Can you survive lockjaw

Tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease that is not transmitted from person to person. Burden Due to widespread immunization, tetanus is a rare disease in the US. Symptoms Common initial symptoms of tetanus are a headache and muscular stiffness in the jaw lockjaw followed by stiffness of the neck, difficulty swallowing, hardening of abdominal muscles, spasms, sweating, and fever.

Prevention Vaccination is the best way to prevent tetanus. Treatment Immediate, good wound care is important. Fact: Tetanus can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine.

The 6-year-old Oregon boy recently in the news for contracting tetanus was in the perfect scenario for the disease to take hold. Animal bite injuries and wounds that could be contaminated with dust, soil or feces put us at risk for tetanus. Crush injuries, too, are high-risk because they create lots of spaces where tetanus bacteria can develop. The onset of tetanus usually begins between three days and three weeks after an injury.

Symptoms include muscle pain, muscle spasms, difficulty breathing and difficulty swallowing. With tetanus, the body has an overstimulation of muscle, which is what causes those painful spasms and contractions. Treatment includes limiting stimuli in the room, as something as simple as lights or sounds can trigger muscle spasms. This treatment is in addition to antibiotics, wound care, medicine to help control muscle spasms and a medication called human tetanus immune globulin.

If needed, mechanical ventilation and supplemental nutrition are used. Avoiding wounds in general, of course, will reduce your tetanus risk. But everyday life comes with cuts and scrapes. Getting vaccinated with the tetanus vaccine is the smartest way to prevent the disease.

Infections that occur faster after exposure are typically more severe and have a worse prognosis. Your doctor will perform a physical exam to check for symptoms of tetanus, such as muscle stiffness and painful spasms. Unlike many other diseases, tetanus is not generally diagnosed through laboratory tests.

However, your doctor may still perform lab tests to help rule out diseases with similar symptoms. These include meningitis , a bacterial infection that affects the brain and spinal cord, or rabies , a viral infection that causes brain swelling. Your doctor will also base a tetanus diagnosis on your immunization history. Treatment depends on the severity of your symptoms. Tetanus is typically treated with a variety of therapies and medications, such as:.

In some cases, a surgical procedure called debridement is used to remove dead or infected tissue. If you have difficulty swallowing and breathing , you may need a breathing tube or ventilator a machine that moves air in and out of the lungs. Severe muscle spasms as a result of tetanus can also cause serious health complications, such as:.

Vaccination can prevent tetanus infections, but only if you receive your booster shots on schedule. In the United States, the tetanus vaccine is given to children as part of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis shot, also called the DTap shot.

This is a three-in-one vaccine that protects against diphtheria , pertussis , and tetanus. Children need to get a booster shot at 11 or 12 years of age. Adults then need a booster vaccine called the Td vaccine for tetanus and diphtheria every 10 years after that.

Proper treatment and cleaning of wounds can also help prevent the infection. Vaccine Disease. Diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccine. On this page. Causes of tetanus Tetanus, or lockjaw, is caused by bacteria that can survive for a long time outside the body, and are commonly found in soil and the manure of animals such as horses and cows.

Check to see if your destination has a risk. Symptoms of tetanus Tetanus symptoms usually develop four to 21 days after infection.

The main tetanus symptoms include: stiffness in your jaw muscles lockjaw difficulty opening your mouth painful muscle spasms difficulty breathing and swallowing high temperature sweating rapid heartbeat Diagnosis of tetanus Tetanus is diagnosed based on the symptoms you are experiencing and your health history.

Treatment of tetanus Tetanus is curable using a medication that kills the tetanus bacteria, called tetanus immunoglobulin, but it is not effective for everyone.

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