Can you get tetanus from a rusty nail

Or, as Esther Inglis-Arkell argued on the site i09, it has something to do with the anaerobic environment in which the tetanus-causing Clostridium tetani bacteria thrives. As iron oxidizes, it eats up atmospheric oxygen, creating a low-oxygen environment for the bacteria to grow. For thousands of years, tetanus plagued humankind. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, mentioned the disease in his works.

But in , researchers discovered how the disease worked, and just 40 years later, scientists had developed a vaccine. The best part? Make sure your booster shots are up to date!

Medical waste, PPE, and online shopping are driving a surge in ocean pollution. It doesn't just work your leg muscles—racing is rough on your intestines, too. Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights. Ok, so the legend is true—stepping on a rusty nail DOES have the potential to cause tetanus. Do you know what else can cause tetanus? A perfectly sterilized nail, a sewing needle, or even a scratch from your cat. Allow us to explain. Tetanus is caused by bacteria called Clostridium tetani , which is commonly found in soil, dust, and animal feces.

The rust is not the carrier of the bacteria, rather just an assumed culprit since the nail has been outside long enough to get rusty, and therefor it probably has been exposed to soils containing the bacteria. While a rusty nail puncture can produce a breeding ground for the bacteria, so can a stab wound from a knife, a tattoo from an amateur, or even a gunshot wound. Tetanus bacteria can infect the body through open wounds, especially deep, penetrating ones, said Dr.

William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. The image was likely an attempt to convey the idea that the rusty nail was in a dirty environment where these bacteria can be found, he said, but it somehow took "on a life of its own. But "the environment doesn't have to be visibly dirty" for someone to get tetanus, he said.

For example, there have been cases where people contracted the infection after slicing their hand with a kitchen knife. In the environment, C. But when the spores make their way deep into a person's body, their oxygen supply is cut off.