Learn about your teeth and gums and how to keep them healthy in "bite size" articles.This is going to make you Smile.. Healthy!!!

Tetanus


The pic is nt a pretty sight, is it?? It is a painting by Charles Bell depicting a soldier dying of tetanus.

Tentanus is a disease caused by a bacteria called Clostridium tetani. The bacteria enter the body through various puncture wounds.. for eg.. when you cut yourself with a sharp unsterilised instrument, the feared rusty nail.. and in the case of this soldier, probably from a bloody sword..

When an unsterilised instrument is used to cut the umbilical cord of a newborn baby, and if the mother is not immunised, the chances of the baby getting tetanus is high.

The bacteria enter the body and produce a toxin which acts on the body's central nervous system and causes intense muscle spasm. From the time the bacteria enter the body to the the time symptoms are seen may vary from a week to months.

Symptoms include :
1.Inability to open and close the mouth.
2. Stiffness in the neck
3. Stiffness of the facial muscles
4. Muscle spasms lasting several minutes.


Tetanus is a disease that can be prevented. The tetanus toxoid vaccine is administered and a booster dose is administered every ten years.
After an injury, if your immune status is not known, it is advsable to get an injection of tetanus toxoid.


The following is the national immunisation schedule in India. The "T in DPT" indicates tetanus vaccine.



Vaccine

Age

Birth

6 weeks

10 weeks

14

weeks

9-12

months

Primary vaccination

BCG

X

Oral polio

X

X

X

X

DPT

X

X

X

Hepatitis B*

X

X

X

Measles

X

Booster Doses

DPT + Oral polio

16 to 24 months

DT

5 years

Tetanus toxoid (TT)

At 10 years and again at 16 years

Vitamin A

9, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months

Pregnant women

Tetanus toxoid (PW): 1st dose

2nd dose

Booster

As early as possible during pregnancy (first contact)

1 month after 1st dose

If previously vaccinated, within 3 years


Tetanus is not a disease to be taken slightly. It is a potentially fatal disease that can be prevented by proper vaccination. So safeguard yourself and your family from this deadly disease.. and keep smiling healthy.. :)

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