Things to note after a tetanus shot

Tetanus is an immune protein that needs to be injected when the wound on the surface of human skin is large or deep, because bacteria can easily multiply in some wounds. Modern people are becoming more and more aware of tetanus vaccination, and they will get tetanus vaccination when they find that their injuries are serious. However, there are certain precautions for tetanus. Let’s learn about them today.

1. Minor wounds 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.

2. 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.

Tetanus is an acute specific infection caused by tetanus bacteria invading human wounds and multiplying and producing exotoxins in the wounds. Clinically, the main symptoms are persistent spasms and paroxysmal convulsions of the whole body or local muscles of the patient. It is also called "tetanus" in traditional Chinese medicine.

3. Tetanus is a clostridial infection with a long history. It is an acute specific infection caused by Clostridium tetani invading human wounds, growing and multiplying, and producing toxins. Tetanus bacteria and their toxins cannot invade normal skin and mucous membranes, so tetanus always occurs after an injury. All open injuries have the potential to cause tetanus.

An acute specific infection caused by tetanus bacteria invading human wounds, growing and multiplying, and producing toxins.

Early detection of tetanus

Tetanus patients often have a history of trauma, especially wounds contaminated by rust, feces, etc. It usually begins to develop 1 to 2 weeks after the wound. Although this disease is very dangerous, it can be cured if it is discovered early and treated in time. Therefore, for tetanus patients, the key to rescue is early detection.

The early symptoms of tetanus are muscle spasms, commonly known as "cramps." The earliest symptom for most patients is facial muscle spasm, which is mainly manifested by inability to open the mouth and spasm and pain in the muscles in front of the ears when chewing food. Many patients mistakenly think they have a dental disease and go to the dentistry department for treatment. During examination, dentists often only find spasms of the masticatory muscles and temporalis muscles, but no dental disease in the mouth that causes difficulty in opening the mouth. The more you ask the patient to open his mouth, the harder it is for him to open it, and he may even close his mouth tighter and tighter. If you are a little careless at this time, the case may be left unresolved and delayed. However, if you have the diagnostic knowledge in this area and think it is tetanus and get timely treatment, most cases can be cured. However, many dentists do not necessarily have this knowledge, resulting in many delays. Once whole-body muscle spasms and twitching occur, and then you think of tetanus, the prognosis becomes very poor.

What are the symptoms of tetanus?

1. Incubation period: The length varies and is often related to factors such as whether or not the patient has received vaccinations, the nature and location of the trauma, and the treatment of the wound. Usually 7-8 days, but can be as short as 24 hours or as long as several months or years.

2. Prodromal stage: fatigue, dizziness, headache, chewing weakness, hyperreflexia, irritability, local pain, muscle stretching, convulsion and rigidity, jaw tension and difficulty opening the mouth.

3. Attack period: continuous muscle contraction. The first are the masticatory muscles, followed by the face, neck, back, abdomen, limbs, and finally the diaphragm and intercostal muscles.

4. Sound, light vibration, drinking water and injection can induce paroxysmal convulsions. The patient remained conscious and had no abnormal sensations. Generally no high fever.