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Tetanus Infection
Are you current on your tetanus vaccine? Or are you a little lockjawed about getting vaccinations?
It's probably past time for your tetanus shot. If you don't know when you last had one, or know it's been more than ten years, it's time to act. Don't wait until there are signs of tetanus to get a vaccination. Treatment for tetanus may not save your life, and the infection is extremely uncomfortable anyway. Avoid the pain and expense of being treated for a tetanus infection by getting your tetanus shot today.
You never know where you can pick up tetanus spores, so don't gamble on your health or life and get a booster now. Public health officials are urging people to be careful.
Vancouver Island had four cases, including three deaths, in the first part of 2008. That's high, considering there haven't been any cases since 2001. The tetanus bacteria enter your body through skin breaks, usually associated with puncture wounds and rusty nails.
But even gardening can expose you to risk. Wear gloves, even if you have had a recent tetanus booster, to reduce your chances of infection. Death occurs in 20-50 percent of infection cases. Your risk of death is higher if you have other medical conditions that lower your immune system.
Why is gardening being targeted as a risky activity? Because tetanus bacteria thrive in dust and soil which is rich in organic matter, especially animal manure. Keep gardening a safe activity and get vaccinated now.
Symptoms of tetanus infection are muscle spams that start in the jaw, hence the common name of lockjaw. The germs that enter through wounds produce a neurotoxin once they are in the body, and those neurotoxins cause extreme and painful muscle spasms.
Treatment for tetanus includes a vaccination and another shot to neutralize the tetanus toxins that are released by the bacteria. This treatment can be effective, but not as effective as a vaccine. And death is still a possibility.
If you have philosophical objections to vaccines in general, get over it. Why expose your children or yourself to this kind of medical problem when it can be so easily avoided? Running around barefooted, which is every child's summer activity and pleasure, can lead to tetanus exposure. Scrapes and cuts, and running around in the dirt, open the door -- literally -- for these ubiquitous germs to enter a body and do their thing.
Since you can be exposed at any time, it's good to get vaccinated now. But spring through fall are more likely times of exposure because people tend to be out playing and working more, so are more likely to get exposed.
Adults tend to be under-immunized, partially because we tend to think the vaccine we had as a kid is going to last a lifetime. But kids are at risk too. Vaccinations should happen early in life and be continued every ten years for the balance of your life.
Don't play Russian-roulette with your health. Your health department or immunization clinic can take care of your vaccination quickly and easily.
