Suggest Treatment For Open Wound In A 9 Year Old

Posted on Thu, 30 Apr 2015

Question: Hi my daughter got a scratch by a nail in the school playground. There was bleeding too. Do I need to get her an anti tetanus shot? She is 9 yrs old.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rovena (30 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
detailed below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.

Welcome to Healthcare Magic.

Considering the fact that the wound is not deep and that your daughter is only 9 years old, she doesn't need a tetanus shot because most likely your daughter has received tetanus immunization within 5 years and she is protected.
The usual schedule of tetanus immunization is to be given at 2, 4, 6, and 18 months of age. A 5th dose is given in the preschool age ( between 4-6 years of age). After this the protection persists at least 10 years and a booster shot every 10 years is required.

So you just need to check her vaccination status and make sure she received the 5 th dose at 4-6 years of age.
Just keep the wound clean .You can apply neosporin to prevent it from getting infected and cover it with a clean band.

Hope it helps.
Let me know if you need further help.

Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar