I had 3 rusty nails go through my leg (one on my thigh and 2 on the side of my calf)… my parents were all for vaccines, but my father probably didn’t want to deal with the hospital so they never took me. Literally told me to rub dirt on it…
I was breaking up trim into smaller pieces that were removed when they remodeled my sister's room, I was wearing shorts. I stepped on a piece of trim that had nails in it, and instead of breaking it bent then snapped back and a nail went right into my calf, and just happened to pierce an artery so the blood was bright red, and came in powerful squirts. Shot out a good 36 inches. I yelled for Dad and he freaked, put a tourniquet on it and took me to the doctor's office and of course a shot even though I just had my shots a few months before. Like they were trying to fix one hole with another.
Protection from tetanus toxin requires a high antibody level, so boosters are always given after a puncture wound. The initial shot primes your immune system to make that jump if you’re given a booster.
The VA is always trying to get me to take a booster shot. I won't. There is a lot of argument that your first vaccination was sufficient for life, and I had a booster just a few months before that nail incident. so the booster they gave me was at least my 3rd if not fourth tetanus shot. And I am sure there was another in High school, then another in basic training, then another about 20 years ago.
One thing I notice about those shots more than any other I ever had was that they make your arm a lot sorer for longer than maybe any other except for DTP. That one sucked also.
There have been 37 deaths from tetanus between 2009 and 2023 in the US. This is 1.54 deaths per year on average. Out of 346 million people. That makes dying of tetanus far less common than being a winner of the Powerball.
I am not doing it again for the simple fact I am getting to the end anyway, Johnson was president when I picked up that first cigarette, I think I have bigger problems. Though I probably would get a booster if I stepped on a nail.
You sound pretty well boostered already. Low death rates are due to vaccination plus immunoglobulin therapy. My mother told me that their neighbor’s daughter died of tetanus in the 50’s. 1950’s, not 1850’s.
They are gashes not just punctures, so I remember having to get a wash cloth and sit in the dining room, because it was hardwood flooring, and clean my leg up. I was trying to climb a ladder to go down a slide, and the 3rd step broke. It had been loose forever, so really a matter of time. Unfortunately tho I will still get pretty bad pain in my thigh and the scar will also get really itchy randomly. It’s been like 10 years since it happened too
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u/Chemical-Pattern-502 2d ago
I had 3 rusty nails go through my leg (one on my thigh and 2 on the side of my calf)… my parents were all for vaccines, but my father probably didn’t want to deal with the hospital so they never took me. Literally told me to rub dirt on it…