Touched rust on small cut, worried about tetanus

[itiswhatitis]

I have a small, non deep cut on my finger from an accident with a knife. I got the cut this morning, it bled a tiny bit then was ok (just sore)
And now I just moved some of a family members old metal gym equipment which has some rust and accidentally picked it up with the hand with the cut and it touched the cut area. I washed it almost immediately and added some anti septic cream. What are the chances I could get tetanus? Should I go to the doctor?
The equipment has been kept indoors for about a year, does that make any risk less likely?

[Fishmanpa]

What are the chances I could get tetanus? NONE. Should I go to the doctor? NO.

​Positive thoughts

[Liddy1993]

Definitely not. You need to get an actual wound from something rusty to even consider tetanus and even then it’s rare and not just from a little cut you already had. Throw that thought away.

[itiswhatitis]

Thank you both for your replies.

On the day it happened I googled (bad I know) and saw a post somewhere where someone said it took about 8 days for tetanhs symptoms to happen to them so I'm still a bit anxious about it.. I called medical advice number on the day it happened too, and they said that since I was already vaccinated against tetanus as a child that I'm at no risk, but again I read online that adults should have shots too, which I haven't had since becoming an adult.
So yep, still anxious about it :(

The last couple of days I've had some muscle pain too. Realistically I think it's hormonal but my periods are super irregular and I haven't had one for a few months (still hasn't started) so I'm worried that the muscle pains are tetanus or something..

[Sparky16]

You can't get tetanus just by touching something rusty when you have a cut. Even I wouldn't worry about this.

As far as vaccinations, here in the US, they recommend a tetanus booster for adults every 5 to 10 years, depending on which doctor you are talking to. I keep mine up to date because I have a job where I occasionally get injured and I have a house with a large yard where I also occasionally get injured.

[SnowyGreen]

'

[alcopop]

Hi Itiswhatitis

I was literally just about to post about getting tetanus from rust .... but now that I've read the replies to your post I don't need to.

My situation was that a rusty can of shaving foam fell over in the shower when I was in there and all this orange crap started leaking from it. I have a cut on my foot so I immediately thought "tetanus" .... typically started getting jaw stiffness minutes later.....*rolls eyes*

Hope you feel less anxious soon

[Pamplemousse]

Bloody hell, deleted it instead of editing it!

To the OP - you have zero chance of contracting tetanus in this manner. You may have even been immunised against it as a child. If not, ask your GP practice about immunisation.

For the record... there were just *four* cases of it in the whole of the UK in 2016. That's how rare it is.