A child's nail scratch during play, or a scratch from someone in anger, leaves thin marks and perhaps a little blood. Many people's first question is whether they need a tetanus shot. Prothom Alo's lifestyle desk reports that the short answer is no, not automatically: it depends on whether the skin was broken, how deep the wound is, whether dirt got in, and the person's vaccination history.
Intact skin keeps most germs out, but a scratch that breaks it opens a small gap. Germs from under the nails or on the hand can enter the wound, though infection does not always follow. Redness, swelling, growing pain, warmth, pus or a fever can be signs of infection, and then a doctor should be seen.
Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease caused by Clostridium tetani, whose spores are usually found in soil, dust and animal dung. If they enter through a wound, the toxin they produce attacks the nervous system, stiffening muscles and causing spasms.
Guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) divides wounds into two kinds: clean, minor wounds, and contaminated or deep ones. Deep puncture wounds, wounds soiled with earth or dung, wounds with dead tissue and human or animal bites carry more risk.
People who completed their primary tetanus series and had the last dose less than five years ago usually need no new shot. For clean, minor wounds a booster is advised if ten years have passed since the last dose; for contaminated or deep wounds the interval is five years. If the history is unknown, the person was never vaccinated or the series is incomplete, vaccination should follow a doctor's advice. Some serious wounds may also need tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG), which neutralises the toxin at once.
On rabies, the report says an ordinary human scratch does not call for rabies vaccine, though saliva from someone infected with rabies getting directly into the wound is a different matter. In short, a scratch does not always mean a shot, but a small wound should not be ignored when the vaccination history is unknown.
Photo: Chad A. Bascom, US Navy / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: Prothom Alo
Comments
(0)