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A member asked:
I stepped on a rusty nail yesterday effective saturday may 27, 2016, at 7:30 pm. the nail barely punctured my foot skin however i did draw blood. ?
4 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
When was your last: tetanus shot? If its been more than 10 years,you need to get one. Keep it clean and apply polysporin (bacitracin and polymyxin) ointment to it twice a day
Answered 11/27/2017
1.3k views
Probably no concern: You have likely heard stepping on a rusty nail may cause tetanus. Actually most rusty nails can't do this, only those contaminated with spores of Clostridium tetani bacteria (often from horse manure). Even then the only concern is a deep puncture, as that microbe can not propagate when exposed to air. If you have been vaccinated for tetanus in the past it may reduce risk even more- see comment:
Answered 5/29/2016
1.3k views
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