How Do You Get Tetanus?

We know how people think they get tetanus… But do you know how you really get tetanus?

Do you understand just how easy it is to get tetanus?

How Do You Get Tetanus?

There are a lot of myths about how you get tetanus that you should forget about.

The biggest ones?

The biggest myths about getting tetanus are that you are only at risk for tetanus if a wound is really bad and that you aren’t at risk if you let the wound bleed.

Tragically, we can bust these myths about tetanus by seeing how people used to die with tetanus before the widespread use of tetanus vaccines.

Kids used to die with tetanus after a getting a simple scratch!

How often do kids get scratches?

Or slight cuts on their knees?

Before tetanus vaccines, getting a splinter in your hand could also kill you.

You didn’t even need to fall or have a cut – before vaccines, an infected tooth could cause a fatal tetanus infection.

Or an ingrown toenail… Imagine your child dying with tetanus because they had an ingrown toenail!

While some died with tetanus in more traditional ways, like stepping on a nail, others were likely surprised that they developed tetanus.

You can get tetanus after hitting your thumb with a hammer?

Crush injuries are actually a big risk for tetanus!

Still, many developed tetanus and died after very mild injuries.

Very small cuts kids got while playing…

Abrasions adults got while working in their gardens…

Or after having a splinter in their foot.

And while we had tetanus immunoglobulin and a tetanus vaccine at the time of these deaths, they still weren’t widely used. Most of the above deaths occurred in the 1940s (over 600 tetanus deaths a year) and 1950s (over 300 tetanus deaths a year).

In many of the cases, their injuries were so mild, they likely didn’t think of getting preventative treatment with tetanus immunoglobulin, which is why universal vaccination is so important!

So don’t listen to anti-vaccine influencers if you want to protect your family from tetanus.

“…they were doomed to die the most awful death known to medical science, a death the agony of which is probably not paralleled even by the tortures of the Inquisition.”

Fourth of July Injuries and Tetanus. The Seventh Annual Compilation by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Intentionally unvaccinated kids still get tetanus from these types of mild injuries.

Stay up to date on your tetanus shots!

More on How to Avoid Tetanus

• The Fourth of July As Tetanus Day
• Tetanus Deaths Before We Had Vaccines
• Can You Treat Tetanus Without a Tetanus Shot?
• Obstetric Tetanus Is Still a Thing in the United States
• Should You Put Hydrogen Peroxide On a Cut or Scrape?
• Tetanus – History of Vaccines
• CDC – Clinical Guidance for Wound Management to Prevent Tetanus
• Summary Guide to Tetanus Prophylaxis in Routine Wound Management

Last Updated on July 4, 2024