Tetanus: be careful in the country

In the summer, in the midst of the summer season, you need to be especially careful when taking time to take preventive measures to prevent infection with a dangerous disease like tetanus. This is an acute, deadly infectious disease, which is characterized by damage to the nervous system, a very likely fatal outcome. Tetanus bacillus enters the human body through mechanical damage to the skin and mucous membranes, so you should be careful during active country work.
How can you get tetanus?
The causative agent of tetanus is the spore-forming bacteria Clostridium tetani. They are resistant to disinfection, can be in the soil, on different objects. At one place these bacteria can persist for about 100 years. They are waiting for favorable conditions and are transformed into vegetative forms that produce an extremely dangerous poison. These conditions are air temperature of about 37 ° C, a certain level of humidity and others. That is why tetanus is especially dangerous in the summer, in the heat.
The poison produced by these microorganisms is safe if swallowed, but an infected wound can be fatal to humans. The source of tetanus sticks – infected birds, animals and humans, through their excrements the infection enters the soil and other elements of the environment. You can become infected by damaging the skin and mucous membranes, getting frostbite or burn.
What are the symptoms of tetanus?
The incubation period of the disease is 1-2 weeks. There is a pattern: the shorter it is, the harder the illness will flow. Symptoms of tetanus include:
Pain, twitching and tension in the wound area.
Convulsive jerking of the masticatory muscles, involuntary mimic contractions.
Sardonic smile: the corners of the mouth are lowered, eyebrows are raised, the person is uncontrolled and smiles unnaturally.
Headache, sweating, weakness, fever.
Spasms of the limbs and back muscles.
Rigidity (sharp increase in tone) and muscle soreness of the neck.
Muscle pharyngeal spasm, difficulty swallowing.
Rigidity of the muscles of the whole body, persistent and painful cramps – at subsequent stages of the disease.
Because of tetanus, it is difficult for a person to breathe, swallow, urination, defecation, and cardiac activity are disturbed. All this often leads to death.
Tetanus treatment
This is a very insidious disease due to the fact that at an early stage, during the incubation period, it is almost impossible to identify diagnostic methods, and at a late stage treatment can be long, painful and not always effective. If there is a suspicion of tetanus, you should urgently consult a doctor. To neutralize the toxin, tetanus toxin and immunoglobulin are injected into the patient, the wound is cut off with serum, opened and processed. The treatment is carried out only in the hospital, no one is going to predict the outcome.
Tetanus prevention
A major role is played by the prevention of tetanus – this is vaccination against this disease. It is carried out several times: three times in the first year of a child’s life, at one and a half years, 6 and 16 years, and then every 10 years until the end of life. It is necessary to understand that the immunity of the vaccine does not give a lifelong, so every 10 years it is necessary to apply to a medical institution for vaccination. Emergency administration of the vaccine is also possible if there is a fact of injury.
Tetanus is a terrible disease that leads to death, disability, its course can be just terrible. Therefore, be careful in the country, teach the safety of their children. And most importantly – do not forget about prevention for both yourself and children.