Quote:
Originally Posted by cellularSTEVE
Hey Lance,
1. Can you please elaborate on what the next steps would be and how soon would you recommend getting to a hospital?
2. If the hook wasn't rusty and it was the same type of wound, would the hospital follow up be required (I am just thinking that sometimes I go to remote areas and could see getting hooked. Do you cancel your plans and drive to a hospital)?
|
Like I told the father, get her to a doctor for a tetanus shot asap, it isn't the same drive like a madman rush if she still had the hok in, but it is something to be done that day.
Here is a little blurb off the web:
Mortality rates reported vary from 40% to 78%. In recent years, approximately 11% of reported tetanus cases have been fatal. The highest mortality rates are in unvaccinated people and people over 60 years of age.[2]
The incubation period of tetanus may be up to several months but is usually about 8 days.[3][4] In general, the further the injury site is from the central nervous system, the longer the incubation period. The shorter the incubation period, the more severe the symptoms.
So get the girl to a doctor for a shot, keep the wound clean, watch for any other S&S of infection (redness, heat, puss, pain moving the hand).
Rust isn't the issue as much as you would think....the bad bugs can live just as well on a shinny new hook.
The issues are:
1) it is a deep pocket wound that is tough to wash/clean
2) pocket wounds can get infected and become abcesses that have to be opened up...ouch
3) bits of the rust can break off inside and even without tetanus can cause infection and problems
4) remote area with limited access to doctors & med supplies meant leaving them as much as I could and still worrying.
Oh and Austin, yeah I am thinking I will start taking xylocaine jelly with me as a topical from now on.