All wounds other than clean, minor cuts are considered 'tetanus-prone'. Seek medical advice for dirty wounds or wounds where the skin has been penetrated such as with a rose thorn or rusty nail. First aid treatment should always include cleaning the wound and using an antiseptic.
Risk factors
The greatest risk factor for tetanus infection is not being vaccinated or not keeping up with the 10-year booster shots. Other factors that increase the risk of tetanus infection are: Cuts or wounds exposed to soil or manure. A foreign body in a wound, such as a nail or splinter.
The symptoms of tetanus usually develop 4 to 21 days after infection. On average, they start after around 10 days. The main symptoms include: stiffness in your jaw muscles (lockjaw), which can make opening your mouth difficult.
“If a wound is contaminated with dirt or saliva or was caused by something made from metal, you should see your primary care provider or go to urgent care for a tetanus booster if you haven't had a booster in five years,” says Dr. Thaker.
Tetanus often begins with mild spasms in the jaw muscles (lockjaw). The spasms can also affect your chest, neck, back, and abdominal muscles. Back muscle spasms often cause arching, called opisthotonos. Sometimes, the spasms affect muscles that help with breathing, which can lead to breathing problems.
Tetanus is uncommon in the United States, with an average of 30 reported cases each year. Nearly all cases of tetanus in the U.S. are among people who have never received a tetanus vaccine, or adults who don't stay up to date on their 10-year booster shots.
Localized tetanus is an unusual form of the disease consisting of muscle spasms in a confined area close to the site of the injury. Although localized tetanus often occurs in people with partial immunity and is usually mild, progression to generalized tetanus can occur.
What does tetanus look like on the skin? Tetanus infections do not cause a rash and the wound will not show signs of tetanus. The first symptoms can take days, weeks, or even months to appear and usually start at the jaw. From the outside, tetanus may look like muscle tightness in the jaw, neck, and face.
If you do not have a cut or wound, you do not need to get a tetanus shot – regardless of your exposure to floodwater. If you get a cut or puncture wound and haven't had a tetanus shot, then you will need to get one.
With that said, most people who get a tetanus shot will not experience any symptoms. The most common side effects of a tetanus shot include: redness and swelling at injection site. body aches.
Diagnosis. Doctors can diagnose tetanus by asking about recent history of cuts, scrapes, punctures, and trauma, and examining someone for certain signs and symptoms. There are no hospital lab tests that can confirm tetanus.
Symptoms of tetanus may not begin to appear until a week after the injury, so as a rule of thumb, try to get the tetanus booster shot within 48 hours of the injury. If tetanus is left untreated, your body could face long-term complications such as airway obstruction, heart failure, muscle damage, and/or brain damage.
Tetanus - Caused by a Bacterium
The likelihood of tetanus is greatest following deep, dirty puncture wounds where there is little bleeding and an absence of oxygen. But tetanus has occurred following other injuries such as burns, scratches, and slivers.
0 or 1 – Mild tetanus; mortality below 10% 2 or 3 – Moderate tetanus; mortality of 10-20% 4 – Severe tetanus; mortality of 20-40% 5 or 6 – Very severe tetanus; mortality above 50%
In summary, tetanus prevention can be achieved during emergencies through: Careful cleaning of wounds, both deep and superficial, can substantially decrease the risk of tetanus. Protecting cleaned wounds from recontamination with dressings, and/or topical disinfectants also is important.
As with any vaccine or medicine, there is a very small chance of a tetanus shot causing a severe allergic reaction or other serious reaction. Signs of a severe allergic reaction include hives, swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a fast heartbeat, dizziness or weakness.
There's no cure for tetanus. A tetanus infection requires emergency and long-term supportive care while the disease runs its course. Treatment consists of wound care, medications to ease symptoms and supportive care, usually in an intensive care unit.
You may have stiff and weak muscles only in the area of the wound. This is called localized tetanus. Symptoms may go away without treatment, or they may spread. Infection that spreads is called generalized.
The tetanus bacteria can infect a person even through a tiny scratch. But you're more likely to get tetanus through deep punctures from wounds created by nails or knives. The bacteria travel via blood or nerves to the central nervous system.
Tetanus is rare in Australia because of high vaccination coverage.
But with treatment, patients usually survive tetanus and recover. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal in approximately 11 percent of reported cases.
A tetanus shot may be required if you have not had one within 10 years; if you are not sure when you had your last tetanus shot, and you've been bitten, you should get one within 72 hours after your injury. If bitten, but the bleeding is minor, cleanse and treat the wound as you would a minor wound.
However, for patients thought to be completely unvaccinated, human tetanus immune globulin should be given up to 21 days following the injury; Td or Tdap should be given concurrently to such patients.
During childhood, five doses are recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence. After three doses, almost everyone is initially immune, but additional doses every ten years are recommended to maintain immunity. A booster shot should be given within 48 hours of an injury to people whose immunization is out of date.