Stepped on Glass, Scared of Infection

[chestrockwells]

On Sunday or Monday, I stepped on a small shard of glass. I tried to get it out that night, but I couldn’t tell if I did. It was bleeding that night, but I cleaned it up and placed a band-aid over it—called it a night. A few days later, I still see a dot on my foot, and I feel it raised. I don’t feel pain when I press on it, but if I step a certain way, I do feel a sharp sensation. (Not quite pain....)

I haven’t really thought about it because it’s not painful and I’m able to walk normally, but now I’m thinking about what if it gets infected, what if I get sepsis, what if my body absorbs it? On forums, people recommend going to the ER asap because it could be dangerous. Now, my leg is sore, and I have a headache, and everything is making me so nervous that I’m about to die.

Like I said, I don’t even know if the piece of glass is still in there! But should I got to the doctors to get it checked out? Or should I just wait it out? (My father said it’ll come out eventually??) I’m so nervous; I cant seem to stay calm about it....

[JoeCanuck]

Infections from something like that are pretty rare, but just keep an eye on it. DO NOT PICK AT IT, RUB IT, POKE IT OR TOUCH IT! You will irritate your foot and then you'll mistake it as an actual infection and trigger your anxiety even worse. If you can keep your hands off it, just keep an eye on it. If redness spreads around the puncture you can go and get it checked out at a clinic. Don't go to the ER for that.

[Sparky16]

Years ago I helped a friend pick up the pieces of a broken drinking glass. I got cut on the finger while I was doing it. It healed over, but when I touched something just right, ouch! It turned out I had a little splinter of glass in my finger still. It did not get infected, it just hurt sometimes. I did have to have it removed, but that just involved making a small incision where the injury had happened. It doesn't need the ER, but if you're not sure if you got the glass out, give your regular doctor a call and have them take a look at it.