by Jennifer Kirkman

Created on: January 29, 2010   Last Updated: January 31, 2010

Tetanus is nothing to fool around with. It is a bacteria called Clostridium tetani which if anywhere inside of the body, affects the functioning of the nerves. You can have this bacteria treated once you have it, but the recovery process does take quite a bit of time. Keep in mind also that Clostridium tetani is one that lives within the soil.

Tetanus generally enters the body through a puncture type of a wound, and enter the body causing bacteria. The extremely potent bacteria in tetanus is called tetanospasmin.

Typical symptoms of having tetanus that is usually first noticed is that the jaw, neck, and other surrounding muscles will have spasms. Other serious symptoms are the jaw stiffening up so much that you won't be able to swallow. It is also not uncommon to also have respiratory symptoms and trouble breathing. Some people can also have a fever and muscle pains.

With any type of a wound, and experiencing these symptoms, it is important to see your doctor right away. Doctors can easily determine whether you have tetanus just by your symptoms alone. There is no definite lab test which will diagnose this condition.

Treating tetanus is really taking a chance at best. Due to the fact that the jaw and surrounding areas are having spasm activity, it is a possibility that it could be fatal for a person. This is due to the fact that the airways may be greatly constricted, and as a result, the air supply cut off. This is why people are usually treated in a hospital ICU, to provide ventilator support to breathe for them. Antibiotics are provided for the person through intravenous, usually, along with other drug treatments to relieve anxiety.

So this is why receiving a tetanus vaccine is extremely important. Vaccination against the toxin is very important, and then receiving booster shots later on for tetanus is a must, especially if you have encountered a wound. Making sure that your tetanus vaccine is right up to date is extremely important. Technically, your tetanus boosters should be updated once in every ten years from what I've learned and read.

If you are an adult who has not been immunized at all for tetanus, it takes three doses of the vaccine, given at different intervals of time. You get the first two of the doses two weeks apart, and the third one comes later at 6 months after the first two. Children usually have this vaccine during their first months known as a DTAP series.

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