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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is A Thorn Injury Swelling A Sign Of Infection?

hi, i stepped over a thorn in the park. i pulled it out immediately and after 4 hours started to hurt and is a little bit swollen. the next day evening is getting more swollen. i applied polysporine but doesnt seem to do anything. is this a sign of infection?
Fri, 12 Sep 2014
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi welcome to Healthcaremagic,
A thorn prick, that too from a park has a good chance of getting infected.
You should be careful if you are a diabetic or have any other cause of immunosuppression. The site is to be cleaned with soap and water and an antiseptic solution. Better have a tetanus toxoid vaccination taken if not taken in last 6 months. The local swelling you had may be just an inflammation, the signs of infection are fever, local warmth, local redness and pus discharge. In such a case you will need to consult a clinic and start an antibiotic. In case a part of the thorn is still in the wound then you have to consult a surgeon for wound exploration.
Please do contact via Healthcaremagic in case of any further doubts.
Thank you.
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Is A Thorn Injury Swelling A Sign Of Infection?

Hi welcome to Healthcaremagic, A thorn prick, that too from a park has a good chance of getting infected. You should be careful if you are a diabetic or have any other cause of immunosuppression. The site is to be cleaned with soap and water and an antiseptic solution. Better have a tetanus toxoid vaccination taken if not taken in last 6 months. The local swelling you had may be just an inflammation, the signs of infection are fever, local warmth, local redness and pus discharge. In such a case you will need to consult a clinic and start an antibiotic. In case a part of the thorn is still in the wound then you have to consult a surgeon for wound exploration. Please do contact via Healthcaremagic in case of any further doubts. Thank you.