The leather was scratched by rusty objects

About Tetanus Tetanus is a specific infection in which Clostridium tetani invades the human body through skin or mucous membrane wounds, grows and multiplies in an oxygen-deficient environment, produces toxins and causes muscle spasms. Tetanus toxin mainly attacks the motor neurons in the nervous system. Therefore, the clinical characteristics of this disease are clenched jaws, paroxysmal spasms, and tonic spasms. The main muscle groups affected include the masseter muscles, dorsal spinal muscles, abdominal muscles, and limb muscles. The incubation period of tetanus is usually 7 to 8 days, but can be as short as 24 hours or as long as several months or years. The shorter the incubation period, the worse the prognosis. About 90% of patients develop the disease within 2 weeks of injury. Occasionally, patients develop tetanus symptoms after removing foreign objects that have remained in the body for many years. The general population is susceptible, and wounds of all types and sizes may be contaminated with soil or sludge containing Clostridium tetani, but only a minority of patients will develop the disease. Injuries and illnesses are more common during warmer seasons when there is more outdoor activity. There is no lasting immunity after the disease, so you can be infected again. Tetanus is a specific infection. The pathogen that causes the disease is Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic bacterium (this is related to whether you get tetanus or not). It exists in large quantities in the intestines of humans and animals, contaminating the soil through feces and causing disease through infection of wounds. The occurrence of tetanus is closely related to the injury (wound size, contamination, and injured instrument), tissue hypoxia (wound depth), and active immunization. If a child is pierced by a rusty nail or the wound is particularly narrow and deep, it is easy to form an oxygen-deficient environment, which can easily cause tetanus infection. Simple criteria for determining whether a tetanus shot is needed are: the depth of the wound and what object caused the wound. When the wound is deep enough to require stitches, or when it is caused by some serious external injuries, such as punctures or wounds by sharp objects such as nails, wood, and thorns, and bleeding occurs, such wounds are deep and thin, and are the breeding ground for tetanus bacteria. The wound opening is small, and there is necrotic tissue or blood clots inside the wound, or the wound is packed too tightly or there is local ischemia, which creates an oxygen-deficient environment suitable for the growth and reproduction of tetanus bacteria. If aerobic infection is present, the latter will consume the remaining oxygen in the wound, making tetanus more likely to occur.

The conditions required for tetanus infection are: 1. Open tissue injury and deep wound. 2. Invasion by external Clostridium tetani. 3. There is devitalized tissue or local tissue ischemia and hypoxia in the wound. It can be seen that superficial wounds usually do not cause tetanus infection. For simple surface abrasions, there is no need to get a tetanus shot for prevention after timely debridement.