I stepped on a long, dirty and rusty nail

[Moonbear]

I think it's usually any dirty wound. Puncture wounds are the most likely to harbor tetanus bacteria, because the deeper parts provide good anaerobic conditions for the bacteria to thrive.

It was interesting to read the one site that commented that people don't always realize when something has punctured through their shoe into their foot that while the sharp object is not left behind, bits of sock and rubber from the shoe sole might be still embedded in the wound. But, I guess with feet, they're almost always dirty, whether it was the shoe the object punctured through, or that you've been walking around barefoot through dirt. Every site I went to was especially particular about foot wounds needing a tetanus shot and immediate medical treatment.

But, I'd suspect if I got anything more than a superficial scratch while working at the farm, they'd want to give me a tetanus booster. As it is, even though most people get a regular booster every 10 years, I'm now required to get them every 5 years since I work in an environment where injuries that could expose me to tetanus bacteria are pretty likely.

 

[Danger]

Monique, there's a possibility that your case was an allergic reaction. While I don't know the particulars, I do know that a lot of shells contain toxins of the same kind produced by the shellfish for defense. If you have a seafood sensitivity, that would just make it worse.

 

[Monique]

Monique, there's a possibility that your case was an allergic reaction. While I don't know the particulars, I do know that a lot of shells contain toxins of the same kind produced by the shellfish for defense. If you have a seafood sensitivity, that would just make it worse.

Oh, but there was no actual animal in the shell. It was a beach made out of old shells instead of a sand beach, so anywhere that you'd hit the bottom there'd be shells. The weird thing was that when the doctor had opened the wound all the pain was gone and I could move my hand again.

 

[Danger]

Well, I wasn't actually referring to the presence of the organism. The point is that some of the biotoxins are incorporated into the shell while it's growing, and remain there permanently. Coral is absolutely notorious for that. Just about anyone who has nicked himself on a reef has severely regretted it. The symptoms that I've read about are identical to yours.