Often referred to as lockjaw because it can cause painful spasms and stiffness in your jaw muscles, tetanus is a serious disease that attacks the nervous system with the potentially deadly bacteria called Clostridium tetani.
In addition to the jaw, C. tetani bacteria can lead to painful muscle contractions in the neck, as well as cause breathing difficulties.
Due to the tetanus vaccine, the disease is rare in the United States and other developed countries, though about one million cases are reported around the world each year.
Most U.S. cases occur in people who have not received the tetanus vaccination. When tetanus does occur, it can take months to fully recover, and 1 out of 5 people who get tetanus die. Children who get tetanus may need several weeks of hospital care.
Tetanus does not spread between people. Spores of the C. tetani bacteria are found in soil, animal feces, and dust. While the spores are inactive in the soil, they can remain infectious for more than 40 years.
If the spores get into your body through an injury, burn, or wound, they release bacteria that make a poison called tetanospasmin (also known as tetanus toxin). This poison blocks nerve signals from your spinal cord to your muscles, causing severe muscle spasms, which in some cases can tear muscles or cause fractures of the spine.
The first symptoms can occur about 7 to 21 days after being infected with the bacteria C. tetani. However, the average incubation period is 7 to 8 days. Mild spasms and stiffness in the jaw muscles are usually the first signs of tetanus; with the below symptoms following shortly thereafter:
Other signs and symptoms may include:
Newborn babies whose mothers werent immunized can catch neonatal tetanus, a form of generalized tetanus, that usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical stump, particularly when the stump is cut with an unsterile instrument. This form of tetanus causes the death of around 200,000 newborns annually around the world.
There is no cure for tetanus, so treatment involves caring for the wound and taking medications to ease symptoms. With proper treatment, less than 15 percent of people with tetanus die. Treatment may include the following:
Since catching tetanus doesnt make you immune to getting the disease again, you will also need to receive a tetanus vaccine to prevent future infection.
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Tetanus develops when the potentially deadly bacteria called Clostridium tetani enters the body. Spores of C. tetani are found in soil, animal feces, and dust.
Although the spores can remain inactive in the soil, they may be infectious for more than 40 years.
If the spores get into your body through an injury, burn, or wound, they release bacteria that make a poison called tetanospasmin (also called tetanus toxin).
This poison blocks nerve signals from your spinal cord to your muscles, causing severe muscle stiffness and spasms, which in some cases can injure muscle tissue or cause fractures of the spine.
While people cannot pass on tetanus to each other, they may be infected after an animal bite. Additional ways that tetanus can develop include the following:
The following factors are necessary for tetanus bacteria to proliferate in your body:
Tetanus is easily preventable by being immunized with the DTaP vaccine, which also provides immunity against the bacteria that cause diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough). Immunization usually protects against tetanus infection for 10 years, and then a booster shot is needed for continued protection.
If you get a deep wound or other injury listed above that could cause tetanus, as long as youve been immunized prior to the incident, your body should quickly make the needed antibodies to protect you against the disease.
However, if you havent been immunized, seek medical attention if your wound is deep and dirty so the healthcare provider can properly clean the wound, prescribe an antibiotic, and provide other necessary treatment.
If you have a minor wound, these steps can help prevent you from getting tetanus:
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Tetanus develops when the potentially deadly bacteria called Clostridium tetani enters the body. C. tetani spores are found in soil, animal feces, and dust.
The first symptoms of tetanus include mild spasms and stiffness in the jaw muscles (called lockjaw). Other symptoms follow:
While there is no cure for tetanus, treatment involves caring for the wound and taking medications to ease the symptoms listed above.
However, once tetanus toxin has bonded to your nerve endings, it is impossible to remove, and the growth of new nerve endings, which can take months, is the only way to completely recover.
Wounds on the head or face that become infected with tetanus tend to be more dangerous than other parts of the body that become infected. Complications from tetanus may include the following:
Call the Doctor if
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Most cases of tetanus in the United States occur in people who have not received the tetanus DTaP vaccination. This combination vaccine offers protection from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough).
When tetanus does occur, it is a medical emergency that can take months to fully recover, and 1 out of 5 people who get tetanus will die. The death rate is higher for infants who are left untreated, and children who get tetanus may need weeks of hospital care.
However, with proper treatment, less than 15 percent of people with tetanus die.
While there isnt a specific laboratory test to diagnose tetanus, there are tests that can help exclude diseases with symptoms similar to tetanus, such as meningitis, rabies, and strychnine poisoning.
Once those are ruled out, medical professionals base tetanus diagnosis on the following:
There is no cure for tetanus, and wounds on the head or face that become infected with tetanus tend to be more dangerous than other parts of the body that become infected.
Treatment involves caring for the wound and taking medications to ease symptoms. Treatment may include the following:
Since catching tetanus doesnt make you immune to getting the disease again, you will also need to receive a tetanus vaccine to prevent future infection.
In addition to treatment, feeding through nasoduodenal tubes, gastrostomy tube feedings, or parenteral hyperalimentation (nutrients provided through a catheter) may be required to avoid choking and to maintain healthy nutrition throughout recovery.
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Due to the tetanus vaccine, tetanus is rare in the United States and other developed countries, with around one million cases reported across the world each year.
Most cases in the United States occur in people who havent received the tetanus vaccination or who havent stayed up-to-date on their 10-year booster shots. Before the vaccine, there were more than 500 cases of tetanus reported annually in the United States.
DTaP vaccination is a shot that combines the vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough).
The DTaP vaccine creates antibiodies against the tetanus toxin for at least 10 years. The vaccine shot is administered to children in the following way:
To maintain protection from tetanus throughout life, people need to receive booster vaccines. When children are 11 or 12 years old, they should get a booster vaccine called Tdap (which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis).
Starting at 19 years old, adults need a booster called the Td vaccine (for tetanus and diphtheria) every 10 years. For people who never received Tdap, the vaccine should be given once, before age 65, as a substitute for Td.
Its important to stay up-to-date with your booster shots, especially if you plan to travel to developing countries because tetanus may be more common where youre visiting. Before traveling, check with your doctor about when you received your last booster shot.
Newborn babies whose mothers werent immunized can catch a form of generalized tetanus that usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical stump, particularly when the stump is cut with an unsterile instrument. This form of tetanus causes the death of around 200,000 newborns annually.
However, if a mother has been immunized no more than 10 years before becoming pregnant or if she receives the vaccination during her pregnancy, she can protect her baby from tetanus because she passes antibodies to the baby across the placenta.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant women who received the last dose of a tetanus vaccine more than 10 years prior to becoming pregnant should be immunized with Td during the second and third trimester instead of Tdap.
If their last tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine was less than 10 years ago, the CDC says she should wait until after delivery to receive Tdap.
A serious reaction to the DTaP vaccine occurs in fewer than 1 in a million children. The most common side effects usually occur in about 1 out of 4 children. These include:
Other side effects include the following:
Tetanus is easily preventable by being immunized with the DTaP vaccine.
If you get a deep wound or other injury listed below that could cause tetanus, as long as youve been immunized prior to the incident, your body should quickly make the needed antibodies to protect you against the disease.
However, if you havent been immunized, seek medical attention if your wound is deep and dirty so the health care provider can properly clean the wound, prescribe an antibiotic, and provide other necessary treatment.
Injuries that might be cause for concern include the following:
If you have a minor wound, these steps can help prevent you from getting tetanus:
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