Why do we need a tetanus shot? What should we pay attention to when taking a tetanus shot?

In life, when people are injured, if there are wounds on their bodies, they usually take tetanus shots to prevent the occurrence of diseases. So why do you need a tetanus shot?

Why do you need a tetanus shot?

Because I am worried that the wound will be infected with tetanus.

Tetanus is a specific infection caused by Clostridium tetani invading human wounds. Tetanus bacteria grow and multiply in an anaerobic environment, producing exotoxin. The general incubation period of tetanus is 6 to 12 days. Some patients may develop the disease 1 to 2 days after the injury. The mortality rate after the attack is as high as over 20%. If active and passive immunization measures are taken, immune protection can be obtained as long as the tetanus antibody content in the body's serum reaches 0.01-0.1IU/ml.

Tetanus shot precautions:

The wound will not be infected with tetanus. Tetanus bacteria are anaerobic bacteria and conditionally pathogenic bacteria. They can only grow and reproduce under anaerobic conditions or when the wound is deep and accompanied by aerobic infection. Tetanus bacteria mostly grow in soil and rust, so if the wound is deep and contaminated with soil or is pierced by rusty iron objects, tetanus antitoxin should be injected.

If the wound is only superficial and not deep, there is no need to inject tetanus antitoxin as long as proper cleaning is done. Or you can just use some disinfectant such as mercurochrome to wipe it on the surface. If the wound is dry and there is no exudate, there is no need to wipe it again.

Because tetanus antitoxin is an immune horse serum, it is a foreign protein to the human body and has antigenicity (allergic reaction), so an allergy test should be performed before using the medicine. If the test result is negative, tetanus antitoxin can be injected directly. If the test result is positive, desensitization injection should be performed, that is, tetanus antitoxin is injected in small doses divided into 4-5 times. If tetanus antitoxin has been used for more than one week, skin testing must be repeated if it is used again.