Should I use tetanus if I hit my head? Under what circumstances can you call

Many people will suffer damage to their scalp because they suddenly raise their heads or fall down. This situation is very dangerous. Patients need to prevent head infections in normal times. Tetanus injections can be used to prevent viral infections and invasion of the human body, which plays the first step in antibody capacity. After cleaning the wound, large cuts need to be sutured first.

If the wound is not deep, the cut is small, and no dirt has entered, a tetanus shot is generally not necessary.

For more serious wounds, it is best to get a tetanus shot.

1. Treat wounds correctly. For minor wounds, you can first use tap water or well water to rinse off the mud and dust on the outside of the wound. If conditions permit, you can apply iodine or other disinfectants on the wound, then cover the wound with a clean cloth, bandage it gently, and then go to the hospital for further treatment. For some large wounds, you can first press the wound with a clean cloth and then go to the hospital for treatment quickly.

2. Get vaccinated. All children under one year old should be vaccinated with the diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (commonly known as DTP) triple vaccine. Since the DTP vaccine does not provide lifelong immunity, they should be vaccinated again after entering primary school. After the vaccine is injected, there are enough antibodies in the body to resist tetanus toxin, which can achieve a better preventive effect.

3. Inject TAT. If the wound is only superficial and not deep, it only requires proper cleaning or external application of disinfectant such as mercurochrome. There is no need to inject tetanus antitoxin. If a deeper wound occurs, or the wound is contaminated by dirt, iron rust and other pollutants, you must go to the hospital and inject a certain amount of TAT (tetanus antitoxin serum) under the guidance of a doctor. Because tetanus bacteria mostly grow in soil and rust, tetanus antitoxin should be injected if the wound is deep and contaminated with soil or is pierced by rusty iron objects.

Prognosis

Tetanus generally has a good prognosis if it is diagnosed early and treated appropriately. Only during the recovery period will there be noticeable weight loss, or muscle stiffness and difficulty in movement. It usually takes 2 to 3 months to recover gradually without any sequelae. The mortality rate of newborns, elderly patients and patients with severe tetanus is relatively high, about 10% to 40%, with an average of about 20%. The mortality rate is also closely related to the site of injury and whether the treatment is timely and appropriate, the length of the incubation period and initial spasm period, and the doctor's experience. If the patient is monitored and treated under the guidance of an experienced physician and the wound is handled promptly and thoroughly, the mortality rate of this disease can be significantly reduced.

Fold edit this section Pathogenesis

Clostridium tetani is non-invasive, does not invade the blood circulation, and only grows and reproduces in local wounds. Its pathogenic effect is mainly caused by the exotoxins produced. Exotoxins mainly attack the motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem. Once combined with nerve cells, they cannot be neutralized by tetanus antitoxin. After Clostridium tetani spores invade local wounds, they generally do not grow and reproduce. If there is a purulent infection caused by aerobic bacteria, poor local blood circulation due to severe tissue trauma, or necrotic tissue and foreign matter remain, a local anaerobic microenvironment will be formed, which is extremely conducive to the reproduction of Clostridium tetani. The bacteria multiply in large numbers in the form of reproductive bodies and produce large amounts of spasmodic toxins.