am very attached and protective, but need help this summer and so hired a babysitter. She has been pretty good so far- pretty new, but I am upset that she let him step on a rusty tack! not sure how to deal with her on that level.

mostly I want advice on if ds needs a tetanus shot or not.


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## Ratchet (Mar 24, 2011)

Probably the doctor will say yes b/c that's the standard medical answer/recommendation. It would be both the vaccine plus the immune globulin that would probably be recommended. Unless the Dr is anti-vax or super non-vax-supportive. 

Tetanus is transmitted primarily in dirt, animal poop, not so much in a pool/concrete type environment (like, was DS at a public/town pool?). Rust is not the issue. The puncture plus the bacteria is the issue. A shallow wound is less at risk than a deeper one. 

So, with any vaccine decision, it's balancing those facts- tetanus is a big deal, the official recommendation will be to do it, overall it sounds like the injury is probably low risk, i imagine you have felt the vaccine is high risk as you have chosen not to do it, and there are no guarantees with all this. 

As to your other point- I have stepped on many tacks in my life, it is not always avoidable, and I don't think this in particular makes your babysitter negligent. I could certainly imagine my own DD stepping on a tack under my supervision, as much as I would try to protect her. I would think it was a bummer but no big deal. 

Bacterial skin infections would be more likely than tetanus (although still uncommon) so just keep it clean and covered and check it daily for that.


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

Putting him in a chlorinated pool is as effective a cleaning method as any other. And probably more effective than some.

I think if you're going to allow a child to play outside you have to be prepared for them to get minor injuries fairly frequently, regardless of who is looking after them. By all means, provide the babysitter with a first aid kit and tell her how you would like her to treat small wounds but it is unrealistic and unfair to expect her to prevent all or even most injuries IMO. If this is not within your comfort zone then I think you will have to restrict them to indoor, at home activities only.


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

the doctor called back ( the nurse) and said they recommend the tetanus shot today  I am so bummed. what shoudl I do???


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

so, I am bringing hm to the doctor today but they can see him for another 5 hours. They aid as long as the shot is within 72 hrs. ugh. so I am still unsure what I will do. I want the docotor to look at the injury and am hoping he will say it is so minor he doesn't need the shot but I think he will push the shot. And I have to decide. I may get it- but I am so sad about it. Please adv ise??? what would you do???


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## Snappy5 (Jul 9, 2014)

Snapdragon said:


> so, I am bringing hm to the doctor today but they can see him for another 5 hours. They aid as long as the shot is within 72 hrs. ugh. so I am still unsure what I will do. I want the docotor to look at the injury and am hoping he will say it is so minor he doesn't need the shot but I think he will push the shot. And I have to decide. I may get it- but I am so sad about it. Please adv ise??? what would you do???


I was anti-vax but am now a cautious vaxxer, the protocol I do every time we have a shot is: major doses of vit c (thankfully you can't overdose!) I use bentonite clay on the wound site afterwards, and I give probiotics along with a homeopathic remedy. With the tetanus shot as it has aluminium in I also give zinc as it's good for flushing that out and I do Epsom salt baths to help detox the shot too. My LO has not reacted to a single shot yet...

You might have already had the shot now but you can still do some of the above. I continue for like a week afterwards x


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

everyone I have talked to about it nurse/my parents/my sisters/my husband all say we should get the shot. What do you all think? I have about 5 hrs till the doctor appointment. I am so sad. I am scared about possible side effects. The tack did not go very deep. It was more of a scrape and a small puncture. 

Do you guys think we should give the shot or not??


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

also, I am pissed at the sitter. She is just young and inexperienced. She said she did see the tack- it had a plastic back and a metal point and and the rust was on the sharp part  and rather than picking it up and putting it in the garbage or her pocket, she threw it into the grass next to them- while talking on the phone to me ( I was checking in) , and then ds saw it and tried to pick it up with his foot ( he is 4 years old). How annoying of her I mean basic safety- kid with barefeet- rusty tack, don't throw it in a place he can step on it. jeez, how totally lame. She could have easily prevented this. I am so sad. my baby.


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

any more thoughts? we see the doctor in a little over an hour. The wound is now tiny and almost all the way closed up- it was quite small. I hate to do a vax for something that really doesn't need it . . . but at the same time I hat eto put my ds at risk for tetanus? Can someone else please give me advice??


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## Ratchet (Mar 24, 2011)

This is now a done deal- you have probably had the appt- but you are looking for other people to make a choice for you about something for which there is no "right" answer. You don't get to just choose to avoid all risk. You will have to deal with exposures to many of the vaccine preventable diseases in your kiddos life (flu, chicken pox, whooping cough) and are going to be pressured in one way or another at every turn- going to school, when the next outbreak of whatever comes around, the next time he steps on a nail (either soon, if you don't vax today, or in 5 years from now, if you do). Your expectations of the world being safe are unrealistic, and if you bring your kiddo in for every bump and bruise, you had better expect the Dr is going to advise vaccination. Like, if you don't believe in the standard medical party line on vaccines, then stop asking a standard medical professional for advise. There is no reason to bring you kid in today- you made your vaccine decision knowing the risk/benefit balance and decided it wasn't worth it- did you assume your child would never ever have any kind of incredibly minor puncture wound? I know you are anxious now, I feel really harsh saying this, but this is the reality of parenting. 

If the Dr suggests only Dtap and not TIg, it could be b/c they aren't worried, or forgot (as someone mentioned in a related post on a major burn wound) or just that they don't want you to come to their office with every minor injury and assume that based on your actions you don't really stand behind your non-vaxxing beliefs.


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

I thought they give something else for tetanus if the injury already happened. I think some of the delayed vax threads on tetanua pros and cons list what it is. I'd go with that if you are going with anything and have time to decide. The sitter should have thrown the sharp thing away if she saw it but nobody can prevent all injuries. If you run around outside with barefeet, especially in a populated area, you are at risk for all sorts of small punctures and stepping on stinging insects. That's in addition to the risks of falling down and scraping yourself on the ground that come with normal active play. If you are think you are going to worry this much about each puncture I think that a tetanus shot is a good idea so you don't get so worried next time and are able allow him the freedom to be a kid.


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

Well I probably saw this too late but I think your totally overreacting both to the non injury and the babysitters throwing the tack aside. I hope your kiddo didn't get a shot at all over something so minor, or at the very least that he got the right one.


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## Snapdragon (Aug 30, 2007)

what is the right one?


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

My child is fully vaxed: I believe in vaxing. I do not think the injury you described warrants vaxing.

But if I were you, I would get the tetanus vax. This is apparently the first (really?) of many minor wounds your child will receive in his life. If it causes this much distress, you need to do what you need to do to relax about it.

It's not the sitter's fault.


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

For those who might not know, the vaccine is a combo not a single.

Regardless the vaccine will not prevent you from getting an infection, simple infection even given antibiotics don't always magically get better. There can be a simple scrap or cut or a very deep puncture and end up not having an antibiotic work as intended. You also may get secondary infections, again complications the vaccine does nothing for.
Proper care in treating injuries is your first step regardless if you vaccinate or not.


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## Ratchet (Mar 24, 2011)

Tetanus vaccine exists as plain tetanus (TT) which is hard but not impossible to get, and not recommended for kids under 7 but overall not really recommended at all officially, and combo (Td) or TdAP or DT or DTAP depending ong age, which are easy to get. So, you can do plain tetanus. Although all are a moot point in this case, acutely, where if anything it is the TIG

Out of curiosity, serenbat, what would you have done for immediate wound care? Not that a public pool is the cleanest thing ever, but for essentially a trivial wound, in a place that is sortofconstantlydirty on a kid, I don't know that I would have done anything special if it was me. The solution topolution is dilution, so they say, so flushing with a pool full of chlorinated water isn't so bad. Most pathogens in pools are stomach/poop related, and most skin infections are caused by our own normal flora. Now, the lifeguards might gave something to say about a kid with an "open wound" going into the pool, although this kiddo sound like he has less open wounds than lots of kids (skinned knees, scratched-at bug bites, etc).


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

Ratchet said:


> Tetanus vaccine exists as plain tetanus (TT) which is hard but not impossible to get, and not recommended for kids under 7 but overall not really recommended at all officially, and combo (Td) or TdAP or DT or DTAP depending ong age, which are easy to get. So, you can do plain tetanus. Although all are a moot point in this case, acutely, where if anything it is the TIG *good luck if you can find it*
> 
> Out of curiosity, serenbat, what would you have done for immediate wound care? Not that a public pool is the cleanest thing ever, but for essentially a trivial wound, in a place that is sortofconstantlydirty on a kid, I don't know that I would have done anything special if it was me. The solution topolution is dilution, so they say, so flushing with a pool full of chlorinated water isn't so bad. Most pathogens in pools are stomach/poop related, and most skin infections are caused by our own normal flora. Now, the lifeguards might gave something to say about a kid with an "open wound" going into the pool, although this kiddo sound like he has less open wounds than lots of kids (skinned knees, scratched-at bug bites, etc).


I find it trivial and no threat of tetanus or needing a office visit in this case. Even saying that, I don't simply dismiss things and not clean them.

I carry a first aid kit along where ever we go. I saw nothing that it need a deep cleaning but the point is, one should carry supplies since you should not expect where you are to have them and you should know how to use it if you are in charge of caring for a child. I use real non-antibotic soap and water no matter if there was a pool or not. I would have done that first in this case as well. This could also happen at a play ground.

Due to superbugs the use of antibiotics because even a simple scrape was not properly treated, is rising. Given the number of those who don't vaccinate, the numbers of tetanus are not even close to the numbers of individuals that are loosing limbs each year because of superbugs.

Bottom line, your first priority IMO is to clean and prevent infection the best you can, and having a tetanus vaccine will not prevent you from getting another type of infection.

ETA- I have my own made first aid kit, not a pre-bought one. One that contains what I use.


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

Finding the TT is one thing, finding some willing to give it may be another issue. It's also not considered 100% (no vaccine is) and thus many MD's will not give it without reason and will push for the other combo vaccine as it's really not recommend and the combo is.


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## P.J. (May 18, 2010)

So how did it go?
I was on the fence about vaxs in general and actually leaning towards not vaxing at all. Our pedi is a homeopath and fully supportive of not vaxing, but she did recommend getting just the tetanus shot. She said that actually it's possible to get tetanus from a very tiny wound, and some puncture wounds are very small and the kid may not even notice if they're deep in play. Add some dirt to that and it's possible.....highly unlikely but still not impossible. My husband wanted DS to get the tetanus shot as well, so in the end he got it. I have to admit, although I wouldn't have chosen it myself, it is kinda nice not to have to worry about tetanus at all and rush to get a shot if something happens like what happened to your son (which is almost inevitable).
Our pedi, being a homeopath, gave us a homeopathic dose (in pellets) of tetanus a day before the shot so DS would have less chance of a reaction.


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## richella (Nov 30, 2004)

Just found this thread, and would like to add:
I had a friend (adult) in a major city who stepped on a rusty nail and went to the heath dept. for a tetanus shot. The MD there told him that animal feces were the main cause of tetanus, and formerly there were lots of nails lying around that had come from horse shoes. Since we haven't had horses in the streets (or, very rarely) for several decades now, there is practically no chance of getting tetanus from a nail on the ground, so he didn't need the shot.
Pretty interesting how differently they treat an adult with no health insurance, from a child who does.


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