A week ago while I was hand stitching I stuck a pin under my finger nail and got an infection under the nail. It got pretty bad and painful and I wasn't feeling well so I went to the Doctor. I ended up having part of my nail removed and the Doctor told me I have a local strep infection in the area were the pin was poked. I have to take antibyotics for three weeks. It is a good idea to clean your pins with some sort of antibacterial product.

OMGosh - I never thought about that. I'm so sorry that happened to you! I've never cleaned my pins or needles - I do throw them away when they become dull or bent. I'll have to remember this the next time I poke myself and wash and clean the area right away. Did you have to get a tetnus (sp?) shot, too?

Oh my, that's awful! Never heard of that. Hope you are better soon.

I hope that the Rx clears it up soon!!!

Jeepers! I never thought of that. Guess I will have to put some peroxide on them.

Who would have thought that getting a pin stuck under your nail would turn out to be such a problem. I hope after taking your antibiotics everything will be fine.
Thanks for the heads up on cleaning ALL of our pins!!!

Yeah got a big shot in the hip for tetnus....kind of sore in that spot tooo......ouch!

The infection was not caused by the pin itself.....it was probably caused by the hole the pin made and strep/staph are both opportunistic infections. Which means in layman terms......you had the orgamism (strep bug) on your hand and the pin pushed it under your nail and into your skin when it pierced the surface. Neither staph nor strep live on metal but do live on nice warm skin. Most of us are naturally carriers of staph aureus and it has nothing to do with cleanliness (honest). Now having said that....if you put your pins into your mouth to hold (a very bad habit I have)then you certainly can transfer germs onto the pin which could then be pushed into your skin. It would have to happen relatively quickly though. It's kind of scary when you think about orgamisms (germs) and where they are located. Everything we touch can be transferred onto our hands and then has the potential to cause infection. Most of the time it ends up as a viral infection though and does not occur as a cellulitis like you ended up with. Again...it was the event itself....sticking yourself....that caused the infection, not the pin. Does this help or make sense? The moral to my story is....unless your pins/needles are dirty,dirty dirty they don't need to be cleaned or disinfected. By the way, I'm basing this recommendation on 25yrs of nursing experience and not from just sleeping in a Holiday Inn last night. LOL Hope your infection clears up quickly....it is painful! Ask me how I know :)

The big mean nurse did not need to give the shot in your butt....I always use the non dominant arm. Tetanus injections always hurt the next day where ever you get it though :(

Lori ---- thanks for sharing that very useful info with us! :D

Now about that habit of sticking pins in your mouth....please don't do it! One time when I was making a costume for my DD I had a bunch of pins between my lips and I sneezed. Guess what happened ---- they got stuck in my mouth and throat. I freaked out - couldn't breath - couldn't scream - and I was home alone. Thank goodness I could reach them with my fingers and a pair of tweezers to pull them out and that I didn't faint!!!! I have NEVER put a pin or needle in my mouth again. Please, please, please don't do it.