can copper get rusty?my son scratched himself with something and i found copper on floor from the pipes?

Question

his leg bleed little.he is 13 months old.he had all his tetanos vaccines 9 months ago.can he get tetanos?shoul he get tetanose vaccine?

shoul he get tetanos vaccine for the scratch?its very small but it bleed a bit

oes he need extra vccine now?

leon you are a human DICKtionary

Answer 1

He is covered by the tetanus vaccine he has already had. Copper does not get rusty anyway and would not be a danger;

Answer 2

Mrs. Jones,

You probably have nothing to worry about. Since the copper pipe was on the floor and not on the ground, the chances of it having a high enough number of tetanus spores on it to give him the disease are very small.

Tetanus lives best in organic matter and in anaerobic conditions. It can't survive for long in oxygen. That's why the stereotypical condition of contracting tetanus poisoning is the manure fork in the barn. Tetanus can be found just about everywhere--very likely including your skin and mine--but not in numbers high enough to cause a problem. It's only in dirt and manure that we can find a large number of the spores and therefore have to be careful of the wires and sticky, pokey things we can find there.

The "rusty" condition that we often think about--getting scratched or punctured by a rusty pipe or nail--does not itself cause the tetanus infection. The rust only harbors lots of the spores that then get into the wound, and thus into an anaerobic environment, and develop into the bacteria which then poison us. But the spores need time to develop, so the best way to prevent tetanus poisoning is to wash out the wound immediately. If you did that to your son, he's probably completely safe. Just watch him for a week to a month, and it he shows any symptoms at all, get him to the doctor. Tetanus is surprisingly easy to treat, even after it starts to show symptoms.

I hope it doesn't worry you too much, but your son may not have much protection against tetanus. At his age (under 7 years old) there is a four-dose series of immunizations that confer full immunity against tetanus, and I understand that he has not yet had all of them. That's probably fine so far in his case. He's most likely going to be completely safe. But check with your doctor about the full schedule of immunizations.

In the meantime, watch him, but you have a lot of time, and even if he shows symptoms you have a lot of very good medicine on your side. Very often, with a small wound like his, tetanus can self-resolve, that is, he'd probably recover even if he came down with tetanus. But if he does contract tetanus--if he has trouble swallowing, or his neck begins to hurt and is stiff, take him to the doctor, he'll get a shot or two, and he'll be fine.

Take care.

Answer 3

Copper "rust" is green - so quite noticeable against the orange colour of the normal metal.

If he had his tetanus jab that recently, he should be covered fine against tetanus.

The only thing you would need to watch for is if the cut gets infected - it will swell, go very red and maybe feel hot if it does. If that happens, go and see a doctor.

Other than that, just keep it clean with salt water until it heals, he should be fine.

Answer 4

Copper does oxidise. It leaves a greeny bluish residue. It is possible to be poisoned by copper oxide as with most metal oxides but you need to be in contact with a lot of it. I wouldn't worry too much about a scratch. Tetanus is very unlikely. See a doc if you're scared.

Answer 5

dont worry , copper doesnt go rusty it goes green and just decays, If he had the injections already it ok he safe for about ten years. By the way the only metal that doesnt go rusty or decay with anything is gold.

Answer 6

Copper is not ferrous and cannot rust but can corrode through other reactions such as galvanic corrosion. In any event, rust does not cause tetanus, germs do. You should consult your doctor if you believe an infection has begun.

Answer 7

I doubt he will have a problem with a scratch. Generally wounds that cause tetanus are deep dirty wounds (eg. from the manure pitchfork in the barn). Also it sounds like his immunizations are up to date, but it is never a bad idea to run it by his doctor.

Answer 8

You have no idea how annoying it was to read tetanus misplelt 4 times!!!!! I don't think copper can get rusty.... but chances are its not pure copper... so i would call NHS for some so-called professional advice.

Answer 9

copper doesnt rust but it does turn green

Answer 10

To be safe consult your Doctor