Be proactive in knowing tetanus shot status

    Area residents are being encouraged to learn when they received their last tetanus shot.
    Tetanus, or lock jaw, is an often fatal disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Tetanus bacteria are found everywhere including dust, dirt or soil and manure. After the invention of the tetanus vaccine in the 1920s, the number of tetanus infections in the United States has gone down 99%.
     Tetanus disease is not spread person to person like most other vaccine-preventable diseases, noted Myra Stoney, director at the SW Nebraska Public Health Department.
    “Instead, the bacteria enter the body through a wound such as a puncture from a nail or barbed wire, or may also enter the body through burns or other injuries,” she said.
    Symptoms of tetanus include jaw cramps, painful stiff muscles all over the body, trouble swallowing, seizures, headache, fever, changes in blood pressure and heart rate and sudden involuntary muscle spasms.
     “Being up-to-date on your tetanus vaccination is the best way to prevent tetanus,” she said.
    Children get a tetanus vaccine as part of their regular childhood immunizations from 6 months to 6 years of age. Preteens get a booster dose at 11 or 12 years, usually right before starting 7th grade.
    Adults should receive a tetanus booster shot every 10 years.
    Stoney said if people do not know when their last tetanus shot was, their provider may recommend getting a Tdap shot which contains protection against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).
     Injuries such as a cut, scrape or puncture wound require washing your hands with soap and water before touching the wound. Clean the wound well with soap and water or a first aid wash.
    Then, contact a healthcare provider for further treatment, especially for deep wounds or if you have concerns about your wound, Stoney said.
    “Your provider may recommend a tetanus booster if it has been more than 5 years since your last tetanus shot,” she added.
     Those unsure whether they or their children are up-to-date on tetanus vaccines should talk to a healthcare provider or contact a public health nurse at SWNPHD.
    Stoney said people can also look up shot records in the Nebraska State Immunization Information System at this link: nesiis-dhhs-prod.ne.gov.
     SWNPHD serves Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Perkins and Red Willow counties.