What should you know about tetanus cut?

Tetanus bacteria live as spores in the environment and can enter through broken skin. A clean, shallow cut may need different care from a deep puncture, crush injury, bite, burn or cut contaminated with soil, saliva or dead tissue. The cut itself does not diagnose tetanus, and a small opening can still be deep.

Tetanus vaccination reduces the chance of toxin causing illness, but a wound assessment is still useful when vaccination dates are uncertain or the injury is high risk. Human tetanus immunoglobulin may be considered in selected situations.

Wash your hands, then rinse the cut under clean running water. Apply gentle pressure for bleeding and cover it with a clean dressing. Do not remove deeply embedded objects yourself, pour harsh chemicals into the wound, or close a dirty cut before it has been assessed.

Seek medical advice promptly if the cut is deep, gaping, contaminated, caused by a bite or animal scratch, or has damaged sensation or movement. Tell the clinician when it happened and when you last received a tetanus-containing vaccine.

Get urgent help for uncontrolled bleeding, loss of movement or feeling, a deep facial or hand cut, an embedded object, or signs of infection such as spreading redness, swelling, pus or fever. Emergency care is needed for jaw stiffness, trouble swallowing, breathing difficulty or painful muscle spasms.

Ask whether the cut needs closure or specialist cleaning, whether your tetanus vaccination is current, whether additional human protection is needed, and how to recognise infection during healing.