Tetanus

An Overview

Tetanus is a serious disease of the nervous system caused by a toxin-producing bacterium. The disease causes muscle contractions, particularly of your jaw and neck muscles. Tetanus is commonly known as lockjaw. Severe complications of tetanus can be life-threatening. There’s no cure for tetanus. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and complications until the effects of the tetanus toxin resolve. Because of the widespread use of vaccines, cases of tetanus are rare in the United States and other parts of the developed world. The disease remains a threat to people who aren’t up to date on their vaccinations. It is a fatal disease of the nervous system caused by nerve toxins released by the bacterium Clostridium tetani.

The bacterium is found in the soil and in the faeces and digestive tract of animals. It enters the body through a minor cut or wound when a person comes in contact with the contaminated matter. They produce toxins that interfere with muscle contractions. Tetanus disease is found in all parts of the world, but it more occurs in the location having hot and wet climates where the soil contains a lot of organic matter.

Symptoms for Tetanus

The average time from infection to appearance of signs and symptoms (incubation period) iss 10 days. The incubation period can range from 3 to 21 days. The most common type of tetanus is called generalized tetanus. Signs and symptoms begin gradually and then progressively worsen over two weeks. They usually start at the jaw and progress downward on the body.
Signs and symptoms of generalized tetanus include:
• Painful muscle spasms and stiff, immovable muscles (muscle rigidity) in your jaw
• Tension of muscles around your lips, sometimes producing a persistent grin
• Painful spasms and rigidity in your neck muscles
• Difficulty swallowing
• Rigid abdominal muscles
• Fever
• Drooling
• Irritability
• Rapid heart rate
• Jaw cramping
• Sudden, involuntary muscle tightening (muscle spasms) — often in the stomach
• Painful muscle stiffness all over the body
• Trouble swallowing
• Jerking or staring (seizures)
• Headache
• Fever and sweating
• Changes in blood pressure and heart rate
• Excessive Sweating
• High blood pressure
• Swallowing difficulty
• Hands or feet spasms
• Uncontrolled urination or defecation

Progression of tetanus results in repeated painful, seizure-like spasms that last for several minutes (generalized spasms). Usually, the neck and back arch, the legs become rigid, the arms are drawn up to the body, and the fists are clenched. Muscle rigidity in the neck and abdomen may cause breathing difficulties

Causes of Tetanus

The bacterium that causes tetanus is called Clostridium tetani. The bacterium can survive in a dormant state in soil and animal feces. It’s essentially shut down until it discovers a place to thrive.
When the dormant bacteria enter a wound — a condition good for growth — the cells are “awakened.” As they are growing and dividing, they release a toxin called tetanospasmin. The toxin impairs the nerves in the body that control muscles.
The spores can get into the body through broken skin, usually through injuries from contaminated objects. Tetanus bacteria are more likely to infect certain breaks in the skin. These include:
• Wounds contaminated with dirt, poop (feces), or spit (saliva)
• Wounds caused by an object puncturing the skin (puncture wounds), like a nail or needle
• Burns
• Crush injuries
• Injuries with dead tissue
• Clean superficial wounds (when only the topmost layer of skin is scraped off)
• Surgical procedures
• Insect bites
• Dental infections
• Compound fractures (a break in the bone where it is exposed)
• Chronic sores and infections
• Intravenous (IV) drug use
• Intramuscular injections (shots given in a muscle)

Tetanus Treatment

Treatment for tetanus depends on the severity of the symptoms. However, it is typically treated with a variety of therapies and medications, such as:
• Cleaning the wound
• Muscle Relaxers to control muscle spasms
• Taking antibiotics like penicillin to kill the bacteria
• Tetanus Immune Globulin (TIG) to neutralize the toxins
• Care in the hospital
• Immediate treatment with medicine called human tetanus immune globulin (TIG)
• Aggressive wound care
• Drugs to control muscle spasms
• Antibiotics
• Tetanus vaccination
Depending on how serious the infection is, a machine to help you breathe may be required.
Several vaccines protect against tetanus, all of which also protect against other diseases:
• DTaP protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)
• DT protects against diphtheria and tetanus
• Tdap protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis
• Td protects against tetanus and diphtheria
Being up to date with your tetanus vaccine is the best tool to prevent tetanus. Protection from vaccines, as well as a prior infection, do not last a lifetime. This means that if you had tetanus or got the vaccine before, you still need to get the vaccine regularly to keep a high level of protection against this serious disease.

Prevention

You can prevent tetanus by being vaccinated.
Vaccination for children
The tetanus vaccine is given to children as part of the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP). Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection of the nose and throat. Acellular pertussis, also called whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory infection.
Complications
• Uncontrolled/involuntary tightening of the vocal cords (laryngospasm)
• Broken bones (fractures)
• Infections gotten by a patient during a hospital visit (hospital-acquired infections)
• Blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a blood clot that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (pulmonary embolism)

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