I nicked my wrist on some sharp plastic in my car, bled for a second but i immediately put disinfectant on it about 2 minutes after. I'm 20 and don't know about my last tetanus shot but do I need one? Really hate needles and it was plastic. Freaking out a bit so any help would be great!
Tetanus is found in the soil. You might develop tetanus if you were wounded by an object that had been covered with dirt for a lengthy period of time, or one that had traces of dirt on it. You are highly unlikely to develop tetanus from nicking yourself with a sharp piece of clean plastic located in your car. Go get a tetanus booster, if it will put your mind at ease - it won't hurt anything.
glass... pros ? rarely reacts with its contents ? can be heated to moderately high temps ? can be cleaned of all organics for reuse by heating above 600 C glass... cons ? cost ? designed to be reusable (you have to spend time and effort washing) ? breakable ? storage (not stackable) plastic... pros ? cheap ? designed for 1 use. less possibility for cross contamination ? durable ? stackable... less lab space ? do not require cleaning ? RARELY react with contents. plastic... cons ? may generate static charge which may effect balance readings ? heatable to low temps only. ************ In practice, in labs that I manage, we use plastic unless we need to heat something. Then we use glass.
I would guess your ok. Tetanus is usually found in dirt, so if it's a rusty nail, or you got cut gardning, I got my last one because I am a EMT and my patient was trampled by a horse, and had a bad head injury, while I was trying to restrain her she scratched me with her fingernail and broke the skin. The ER doc was concerned because of the horse poop that may have been on/under her fingernails. Remember if you think you need the shot you have to do it within 72 hours. So you can't go home and try neosporin for a few days and if it don't work go to the Dr. You have to get the shot right away.
Really need it, no. But anytime you get an injury its just a good time to update the tetanus, that way you will be covered when you sustain an injury that is at risk.
You should be fine unless the cut gets infected and doesn't respond to home treatment. Don't bother with the tetanus shot at this time.
