I had a wooden splinter on my left ankle doctor said no tetanus, need second doctor opinion

I had a wooden splinter on my left ankle, I was sitting at a wooden deck next to a ferry stop place, then when I want to get up my left ankle scraped on the wooden deck and a wood splinter got in my ankle. It didn’t went in vertically but went in horizontally across the skin. Here’s a pic of the wound after I manage to take the bigger piece out
It only bleed a little after I took the big piece out, and as you can see there’s still smaller pieces left in there so I went to a doctor, the doctor manage to take all the pieces out with local anesthetic. The doctor open up the wound and there was some bleeding happening, the wound it’s now covered with a gauze. I asked the doctor whether there is any risk of tetanus, as I haven’t had a tetanus shot in more than 10 years (in fact I don’t think I’ve ever had one?), as I don’t like the idea of having vaccination and their possible side effects. The doctor said it should be fine without one as it’s not a deep puncture and the wooden deck doesn’t have any rust etc. but I would like to ask for a second opinion as I’m quite worried about tetanus.I’m 26 year old female, no known medical conditions.



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Ayman Darrag
9:47 am

I agree with your physician, the possibility is low as the wound is not deep..so just stay aware of strict measures for sterilizing the wound and avoiding any infection by usual cleaning with betadine to avoid cellulitis or infection ..
If you got any symptoms that refers to infection like fever..hotness severe redness or swelling..seizures go to the ER otherwise don’t worry.

Ahmed Fawzy
12:47 pm

Hi
It is highly unlikely to have any tetanus infection judging from the picture you uploaded , no reason to worry , I recommend Betadine for fast and safe healing
Good Luck

MAHAVEER PATIL
4:52 am

hi,
as long as there was no rust, no tetanus injection is required.
It seems to be a superficial prick and u should be fine without a Tetanus injection.
Only metal pricks with rust need such injections.
Just make sure that the doctor has removed all the wooden particles from the wound or else the wound may get infected.
thanks