Panicking about standing on a thorn

27 replies

tm123x · 03/07/2025 09:47

My toddler has just had a thorn partly nick his sole as he has his crocs on with shoes, he has trodden on it. He cried and there was a tiny bit of blood. I have got home, washed it and put germolene on it and you can barely see the cut. It is like a finger prick size. Do i need to be worried? I am panicking about all sorts, thank you

OP posts:

HouseholdBudget · 03/07/2025 14:57

@levampire Why are you so desperate to blow the risks of tetanus so far out of proportion? It doesn't matter where in the world she is, the child is fully vaccinated. And even in sub-Saharan Africa, where incidence is highest, it is still only 14 cases/million/year, and falling. The rest of the world, it is around 1/million/year.

The OP's name is familiar to me, she knows she has health anxiety. All you are doing is stoking the fear. And perhaps you would like to correct Public Health England if you think their data on those at highest risk is wrong.

Triffid1 · 03/07/2025 16:26

ShittyHottie · 03/07/2025 13:50

I'm genuinely sorry to hear that.

But there is absolutely no need to panic over an otherwise healthy child getting an extremely minor injury like this.

Your uncle didn't just go straight from pricking his foot on a thorn to dropping dead with no signs of there being a problem in between.

Presumably he first developed a local infection at the injury site that wasn't effectively treated, and then developed into a systemic infection which also couldn't be treated because the treatment (antibiotics) hadn't yet been invented. It's not comparable at all.

If there are signs of infection then yes, seek medical attention. If you aren't confident to identify signs of infection, we have access to something called the internet where you can find advice. The NHS website will almost certainly have useful information on this.

Otherwise, just stick a plaster on it and get on with your day. It's a non event.

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ALL of this. That infection I got - probably would have killed me in 1932. But even in 1996, in Africa (for those who think Africa is super backward) I took some antibiotics, was told to soak it in hot water and bob's your uncle, it was 100% fine.

A story about a thorn killing someone almost 100 years ago actually reassures me. That's how far back the hysterical posters have to go to find a real case.

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