Rust does not cause tetanus.
Exposure to flood waters does not increase the risk of tetanus.
Rust doesn't actually cause tetanus.
About 30 people in the U.S get tetanus annually, and one or two out of 10 cases can be fatal. Tetanus-associated deaths almost always occur among unvaccinated people, or those with incomplete or unknown vaccination history.
Tetanus is different from other vaccine-preventable diseases because it does not spread from person to person. The bacteria are usually found in soil, dust, and manure and enter the body through breaks in the skin — usually cuts or puncture wounds caused by contaminated objects.
Tetanus is rare in Australia because of high vaccination coverage.
And spores can survive in saltwater, so my mother's worries were not entirely unwarranted. But today, only about 20-30 cases occur annually in the U.S. “Virtually all of those cases will occur in unimmunized or inadequately immunized individuals,” says Schaffner.
Symptoms of tetanus may not begin to appear until a week after the injury, so as a rule of thumb, try to get the tetanus booster shot within 48 hours of the injury.
But with treatment, patients usually survive tetanus and recover. In recent years, tetanus has been fatal in approximately 11 percent of reported cases.
The average time from infection to appearance of signs and symptoms (incubation period) is 10 days. The incubation period can range from 3 to 21 days. The most common type of tetanus is called generalized tetanus. Signs and symptoms begin gradually and then progressively worsen over two weeks.
Tetanus can be prevented through immunization with tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccines (TTCV). However, people who recover from tetanus do not have natural immunity and can be infected again.
If you do not have a cut or wound, you do not need to get a tetanus shot – regardless of your exposure to floodwater. If you get a cut or puncture wound and haven't had a tetanus shot, then you will need to get one.
The second important method of preventing tetanus is cleaning out the wound as thoroughly as possible. The wound can be washed with clean water, and soap can be used to clean the area around the wound.
A tetanus infection requires emergency and long-term supportive care while the disease runs its course. Treatment consists of wound care, medications to ease symptoms and supportive care, usually in an intensive care unit. The disease progresses for about two weeks, and recovery can last about a month.
What does tetanus look like on the skin? Tetanus infections do not cause a rash and the wound will not show signs of tetanus. The first symptoms can take days, weeks, or even months to appear and usually start at the jaw. From the outside, tetanus may look like muscle tightness in the jaw, neck, and face.
Today the majority of new cases of tetanus occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. As the chart shows, these two regions account for 82% of all tetanus cases globally. Similarly, 77% of all deaths from tetanus, 29,500 lives lost, occur in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
You should suspect tetanus if a cut or wound is followed by one or more of these symptoms: Stiffness of the neck, jaw, and other muscles, often accompanied by a sneering, grinning expression. Difficulty swallowing. Fever.
Some affected people may experience only pain and tingling at the wound site and some spasms in muscles near the injury site to start with. As things progress, there can be stiffness of the jaw (called lockjaw) and neck muscles, irritability, and difficulty swallowing.
A tetanus shot may be required if you have not had one within 10 years; if you are not sure when you had your last tetanus shot, and you've been bitten, you should get one within 72 hours after your injury.
To decide if you need a tetanus shot, first decide if the object that caused the wound was clean or dirty. If an object is dirty, it will have dirt, soil, spit, or feces on it. You will need a tetanus shot if: Your wound was caused by something that was dirty, and you haven't had a tetanus shot in over five years.
The tetanus bacillus forms spores that can be found in soil and house dust, and in animal and human faeces. The spores remain viable for years in the environment and are resistant to boiling and freezing.
Chlorinated pools are typically safe to swim in, especially if your cut is small. The amount of chlorine used in modern day pools will help to kill a large amount of troublesome bacteria before they ever have the chance to reach your open wound.
Diagnosis. Doctors can diagnose tetanus by asking about recent history of cuts, scrapes, punctures, and trauma, and examining someone for certain signs and symptoms. There are no hospital lab tests that can confirm tetanus.