Puncture Wound

What is a puncture wound?

A puncture wound is any wound caused by something sharp and pointed that stabs through your skin.

What is the cause?

Common examples of causes of puncture wounds are:

• animal bites
• knives
• nails

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms are:

• pain
• sometimes bleeding

How is it diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will ask about what happened and examine you.

How is it treated?

Often you can care for the wound at home if it’s not deep and it’s not bleeding a lot.

• Wash your hands well with soap and water before you touch the wound. Remove pieces of broken wood, metal, glass, dirt, or anything else that got into the wound that you can easily see, but do not probe in the wound. Wash the wound as thoroughly as possible with warm water and soap.
• To stop bleeding, put pressure on the wound with a bandage or clean cloth until the bleeding stops.
• When any bleeding has stopped, put an antibiotic ointment on the wound and cover it with a bandage. Keep the wound covered with a clean bandage until it heals. Change the bandage each day or whenever it gets wet or dirty until the skin has healed.
• Take nonprescription medicine for pain.

See your healthcare provider or go to an urgent care center or the emergency department the same day if:

• The wound doesn’t stop bleeding after you have put pressure on it for 10 minutes.
• The wound is from an animal or human bite.
• The wound is deep, large, or jagged or it gapes open.
• The wound is on your face and you are concerned about scarring.
• The area around the wound feels numb.
• There is any possibility that some part of what punctured you is still in the wound—a broken piece of glass, metal, or wood, for example.
• The thing that caused the wound either was dirty or went through your shoe.
• It has been more than 5 years since your last tetanus shot.

Your provider will clean the wound and possibly close it with tape, adhesive, or stitches. If the injury was caused by a dirty object--for example, a farm tool--the wound may not be closed completely. This helps keep a pocket from forming where infection can develop. Your provider may prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection.

You may need a tetanus shot. Tetanus is a serious infection that can be prevented with the shot. The shot is normally given every 10 years, but you may be due for another shot if you have a dirty wound and it has been more than 5 years since your last shot.

It usually takes about a week for minor injuries to heal.

How can I take care of myself?

Watch the wound for signs of infection over the next few days. See your healthcare provider or go to the emergency department right away if:

• The skin is getting redder or more painful.
• You get fever or chills.
• The wound gets swollen.
• You have red streaks from the wound.
• Pus is draining from the wound.
• The wound does not heal.
• The wound site keeps hurting, which may mean that there is still some debris inside the wound.