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Medical question, tetanus shot


Alpo

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Sometime in junior high school I stepped on a sharp bone in the backyard and got a tetanus shot. That would be round about 1970. The next time I got one was 2018.

 

Looking up on the Internet how often you should get them, and they say every 10 years. So I should have gotten some in that 40-year period.

 

In 2017 we had a hurricane, and in July of 18 I finally got the new roof on. In August or September I stepped on a roofing nail that them idiots threw in the backyard grass, and went down and got a tetanus shot.

 

So it has been 4 years, approximately, since I had one.

 

Now supposing that I were to damage myself again - step on another nail, run the sharp end of a chain link fence into my hand while climbing the fence, something like that - and I go to the doctor and he asked me when the last time I had a tetanus shot, and I tell him four years ago, would he be more likely to decide that I was safe because that was well within the 10-year limit between shots, or would he be more likely to say "well hell we'll give you another one just to make sure"?

 

I have not damaged myself. This is just some of my standard hypothetical wondering.

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I've gotten them every ten, but have you ever heard of someone getting lock jaw? I think that's what a tetanus shot prevents.

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The ten year tetanus booster is a basic preventative.  However, puncture wounds can cause the entrance of the tetanus germs, and a puncture would, such as a nail tends to close up fairly quickly, trapping whatever bug is present. Tetanus is more prevalent where animals are, especially including, but not limited to horses and cattle.  During the Civil War more casualties resulted in death than the bullet wounds outright, especially in the Eastern theaters where farms were more in existence.  The best advice is, if you are not sure, consult your doctor about whether a booster or anti-toxin shot is recommended.  DON'T GUESS!

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I have always heard that it should be 7 years between shots. I get one every 7 years because I damage myself……….a lot. :lol:

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What Trailrider said X 100. 

Tetanus kills more than 50% of those infected, even today, and it is a horrible, painful death.   I've had fully vaccinated livestock contract Tetanus, and have to be euthanized to stop their obvious agony.  

Don't guess and dont take any chances.  

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The CDC guidance is every 10 years. Nowdays you'll probably get what we call a TDAP (includes diptheria and pertussis, whooping cough).Tetanus is an anaerobic bacteria, grows in the absence of oxygen which will kill it. Most common in puncture wounds. Pretty rare, but bad news if you get it.

JHC

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/dtap-tdap-td/hcp/recommendations.html

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15 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

I've gotten them every ten, but have you ever heard of someone getting lock jaw? I think that's what a tetanus shot prevents.

Ditto for polio.
Except in NYC, where the unwashed have brought polio back to America.

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In the Army I’d be given a tetanus shot every time I passed within 100ft of something metallic.  After that I was told every five years was a good idea and more recently ten years.

 

 My last shot was about 12 years ago. In recent discussion with my VA doctor’s asst, he said I should get the shot at either of my next two VA visits.  On those visits, both nurses said, we don’t have it in the fridge.

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29 minutes ago, bgavin said:

Ditto for polio.
Except in NYC, where the unwashed have brought polio back to America.

Not to mention all the woke that don't get their kids vaccinated anymore.

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Any vaccination will hopefully protect a person from unknown exposure.  If one is known to be exposed to a disease, immediate re-vaccination is a good idea,  because boosting antibody titer helps reduce severity of a disease if not completely blocking it.  A tetanus vaccination lasts 10 years?  That may be the average.  You don’t know where you are on that statistical graph without testing your antibody titer.

 

Veterinarians are vaccinated against rabies while in school.  If bitten by a known rabid animal, they are still going to take a series of boosters.  No point in taking a chance.

 

Tetanus can develop from a scratch; hopefully your vaccination will provide protection.  Puncture wound? Get the shot.

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