Minor injury-small piece of metal went into leg?

Question

I believe a small piece of metal from the top of a hatchet, went into my leg, about 7 inches below my knee cap and on the side of my leg. The cut is small, about 1 cm. Its been two days. Strangely the cut bled longer than most cuts do and when i walk or stand a large part of my leg hurts. There's barely any discoloration. though pressure on the wound causes pain.What should i do? Could metal under the skin cause any harm or is it just nothing?

Answer 1

If you truly have a piece of metal in your leg, it may very well become infected. It is a foreign body. If it bleed more than usual you could have cut a larger artery or vein.Watch for  redness, swelling, oozing, fever, it ANY of those happen go to the doctor's. The foreign body will need to be removed.  

Answer 2

Yes, metal under the skin can cause harm.  It could become infected, or it could just interfere with your muscle function.  Honestly, though, the thing I would be most worried about is tetanus.  Go check the last time you had a tetanus shot or booster, and if it's been 10 years or more then you really need to get to the doctor quickly (in fact, just go to the ER) and get that shot.  Lockjaw can really mess you up; in the US, 1 out of every 20 people who get it die (info from Wikipedia link below).

Even if you have had a recent tetanus booster, you should still probably go see a doctor about getting that piece of metal removed.  It can't be good for you to leave it in, and I really wouldn't recommend trying to remove it yourself.

Answer 3

Yes, you need to go to the ER. It could become infected and you may need a tetnis shot. They can do x-rays and see if there is metal showing and if it needs to be removed they can do that probably fairly easily and the worst you will end up with is a tetnis shot and a few stitches.