Can pinpricks kill ya?

May 31, 2008 6:12 PM

I accidentally popped my pimple with a rusty pin. Ugh. How worried should I be?

I thought I picked up a shiny new safety pin, but, much to my horror, discovered the rust on the tip of the pin AFTER I'd poked it into my pimple.

Yes, I'm an idiot. Not only did I pop my pimple (it was getting painful, ok?!?), but I did it with a rusty pin.

So my question: How worried should I be about possible complications? I know that you all can't provide me with medical advice over the internet, but my student health center is closed tomorrow, and my only other option until it reopens on Monday is to go to the ER (which I really don't want to do, obviously).

Possibly relevant details: I recall having gotten a tetanus booster (I think?) about 9 years ago, though I'm not sure. The pimple keeps oozing (yes, gross, I know) so hopefully that's good that whatever may have gotten in there is kind of getting out?

And no, I won't ever do this again. Thank you in advance

posted by Sock Muppet Acct! to health & fitness (19 comments total)

Uh, did you disinfect it? Wash it well. Pat dry. Swipe with peroxide or rubbing alcohol. Cover with Neosporin.
posted by liketitanic at 6:20 PM on May 31, 2008

I wouldn't be worried at all, but that's just me. Not worried one iota. I would not give it a second thought.

Keep the area clean, put a little Neosporin on it. No biggie. Again, that's my opinion. I could be dead wrong.
posted by LoriFLA at 6:20 PM on May 31, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

My anecdote: I got a nasty cut on my foot from a rusty nail in grad school, and of course, rushed to the doctor, remembering all those horrible stories about tetanus. The doctor acted like I was an idiot for actually believing that stuff, but I think she gave me a tetanus shot anyway to be on the safe side.
posted by jayder at 6:21 PM on May 31, 2008

I'm not your doctor, but why not just wash your face (i.e. the area around the pimple). If you step on the rusty pin, then go to the doctor.
By-the-way, you will only cause more trouble popping pimples with pins; try using salicylic acid to dry them out. Much better results. :)
posted by strangelove at 6:22 PM on May 31, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Rust doesn't cause tetanus, in and of itself. The reason rusty nails have a bad rep is that rust is rough, and that roughness considerably increases the surface area on a microscopic scale, making a nice home for all kinds of bacteria. Tetanus is soil-borne. So your chance of picking up tetanus from stepping on a rusty nail in your back yard is higher than if the nail was shiny new metal.

From a pin that's (presumably) been kept indoors, the chances of contamination are rather lower. Of course, it's possible that the reason your pin was rusty is that somebody else had already used it to pop their pimple. Don't share pins, kids!

Give it a good wash in warm water, put some Betadine on it and stop worrying.
posted by flabdablet at 6:26 PM on May 31, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Something else to keep in mind is that a pimple is usually just an area filled with pus, an immune system response. I imagine that if you were going to put a dirty pin anywhere in your body, putting it in an area with an already-increased immune response is safer.

You'll probably be fine.
posted by lockle at 6:47 PM on May 31, 2008

It's not infection, but scarring that I'd be worried about. Somebody I know who is totally not me at all did this at age fourteen, and had a scar for ten years where the pin went in. Don't use pins on yourself for this, clean or otherwise!
posted by Countess Elena at 6:56 PM on May 31, 2008

Next time, if you decide to imbed something sharp and made of metal in your body, please sterilize it first! New or not, you should have dunked it in rubbing alcohol or heated it with a match first!
posted by radioamy at 7:06 PM on May 31, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

So, like, the fluids in pustules (lymph), and stuff that comes out of popped zits and the blood that you bleed out from regular wounds is partly for organically washing out your wound and keeping foreign materials out of it.

So from the mechanistic point of view, I would totally not be worried.

Just do as everyone else has been saying. Clean the wound and if you're extra worried, Neosporin and a bandaid should do the trick.
posted by kalessin at 7:08 PM on May 31, 2008

Tetanus develops in deep cuts. Given that it so superficial a wound, you have about the same chance of infection as if you had popped it with your fingers. Wash the area with soap and disinfect and keep your paws off of it.
posted by Foam Pants at 7:30 PM on May 31, 2008

Flabdablet speaks truth. Read and learn, grasshopper.

Furthermore, tetanus is an obligate anaerobe, which is a fancy way of saying it can't survive around oxygen. So deep punctures (and cuts, to a lesser extent) offer better chances for it to avoid the air, whereas a teeny little pimple is not a good prospect for it. I royally sliced a couple knuckles open a year ago and specifically asked the doc about this; he said the cut was large, but not deep enough to worry.

Lastly, FYI although IANAD: Generally speaking, a tetanus vaccination is good against nasty injuries for five years, and against non-nasty injuries for ten. While it's on your mind (i.e., now) would be an excellent time to consult journals, parents, etc. and make a list of the vaccinations you've had and when they were. It eases your mind and comes in surprisingly handy. Keep it with your passport or your Social Security card or whatever.
posted by eritain at 7:31 PM on May 31, 2008

Wash, disinfect, and don't lose any sleep over it. You've probably gotten cut or poked accidentally by far nastier things.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 9:56 PM on May 31, 2008

My mom used to tell the story of some distant relative who popped a zit, got "blood poisoning" and died. I should call her up and ask her to clarify, but it may have been several generations ago when the wfrgms clan were a bunch of southern dirt farmers...

Wash it. Keep an eye on it. You'll be fine.

Also, you probably shouldn't treat pimples in this way. Everything I've read says you should leave them alone until they are ready to smoosh on their own. Anything else risks scaring...
posted by wfrgms at 10:09 PM on May 31, 2008

Thanks everyone for the reassurance (except....blood poisoning?!? That's kind of what I was afraid of and therefore, less reassured...but times have changed, I live in a city and not a dirt farm, and I will keep my eye out for delerium or lockjaw)

I've been dealing with my zits like this for years but I've learned my lesson. Washing and neosporin for the next few days for me. Thank you!
posted by Sock Muppet Acct! at 10:52 PM on May 31, 2008

If this has been an ongoing problem, do you have a good skin routine? This is what I do:

- After cleansing, wipe face with a cotton pad of toner with salicylic acid OR Organic Apple Cider Vinegar mixture - Start by diluting 1 part ACV to 4 parts distilled water, and use as a toner every other night working up to every night.

- Apply a layer of Salicylic Acid (gel or light lotion) in 1-2% with PH of 3-4.

- If you’re breaking out apply 5% to 10% Benzoyl Peroxide lotion over whole area at night.

- Faster approach: 1% hydrocortisone cream on pimple up to 5x/day up to 5 days.

- Stubborn pimple: dab it with a clay mask with antibacterial sulfur before bed (but no more than twice a week). I’ve also heard you can hold cotton pad soaked in allergy relief eyedrops for 5 minutes to reduce redness.

- A messy at home method is to put raw egg yolk on your face, let it dry for 10 minutes, and then wash off. Repeat every day for a month and then twice a month thereafter.

- And if you only get a couple a big, problem pimples here and there, my favorite device in the Zeno. Zap it a couple times a day RIGHT when one starts forming.
posted by texas_blissful at 6:20 AM on June 1, 2008

Blood poisoning is, according to my sweetie, septicemia, which people do still die of.

According to her (SINAD), the commonest source of septicemia is from abcesses, wherein it is apparently difficult to keep the infection from leaching out into the surrounding tissues.

The key to blood poisoning is detecting and treating it quickly.
posted by kalessin at 6:22 AM on June 1, 2008

Get some tea tree oil, it is nature's disinfectant, and dab generously several times the next few days. A friend of mine with no insurance used it on her foot after stepping on a giant rusty nail, with no ill effects. She hadn't had a tetanus shot in 5 years.
It's also great for keeping zits under control as a facial toner. :)
posted by phytage at 12:12 PM on June 1, 2008

Ti-tree oil is good stuff for general cuts and scrapes and moderately good against fungus, but it does approximately squat for deep puncture wounds. I speak from bitter experience (a nail-induced foot abscess that didn't go away until I ate antibiotics for a week).
posted by flabdablet at 10:28 PM on June 1, 2008

About the "hadn't had a tetnus shot in 5 years" - tetnus shots are good for 10 years. Just... so you know.
posted by Theresa at 9:57 AM on June 8, 2008