Whenever you fall or have any injury, it is advised to get a tetanus infection. If the injury is caused by some mental surface or because of falling on the road or such surfaces, tendency of infections increases. Most people get tetanus injection once in their lifetime but they do not know why is it given. Tetanus is an infection in itself which is caused by clostridium tetani. This is a bacterial infection that can affect your brain. Today we will know about symptoms, causes and treatment for this bacterial infection.
Tetanus Infection
We talked to Dr. Sumeet Nigam, General Physician from Sahara Hospital to know about this infection. He said that tetanus infection is quite a common problem but because of increased vaccination for tetanus, the problem has been reduced now. Tetanus infection actually produces a toxin that affects your brain and the nervous system. This may affect your nervous system in a way that the motor functions and organs might get disrupted. Tetanus bacterial infection can affect your whole body through nerves and it can cause various symptoms such a breathing problems, cognitive decline and cardiovascular problems. In most of the cases tetanus infection is caused because of falling or getting injured.
Symptoms of Tetanus Bacterial Infection
Symptoms of tetanus does not occur at the same time of the injury, rather it is arises gradually with time. Most of the symptoms become evident days after the incident of infection took place. This can take upto a few weeks and can posses serious threat to health. Here are the symptoms you must be aware of-
1. Muscle Spasms- Since tetanus bacterial infection affects your nervous system; it makes the hard for the muscles to get adequate blood supple in the muscular tissues and nerves. This majorly affects your nerves from the throat to the neck. It may also affect your facial muscles because of which it can become hard for you to swallow food or chew it.
2. Difficulty in Breathing- This is a serious problem and can lead you to several complications. Tetanus infection affects the nerves which congest your breathing ability. It can cause stiffness in your limbs and affect several parts of the body with pain in regions.
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3. Back Muscles Gets affected- It can affect your spinal region and muscles present in the area. It leads to back pain and spine turning a bit backwards in case of serious infection. The spinal section of your body can be disrupted because of which it can become hard for you to stand or perform your body function effectively.
Other symptoms-
- Blood in stools
- Fever
- Diarrhoea
- Headache
- Sweating
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sore throat
- Sensitivity
What Causes Tetanus Infection?
Tetanus infection can be caused because of soil, manure and environmental factors. Tetanus infection can be very problematic and can affect your whole body. A person gets this infection because of contamination from objects such as road, soil, metal and environmental products. It is typically caused when a person falls at any such surface which has tetanus bacteria on it and it causes a wound because of injury though which the bacteria enters the body.
Here are list of causes affecting tetanus infection-
- Puncture wounds
- Crush injuries
- Wounds contaminated with saliva
- Burns
- Dead tissue wounds
- Surgical procedures
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Treatment Options For Tetanus Infection
Using Disinfectant- The first line of treatment is always to wash and clean the wound or injury. If the wound is cleaned with an anti-bacterial agent in the first few hours of injury, then it reduces the chances of having tetanus infection.
Tetanus injection- once you have cleaned the wound and applied proper anti-bacterial cream on it, it is time to get a vaccine shot for the same. Tetanus vaccine is an important part of prevention and treatment both. This is in a way that tetanus injection can remove the bacterial growth at the initial stage and provide a safe way to the person. In other way, if you are not infection with tetanus bacteria, then it can be preventive shield for the future.
Surgery- The last option which is left is surgery. This is done in the case when the tetanus infection has spread in the body and there are less chances of prevention through vaccine. It is also done when the tetanus bacterial infection has damaged or cause problem in muscle or is a threat to the person suffering from the infection. Debridement is an act of removing dead or contaminated tissue by the surgical process.
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