Contents:
- Medical Video: How Long Is a Tetanus Shot Good For?
- What is injection for tetanus?
- Get to know the types of tetanus injections
- Who are the adults who need tetanus injections?
- Who are adults who don't need tetanus injections?
Medical Video: How Long Is a Tetanus Shot Good For?
Even though vaccines aka immunizations are more familiar for infants and children, adults still need to get a vaccine to protect themselves from various "adult" diseases. The HPV vaccine, herpes zoster, pneumonia, typhoid fever, yellow fever or yellow fever, are several types of vaccines that are only given to adults. But if you missed your childhood or never got tetanus injections, do you still need to do it when you grow up?
What is injection for tetanus?
Tetanus injections are given to protect you from disease tetanus caused by bacteria Clostrdium tetani. These bacteria exist throughout the world and mainly live on land.Tetanus is a condition of nerve damage caused by poisons produced by these bacteria.
If you fall or are punctured by sharp objects on the road, and have open wounds on the skin and are not cleaned quickly, the bacteria that causes tetanus can enter the body through the wound to multiply and produce poisons that can attach to the ends of nerve fibers. The poison will spread gradually to the spinal cord and brain. Muscles controlled by nerves will be stiff and numb. If not treated properly, this disease can cause severe seizures even to death from respiratory muscles that stop working.
Although the number of cases of tetanus is generally higher in infants and children, this disease can still approach adults who have not been vaccinated, especially people living in developing countries. For that, regardless of your age, get tetanus injections immediately if you have never received them as a child.
Get to know the types of tetanus injections
At present, there are four types of vaccines used to protect from tetanus, all of which are combined with vaccines for other diseases, namely:
- Diphtheria and tetanus (DT)
- Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP)
- Tetanus and Diphtheria Vaccine (Td)
- Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap)
Tetanus vaccination is recommended for all babies, children, adolescents and adults. DTaP and DT are given to children under 7 years of age, while Tdap and Td are given to children and older adults.
Who are the adults who need tetanus injections?
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,Tdap vaccine is needed for all adults aged 19 and older who have never received the vaccine, especially:
- Health workers who have direct contact with patients.
- Nursing infants under 1 year of age, including parents, grandparents, and baby caregivers
- Pregnant women in the third trimester (ideally 27 to 36 weeks old), even if you have previously received the Tdap vaccine; This can protect newborns from whooping cough in the first months of birth.
- New mother who has never received Tdap— Neonatal tetanus usually originates from an infection when breaking the umbilical cord of a newborn.
- People traveling to countries infected with pertussis.
The Tdap vaccine is also given to those of you who have suffered severe injuries or burns and have never received a vaccine. Severe injuries and burns can also increase the risk of tetanus.
The Tdap vaccine can be given at any time of the year. Only one injection is needed and other vaccinations can be given. No vaccine can be given regardless of when the last vaccine Td was given. Tdap vaccine can be used safely for ages 65 years and over.In order for your immune system to stay superior in fighting tetanus, an injection of booster for Td vaccine is needed every 10 years.
Who are adults who don't need tetanus injections?
You do not need to receive tetanus injections if you:
- Having a serious allergy to one of the vaccine ingredients before.
- Have coma or convulsions within a week of receiving vaccinations for whooping cough (such as DTaP), unless the vaccine is not the cause; Td can be used in this case.
If you experience one of the following, consult your doctor whether the Tdap or Td vaccine is right for you:
- Epilepsy or other nervous system problems
- Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
- Have a history of severe swelling or pain after receiving a pertussis, tetanus, or diphtheria vaccination in the past.
If you are seriously ill, your doctor will usually recommend you wait for a vaccination after you recover. According to the CDC, you can still get tetanus injections (or other types of vaccines) if you have a common disease, such as a low-grade fever, colds, or a common cold cough.
