Tetanus – Symptoms and Treatment. Tetanus vaccine

Proven content

Tetanus is a common disease that occurs as a complication of cut or injured people and animals. It is contagious but not contagious. The first symptoms of tetanus are muscle cramps and pain. Tetanus can be local, generalized and cerebral. Treatment of tetanus is primarily disease prevention.

Tetanus – definition and infection

Tetanus is contagious but not contagious! Its formation is influenced by anaerobic bacteria – Clostridium tetani. Tetanus is a medical condition that occurs as a complication of cut or injured people and animals. Tetanus infection occurs primarily in anaerobic conditions, which mainly create deep wounds and cuts. Tetanus rods get through damaged shells, and bacteria get to their vicinity, e.g. by contact with soil, fertilizer or a foreign body. The toxins in bacteria damage the central nervous system. Tetanus infection does not pass from person to person, so a person is not a source of infection.

The causes of tetanus

The cause of tetanus is an anaerobic Gram-positive infection Clostridium tetani which produces spores and produces exotoxin. It reaches the neurons that inhibit the brain stem and the spinal cord, where it irreversibly blocks neurotransmitters and causes them to stop having an inhibitory effect on skeletal muscle tone. The produced spores can safely survive in the ground for many years, despite the effects of high temperature, disinfectants and other environmental factors. Infection occurs when previously wounded skin is contaminated with animal faeces or other materials that contain spores. After bacteria enter the wound, they multiply and produce tetanospasmine. Tetanospazmin is a neurotoxin, i.e. it attacks our nervous system, causing disturbances in nerve conduction.

Risk factors

The incidence of tetanus increases when:

1. the cut is deep,
2. the wound is torn,
3. there is a burn or frostbite,
4. we were bitten by an animal,
5. the injury was caused by glass or splinters,
6. the wound is dirty,
7. the wound was not sanitized immediately,
8. the last vaccination was more than eight years ago
9. we lost a large amount of blood due to injury.

Tetanus hatching period: from 2 to 14 days (depending on the type of wound).

Types of tetanus

There are three forms of tetanus.

1. Local character: has the mildest course with pain and muscle spasm at the site of the injury. The symptoms of the topical form last up to several weeks and may disappear spontaneously.

2. Generalized form: is the most popular form of tetanus, unfortunately quite difficult to diagnose. At the beginning of the infection, the patient experiences headaches, is irritable, muscle tension and tingling in the wound area. Gradually, as the disease progresses, trismus begins to appear, which makes the patient smile “forcibly”. The advanced development of generalized tetanus is characterized by: neck stiffness, difficulty swallowing, convulsions, and even broken spine when contractions are severe.

3. Brain form: occurs when tetanus infection affects the head and face area, which in consequence leads to nerve paralysis in this area.

4. Neonatal form: the generalized form in the newborn is very severe; it usually occurs in children to whom the mother has not passed specific antibodies. The Polmed medical center offers the Clodivac tetanus vaccine for infants from 2 months of age.

Tetanus – symptoms

The first symptoms of tetanus are:

1. sensory disturbances,
2. hyperesthesia, mainly in the injured area,
3. anxiety,
4. headaches,
5. feeling of tension in various muscle groups.

The disease affects the lower limbs, abdomen and torso first. Then there is a sudden tension in the muscles and trismus. After these ailments, patients experience difficulty swallowing and reduced control of the muscles of the face, neck and nape. In addition, there is an increase in their tension and convulsions – tension. They can be very painful and cause trouble breathing – there are attacks of breathlessness. During this time, qualified hospital medical care is necessary, and the further fate of the patient depends on the ability to maintain basic life functions. Tetanus is severe and is often fatal.

Tetanus – diagnosis

In general, serological and bacteriological tests are unnecessary, because the diagnostic basis is the clinical picture and the medical interview with the patient. Tetanus can be of different degrees of severity, which the doctor classifies into:

1. light tetanus – single muscle contractions and trismus appear;
2. moderate tetanus – apart from trismus, there is stiffness and dysphagia as well as periodic muscle contractions;
3. severe tetanus – characterized by fluctuations in blood pressure, respiratory failure and generalized muscle contractions.

In addition, in diagnostics it is important to differentiate tetanus from other ailments, e.g .:

1. tetany,
2. meningitis,
3. strychnine poisoning (it has the same clinical picture; a toxicological study is necessary),
4. inflammation around the mouth, throat or abscesses (trismus can also occur)
5. reaction to taken neuroleptic preparations – there may be stiffness of the neck muscles, accompanied by lateral torsion of the head.

Do you have worrying symptoms that could indicate tetanus? Make an e-consultation now with your GP who will see you within 10 minutes.

Treatment of tetanus

It is best to start treating tetanus with disease prevention. After an injury, always clean the wound thoroughly and do not deprive it of oxygen. Pharmacological treatment of tetanus is based on the supplementary intake of antibiotics or chemotherapeutic agents (intravenously), e.g. metronidazole, whose task is to stop the formation of bacterial flora that favorably affects the viability of tetanus bacilli. In addition, it is important to clean the wound and excise necrotic tissues, and to apply human tetanus antitoxin, which, after entering the patient’s blood, binds with the tetanus toxin and destroys it.

You can also have a tetanus vaccine. However, in extreme cases, the patient must be connected to a ventilator. Then he is given preparations that regulate the work of the heart and compensate for electrolyte disturbances.

What’s the prognosis?

The percentage of deaths due to tetanus ranges from 6 to 60%, and it depends largely on the form of the disease. The best prognosis is in the course of mild generalized tetanus. Complications may sometimes occur, such as pneumonia or bone fracture and bacterial superinfection. So tetanus is not a condition that should be ignored.

Tetanus vaccine

In Poland, since 1962, universal vaccination against tetanus was introduced for newborns, schoolchildren and soldiers. The occurrence of tetanus is prevented by undergoing preventive vaccinations and by administering one dose of the vaccine (the so-called booster dose) every 5-7 years. Unvaccinated people after an injury should receive anti-tetanus serum or better anti-tetanus human gamma-globulin.

At Medonet Market you can buy a tetanus vaccine, suitable for adults and children from 7 weeks of age.

Do you want to be vaccinated against tetanus? Check if you are eligible for vaccination.