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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Should A Tetanus Injection Be Taken For The Cut In The Finger?

I'm 26 year old male. I recently cut my right index finger with my pocket knife. It bleed pretty good so I went to the ER to get a tetanus shot. They also gave me two stitches. My question is, Do I need to worry about getting tetanus since I got a vaccine 2 hours after being cut? Also I read online that tetanus has like a 5 day incubation period. Not too sure what that means. Does that mean that the vaccine would have plenty of time to kill the bacteria before it can do anything?
Tue, 29 Dec 2015
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for posting in HCM.
I understand your concern.
You need not worry about the tetanus shot you have taken as it is necessary to be taken preferably within 24 hours to be effective. It is give for any open wound or cut injuries to prevent a person to infected with tetanus. You need not bother for another 6 months as the vaccine would be effective.
Incubation period is not for the vaccine but for the bacteria to be infective.
So, you have done the right thing and need not worry about it.
Take care of the wound and it should heal by 5 to 7 days time.
Hope the information provided would be helpful.
All the best.
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Should A Tetanus Injection Be Taken For The Cut In The Finger?

Hi, Thanks for posting in HCM. I understand your concern. You need not worry about the tetanus shot you have taken as it is necessary to be taken preferably within 24 hours to be effective. It is give for any open wound or cut injuries to prevent a person to infected with tetanus. You need not bother for another 6 months as the vaccine would be effective. Incubation period is not for the vaccine but for the bacteria to be infective. So, you have done the right thing and need not worry about it. Take care of the wound and it should heal by 5 to 7 days time. Hope the information provided would be helpful. All the best.