The Student Room Group

OW i stepped on a plug.+Do your docs have a strange system

:confused: I stepped on a plug(regular power AC 3pin UK type) and it stabbed into my foot then by reaction i lifted my foot up and then sorta fell back onto it putting all my weight.

Didn't realise the plug was still inside my foot as i was working off reactions in the dark so i drove the plug further in!

It bled quite a bit and I could see holes, i cleaned it up with warm water and antisepctic cream, then phoned my aunt a highlighy qualified nurse, she says I should have had tetanus shots at school but to watch out for pus in which case rush to a and e otherwise i should be ok.

The NHS websiete however says if i got dirt in it go straight to a and e otherwise go to GP next day to check you got all your shots and get a booster if you have had less than 5.

as far as i know I have had 1tetanus shot in my life ...

Asked my parents to take me to AnE because I can't drive and theres no busses that go thier at this time, my mum was "too busy" watching T.V and point blank refused and my dad was out with his mates then has come home and gone straight to bed.

Other than posting here for "lol" and sympathy I wondered.
Do people think it is worth going to my GP as they have a stupid system you have to ring them at 8-9am on the morning to get any appointment, they close the lines at 9, normaly i ring from 750 pressing redial till the lines open
get on hold/engaged signal get through around 830 an all appointments are gone! Basically it is a hassle and a gamble and if i ring tommorow i'll be late for a Uni exam.. If you go the docs in person to comaplin they tell you to "ring the next day at 8"!!
Anyone else heard of this crazy system?

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Reply 1
Ow sounds nasty. :eek: I had to ave a tetanus booster when I got bitten by a dog when I was little.

And yes my GP has an awkward system. You have to phone up early (opens 8.30) to get an appointment that day and can't make them in advance. My mum who works in a doctors surgery says its ridiculous because there was a big uproar about not being able to get an appointment the same day (because you used to have to book in advance) so they made it so everyone has to book on the day, with no advance appointments. There should really be a mix of each IMO, so you can get an appointment that day, but if you need one another day you can get that too.

It puts the phone lines under so much pressure and is so time consuming. It is crazy. :rolleyes:

EDIT: And yes it sounds serious, I think you should see your GP ASAP. If you cannot get an appointment in the morning because of an exam I'd ask for an emergency one. I'm not sure how son you have to have a tetanus shot, but I would imagine it should be as soon as possible to be effective. All the GPs I know of offer emergency appointments, usually at the end of the working day. You can phone up any time that day, but earlier is better, since the emergency appointments can fill up quick and there's only so many they can offer. Perhaps phone up after your exam and explain the situation and ask for an emergency appointment. If they say its not an emergency, go in the day after instead.
Reply 2
Get your lazy ass mum to take you to A&E, or call a cab. Failing that at least phone your GP out of hours to get an opinion.
Reply 3
My foot is hurting in sympathy :frown:
Reply 4
thanks guys, my "lazy ass mum" says she will try phone the doctors for me in the morning while im in my exam then "get someone at work" to txt me my appoitntment time, because she refuses to learn how to text... *sigh what can i do with her!* If she doesnt i will call in the doctors in person on my way home from Uni, and demand to be seen if they refuse ill get my stinky foot out in reception and wave at at them ahahha, I won't but wouldn't that be funny!

Too late for a and e now my parents are asleep, it is the law to not disturb them, when i broke my finger once at 1am i disturbed them and they just tried to make me go to sleep i scremed so much in the end my dad took me to hospital and made me feel guilty about how work will suffer and he wont get a bonus and ill have to get an extra job to pay for bills and all this guilt trip! then half way through me waiting said he was going to drive home to sleep and i could "find my own way home" (3am by this point..no busses..no money on me) convinved him to stay but he was arsey for months!

NHS website says to get the shot within 2days because thats how long it takes for the infection to start or something similar.
Reply 5
Ok this exact situation happened to me a couple of years ago. I booked in to see the nurse for a tetanus injection but turned out id had my boosters and stuff so didnt need one. She did however clean it all and plaster/bandge it all up for me. Id say book an emergency nurse appointment at your GP's. Oh and it will compltey heal in time just quite painful to walk for a long time.
pinkpinkuk
Ow sounds nasty. :eek: I had to ave a tetanus booster when I got bitten by a dog when I was little.

And yes my GP has an awkward system. You have to phone up early (opens 8.30) to get an appointment that day and can't make them in advance. My mum who works in a doctors surgery says its ridiculous because there was a big uproar about not being able to get an appointment the same day (because you used to have to book in advance) so they made it so everyone has to book on the day, with no advance appointments. There should really be a mix of each IMO, so you can get an appointment that day, but if you need one another day you can get that too.

It puts the phone lines under so much pressure and is so time consuming. It is crazy. :rolleyes:

EDIT: And yes it sounds serious, I think you should see your GP ASAP. If you cannot get an appointment in the morning because of an exam I'd ask for an emergency one. I'm not sure how son you have to have a tetanus shot, but I would imagine it should be as soon as possible to be effective. All the GPs I know of offer emergency appointments, usually at the end of the working day. You can phone up any time that day, but earlier is better, since the emergency appointments can fill up quick and there's only so many they can offer. Perhaps phone up after your exam and explain the situation and ask for an emergency appointment. If they say its not an emergency, go in the day after instead.


serious?
in the last 20 years there have been about 200 cases of tetanus. Take out gardeners and druggies, and you reduce that to about 40 cases. in 20 years. in 50 odd million people.

an electric socket is hardly the stuff of 'serious nature'.
Dont bother your GP, just pop down to A&E as soon as you can, say you have a small injury but not upto date with tetanus booster, and they'll give you oen there. simple.
Reply 7
Jamie
serious?
in the last 20 years there have been about 200 cases of tetanus. Take out gardeners and druggies, and you reduce that to about 40 cases. in 20 years. in 50 odd million people.

an electric socket is hardly the stuff of 'serious nature'.
Dont bother your GP, just pop down to A&E as soon as you can, say you have a small injury but not upto date with tetanus booster, and they'll give you oen there. simple.


I didn't think it was that serious, but i disagree with the GP thing, I don't know how it is near you but if you go to AnE here with something non serious you get a ticking off told its a GP matter not a AnE matter, and to see a doc you are last in the quque and made to wait upwards of 5hours.
It is pretty pakced and mega busy, i went with a broken bone it took 2hours for xray thne another 2hours before I saw a doctor, a "ow i hurt my foot a bit maybe a need tetanus top up" is a wait all day and night in a waiting room job.
Reply 8
In my day we used to say vinegar was the answer to all aches and ailments. Respect your elders!
Reply 9
Go to a walk-in centre in the morning - there's often one close by to A&E departments. They're meant for dealing with these kinds of minor injuries. You don;t need an appointment and you shouldn;t have to wait that long. Only difference is that you'll be seen and treated by a nurse, not a doctor (altho for an injury like yours, it doesn;t really make a difference)
Reply 10
Johnny C.
Go to a walk-in centre in the morning - there's often one close by to A&E departments. They're meant for dealing with these kinds of minor injuries. You don;t need an appointment and you shouldn;t have to wait that long. Only difference is that you'll be seen and treated by a nurse, not a doctor (altho for an injury like yours, it doesn;t really make a difference)



Yeah but can she "walk-in" though? I'd say just give it a few days to heal itself, and keep it clean and put a dressing on it. Less faffing about involved, and you don't have to sit for hours on end in a waiting room with the other punters.

Honestly, in my day we were lucky to even get Lemsip. It was a mug of cold vinegar and an early night! :ts:
Johnny C.
Go to a walk-in centre in the morning - there's often one close by to A&E departments. They're meant for dealing with these kinds of minor injuries. You don;t need an appointment and you shouldn;t have to wait that long. Only difference is that you'll be seen and treated by a nurse, not a doctor (altho for an injury like yours, it doesn;t really make a difference)

Oooo yeh actually, thats a much better plan than A&E. Not sure how many NHS walk centres there are outside of london though.
But for something like this? I'd pick A&E over GP. Sure you'll have to wait a few hours. but unless you get up at 8am and are lucky, then in many practices you wont even get an appointment.
sucks i know.
Reply 12
OMG, ive stepped on a plug and i know that pain, it hurts like hell. but ive never had it go straight in!!!! ouch.
Reply 14
My GP has that stupid system. Its all about keeping waiting lists down. They can say that they have only a day's wait by doing that. Grrr

Ouch on the plug thing.... :s
Reply 15
princessmarisa
The NHS websiete however says if i got dirt in it go straight to a and e otherwise go to GP next day to check you got all your shots and get a booster if you have had less than 5.
You're extremely unlikely to recieve tetanus unless the plug is dirty, rusty or used outside and you haven't had a tetanus booster in the last 10 years.

If it's clean, you can control the pain with simple analgesia and move it normally there's almost certainly bugger all that can be done with it.

If you are worried about tetanus or damage to the bone or soft tissue, go to a walk-in-centre or minor injuries unit, they're probably better set up to see things like this.
Jamie
serious?
in the last 20 years there have been about 200 cases of tetanus. Take out gardeners and druggies, and you reduce that to about 40 cases. in 20 years. in 50 odd million people.

an electric socket is hardly the stuff of 'serious nature'.
Dont bother your GP, just pop down to A&E as soon as you can, say you have a small injury but not upto date with tetanus booster, and they'll give you oen there. simple.


Course I'm serious. I'd much soon bother the GP with it than A+E :s-smilie: Especially for a booster.

Mind you my mum gets loads of calls for appointments form people who should be going to the hospital. She got one: "My kid has fallen down the garden steps. His leg is at a funny angle, can he get a doctors appointment?" and even "My toddler is unconscious and bleeding from his head. Can a doctor come round please?" :rolleyes: Seriously, some people should not be allowed to have kids.
Reply 17
I get exactly the same in my work. The number of people who "don't want to bother A&E", but would rather have a GP call out to see them is ridiculous. I'm sure they put something in the water here in South Wales.
I have to say..does it really need medical attention? It doesn't seem like a very serious injury to me. I'd wash it out with tcp and bandage it myself. It bemuses me why people rush off to the doctor for every little scrape.
In order for a blunt object to enter into tissue like, say, a human foot, there needs to be a certain amount of pressure. Fat people exert more force (weight) on an object (blunt 3 pin plug) than less chunky folk. This is a fact. All I'm saying is it takes A LOT of force to get a UK plug pin to penetrate a foot.

I've stood on one many times and its never penetrated the epidermis. I'm 11st.

Stop deleting my posts!