by Anthony Stemke

Created on: June 08, 2008   Last Updated: June 11, 2008

If you've ever seen a face locked into an excruciating grimace, you've seen the result of tetanus up close. This dreaded disease, also known as lockjaw, is caused by a certain bacteria growing in contaminated cuts and wounds causing muscle spasms, and if left untreated, death.

The anaerobic tetanus bacteria, "clostridium tetani," live in the soil for years as spores. Infection occurs when spores become active, reproduce, and produce a powerful poison, which affects our muscles.

PREVENTION

Whenever you get an open wound or burn, even a small one, clean it as soon as possible with soap and water. You should follow up with an over the counter antiseptic and then visit your doctor.

The FDA listed these active antiseptic ingredients as tentatively safe and effective: ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, camphorated metacresol, camphorated phenol, phenol, hexylresorcinol, hydrogen peroxide solution, iodine tincture, iodine topical solution, povidone-iodine, and methylbenzethonium.

The FDA listed these antibiotic active ingredients as safe and effective: bacitracin, bacitracin zinc, chlortetracycline hydrochloride, tetracycline hydrochloride, and neomycin sulfate.

TETANUS VACCINATION

Normally in the USA, young children are immunized with a series of five DTaP vaccinations between the ages of two months to five years. Follow up booster shots are required every ten years thereafter. This is the main reason less than fifty deaths result from tetanus in the U.S. while worldwide the total is about 400,000 cases.

Side effects are very rare with tetanus shots. One fourth of vaccinated people experience mild side effects such as soreness, swelling and redness at the injection site.

TETANUS SYMPTOMS

Alarming signs that should alert you to visit a doctor are when you have a wound accompanied by pain, cramps, muscle spasms, fever, stiff muscles, difficulty breathing and/or swallowing. These are some of the most common symptoms, although there are actually dozens of symptoms overall. They can be sub-divided into two main kinds; localized and generalized.

LOCALIZED SYMPTOMS

Localized symptoms include muscle spasms occurring adjacent to the injury, and rarely progress to generalized tetanus.

GENERALIZED SYMPTOMS

1. Irritability
2. Muscle cramps and soreness
3. Weakness
4. Difficulty swallowing
5. Facial spasms can lead to lockjaw
6. Spasms can lead to arching of the back, broken bones, and dislocated joints.

TREATMENT

If you have any of these symptoms and have wisely sought medical treatment, they will administer antibiotics and antitoxins to treat the tetanus infection and sedatives to control the spasms. If spasms exist in the respiratory muscles, they will use a ventilator to help with breathing. Rehydration will offset metabolic demands caused by muscle spasms.

If your immunization status is not known ,or outdated ,and you are showing only early symptoms, than a partial tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) dose is injected into the muscle close to the wound,and the remaining dose into the buttocks.

The best offense against tetanus is a good defense. If you get a tetanus shot every ten years, you and your muscles can relax.

http://www.medicinenet.com/tetanus/page2.htm
ht tp://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/t/tetanus/symptoms.htm
ht tp://www.emedicinehealth.com/tetanus/article_em.ht
ht tp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_n4_v30/ ai_18317963/pg_2

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