About Tetanus...

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Hi.I am very very nervouse about something that happend today.I had a little hair sticking out of near my genital and i decided I'll cut it wth scisors.unfortunately it cut a little of my skin too and I am scared that I might get Tetanus from this :'(Note: it did bleed(!)does anybody know about this :'(thanks.

Welcome to A2A, aabb321.Most wounds do not lead to tetanus. Tetanus is more likely to occur from a deep puncture wound that injects soil bacteria into the wound. Even then, tetanus is now rare outside the tropics. A surface cut that bleeds freely is not at all likely to lead to tetanus. Put some antibiotic cream on it and you should be fine.However it's always a good idea to keep your tetanus immunisation up to date. Perhaps it is already, in which case you're protected.

Thanks for your reply,I don't remember the last time I was immunised for tetanus but I'm still a bit scared, the scisors says stainless steel but it still looked a bit rusty on the sides only not the cutting edges.I will find out when i was last immunised and write here again.btw, is there any chance of any hair (small) going into blood then into your body through skin?

Although the classic tetanus danger is "stepping on a rusty nail", it's not the rust that causes tetanus, but a particular bacterium more often found in soil. A rusty nail is more likely to be outside, more likely to be dirty, and its rougher surface provides a better place for bacteria to cling.

Hairs can sometimes get caught under the skin (an "ingrown hair"), especially as a result of shaving or plucking, but they do not get into blood vessels - they are too coarse to get into capillaries. Ingrown hairs stay near the surface of the skin, may cause a small pimple, but eventually do break the surface again.

thanks ineligible, you made my day :laughing:

i agree!