Casaubon's Book

Spring To-Do List – Get Your Tetanus Shot!

Posted by Sharon Astyk on May 30, 2012
(23)
More »

I try to post this once a year or so, because most of the people who read my blog also play in the dirt, and with playing in the dirt comes minor injuries that you really don’t want to turn into anything nasty.  So, if you haven’t had a tetanus booster in the last decade, or don’t remember having one, now is the time to get updated.  Tetanus is not avoidable by good health practices, boosting your immune system, etc… – it is caused by a bacteria in the soil entering into your body through a wound – often wounds so small it would never occur to you that it could threaten your life.  You should get one.  So should your kids.

You should ESPECIALLY keep up to date if you farm or garden in any way, since contact with animal manures ups your risk.  Agricultural workers who have failed to keep their vaccinated updated are the most likely people to get tetanus – and tetanus is one of the most horrible, painful diseases you can imagine, with a 10-20% death rate.

I try to stay out of the vaccine wars myself, there are plenty of people on this site who sing that song.  For the record, I personally feel that if you really believe the world is going to change radically, keeping up to date on your vaccinations generally is  a simple, commonsense way to keep lifespans long and kids healthy, but what I mostly feel obligated to do, as someone who advocates widespread involvement in farming is remind everyone to get their tetanus shots.  As long as I’m increasing your risk by telling you to go out and play in the dirt, I want you safe.

The last time this came up, I was alerted to the fact that British guidelines are different – that the British emphasis is not on an “every 10 years” schedule, but on total number of vaccinations, so additional jabs may not be available to British adults – as long as you are sure you had all of the recommended doses, you should be up to date.

Who should not be vaccinated according to the CDC - a comparatively small number of people.  We do not want to go back to the days when a tiny cut could lead to lock jaw.  BTW, vaccinate your animals for tetanus as well – they don’t deserve it either!

Sharon

Keywords: , , , ,
(23)
More »

Comments

  1. #1 SarahAB
    May 30, 2012

    As an avid player in the dirt (I love gardening) who owns multiple pets, I thank you! It’s so easy to lose track of the small important things like this. Reminders are always appreciated and ever helpful :)

  2. #2 Navigator
    May 31, 2012

    Thanks for the reminder, as I try to scrub the garden dirt out of my fingers.

  3. #3 Lisa R
    May 31, 2012

    When you get that tetanus shot, make sure it’s in the form of Tdap vaccine, which adds a booster dose of pertussis to the traditional Td and will keep you from giving a potentially fatal case of whooping cough to any babies you may meet. Most docs are giving Tdap routinely now, but it doesn’t hurt to check. If you’re going to have a new baby in your social circle but aren’t yet due for a 10-year tetanus shot, you can go ahead and get Tdap early.

  4. #4 klima servis
    turkey
    May 31, 2012

    I think I need to show interest in the vaccine gerekn calendars, and regular and healthy, a world of Immunisation is provided.

  5. #5 Stephen B.
    May 31, 2012

    One doesn’t have to wait 10 years either. In fact, about 6 or 7 years ago, after I got a fair hand cut, our facility’s school nurse suggested I ask my doctor and indeed, they boosted me even though it had only been 7 years.

    Fast forward to this past winter when a client bit me, (yeah, you read that right) breaking the skin a wee bit on my hand, and the ER doctor, learning that it had been 6 years since my last tetanus shot, gave me yet another.

    I’m not quite sure of the tetanus connection between human bites and soil pathogens, but, well, I’m up-to-date on the shot anyway.

  6. #6 Neil Craig
    Scotland
    May 31, 2012

    This is about a regular on “scienceblogs”. Since Skip has been calling me a “Nazi” because I edit out obscenities about sheep which he has been putting on my blog he will certainly, not being a 100% hypocritical liar be publicly saying worse about each of the “scienceblogs” sites which censor this factual stuff.

    Or alternately he won’t being a 100% hypocritical liar. Lets find out.

    Skip Evans of NCSE Outed
    For some time I have had a self appointed nemesis on here who calls claims anonymity but appears on “scienceblogs” under the name “Skip” where he has claimed to be a scientist able to pontificate on climate change because

    Furthermore, the people you are debating with are real researchers. Like Mandas, Richard S., Chris, and others I too have a track record of peer reviewed publication in the finest journals in my field. They and I have a basic demonstration of competence the likes of which a fool such as yourself will never comprehend.
    That there should be, at least, some truth to his claims of validity in the field was supported by the fact that neither the site runner nor any of the named people said “who he” or that they were unable to confirm being in the same scientific club as “Skip”, though it was indeed obvious his real identity was known. If you are going to accept that a lying charlatan shares equality with you you must accept being known as a lying charlatan.

    Of course the idea that anybody at “scienceblogs” was in any way interested in truth or science took rather a knock when Greg Laden, who runs one of the sites, publicly claimed to be a “climate scientist” and I subsequently proved that he was in fact an unpaid assistant anthropology teacher. A more serious dent to “scienceblogs” credibility came when Greg kept his site and nobody whatsoever on their even suggested that being proven so wholly and completely dishonest and contemptuous of science was, in even the slightest way, reprehensible.

    Obviously such action is incompatible with any “sciencebloggers” being in any way honest or scientific.

    Anyway Skip promised me that he was going to not only come on my blog and engage, for the rest of time, on what, for him, passes as intellectual debate but also to do so on any other site I commented on (which would include the sole “scienceblog” site that allows a certain amount of free speech.. In fact he limited himself to this site since presumably making himself look like and idiot on a wider stage seemed not to be a good idea.

    Occasionally his comments have contributed what purported to be a matter of fact (for example his repeated claims that the government’s Chief Science adviser never made the ludicrous claim that by 2100 “Antarctica will be the only habitable continent” and that the papers reporting it were nonexistent/lying because they are controlled by deniers/mistaken). All his claims of fact were easily and amusingly proven false. The rest of his posts have focused on calling me a Nazi, saying that everybody in Glasgow shags the sheep which are everpresent in our city centre & that the proof that I am a Nazi is that I tend to delete his obscenities (though I specifically do not delete argument that attempts to be fact based).

    Having at least some trace of personal integrity and not being a complete hypocrite Skip has at least been equally willing to denounce all the scienceblogs sites which censor, not obscenity but rational debate.
    Being a wholly corrupt, child abusing*, animal he hasn’t.

    So who is this expert in climate science Skip. Well not entirely coincidentally, he turns out to be linked to a child abusing (*there did anybody think I was merely being discourteous when I said that earlier) organisation I have dealt with previously, NCSE (National Center for science Education more properly known as Nazi Child-abusers for the Suppression of Evidence).

    So who is he

    have a look at this account of Skip Evans, formerly of the National Center for Science Education, conversing with some of the local creationists in Madison, WI.

    Skip’s account. The idea of pretending to be a real scientist seems to be presaged by a comment he adds

    a couple of guys talking to Larry and Kevin the Creationists decided they were sociology professors doing an experiment to see how people reacted to complete nonsense presented as fact.

    Posted by: Skip
    July 27, 2010 12:43 AM
    With the NCSE connection, which I did not connection, it appears the world of know of when I the reported the lecture by their boss on CAGW (“you can’t blame her for not answering your questions – she’s not a climate expert”(. Run by the Glasgow Skeptics (with grandstanding by ecofascist Green MSP Pat Harvie, previously gay government paid youth worker though I would never match the ecofascists by saying that he had ever shagged any of the aforementioned sheep) it seems the world of anti-science spouting is even smaller and more incestuous than it previously appeared.

    From the obscene thieving Nazi Child abuser’s entry on NCSE

    Should the disgusting animal wish to apologise or feel able make any explanation, without obscenity, or indeed should any member of BCSE feel I have been in any way unfair I extend my invitation, as normal, to give them a platform and possibly a piece of rope. If not to me it might wish to apologise to the people of Glasgow and all the sheep in Sauchiehall Street.

  7. #7 Will
    May 31, 2012

    Testing

  8. #8 Frances Morris
    Boulder, CO
    May 31, 2012

    PLEASE INFORM YOURSELVES ABOUT THE DANGERS OF VACCINES!!! It’s a Big Brother hype! Don’t fall for it, folks!!
    “ALL vaccines are immune suppressing, which means they depress your natural immune functions, leaving you vulnerable to any number of diseases. And this is not even taking into account the vaccine additives, such as the mercury preservative thimerosal, which has been linked to autism and other neurological and developmental disorders in children. ” Dr. Mercola

  9. #9 Tegan
    May 31, 2012

    Aaaaaaaaand of course there’s someone ranting about vaccines. I was surprised I had to get all the way to the end for it!

    But it’s funny, I was thinking this myself. I actually called my doctor two weeks ago, AS I was kneeling in the dirt and noticing all of the lovely sharp objects that previous tenants had left in my garden. Yep, I had gotten my shot 2 years ago, so I’m good!

  10. #10 Diane
    May 31, 2012

    I have probably added this to your tetanus post before: spinners who work with raw fleeces should also make sure to get boosters since they probably have manure on them and a small cut can become infected.

  11. #11 Sharon Astyk
    June 1, 2012

    NC, what in George Washington Carver’s green earth does all this nonsense have to do with tetanus shots? Stick with the topic – irrelevant rants will be removed to save boring the crap out of everyone.

  12. #12 Neil Craig
    June 1, 2012

    This is about a regular on “scienceblogs”. Since Skip has been calling me a “Nazi” because I edit out obscenities about sheep which he has been putting on my blog he will certainly, not being a 100% hypocritical liar be publicly saying worse about each of the “scienceblogs” sites which censor this factual stuff.

    Or alternately he won’t being a 100% hypocritical liar. Lets find out.

    Skip Evans of NCSE Outed
    For some time I have had a self appointed nemesis on here who calls claims anonymity but appears on “scienceblogs” under the name “Skip” where he has claimed to be a scientist able to pontificate on climate change because

    Furthermore, the people you are debating with are real researchers. Like Mandas, Richard S., Chris, and others I too have a track record of peer reviewed publication in the finest journals in my field. They and I have a basic demonstration of competence the likes of which a fool such as yourself will never comprehend.
    That there should be, at least, some truth to his claims of validity in the field was supported by the fact that neither the site runner nor any of the named people said “who he” or that they were unable to confirm being in the same scientific club as “Skip”, though it was indeed obvious his real identity was known. If you are going to accept that a lying charlatan shares equality with you you must accept being known as a lying charlatan.

    Of course the idea that anybody at “scienceblogs” was in any way interested in truth or science took rather a knock when Greg Laden, who runs one of the sites, publicly claimed to be a “climate scientist” and I subsequently proved that he was in fact an unpaid assistant anthropology teacher. A more serious dent to “scienceblogs” credibility came when Greg kept his site and nobody whatsoever on their even suggested that being proven so wholly and completely dishonest and contemptuous of science was, in even the slightest way, reprehensible.

    Obviously such action is incompatible with any “sciencebloggers” being in any way honest or scientific.

    Anyway Skip promised me that he was going to not only come on my blog and engage, for the rest of time, on what, for him, passes as intellectual debate but also to do so on any other site I commented on (which would include the sole “scienceblog” site that allows a certain amount of free speech.. In fact he limited himself to this site since presumably making himself look like and idiot on a wider stage seemed not to be a good idea.

    Occasionally his comments have contributed what purported to be a matter of fact (for example his repeated claims that the government’s Chief Science adviser never made the ludicrous claim that by 2100 “Antarctica will be the only habitable continent” and that the papers reporting it were nonexistent/lying because they are controlled by deniers/mistaken). All his claims of fact were easily and amusingly proven false. The rest of his posts have focused on calling me a Nazi, saying that everybody in Glasgow shags the sheep which are everpresent in our city centre & that the proof that I am a Nazi is that I tend to delete his obscenities (though I specifically do not delete argument that attempts to be fact based).

    Having at least some trace of personal integrity and not being a complete hypocrite Skip has at least been equally willing to denounce all the scienceblogs sites which censor, not obscenity but rational debate.
    Being a wholly corrupt, child abusing*, animal he hasn’t.

    So who is this expert in climate science Skip. Well not entirely coincidentally, he turns out to be linked to a child abusing (*there did anybody think I was merely being discourteous when I said that earlier) organisation I have dealt with previously, NCSE (National Center for science Education more properly known as Nazi Child-abusers for the Suppression of Evidence).

    So who is he

    have a look at this account of Skip Evans, formerly of the National Center for Science Education, conversing with some of the local creationists in Madison, WI.

    Skip’s account. The idea of pretending to be a real scientist seems to be presaged by a comment he adds

    a couple of guys talking to Larry and Kevin the Creationists decided they were sociology professors doing an experiment to see how people reacted to complete nonsense presented as fact.

    Posted by: Skip
    July 27, 2010 12:43 AM
    With the NCSE connection, which I did not connection, it appears the world of know of when I the reported the lecture by their boss on CAGW (“you can’t blame her for not answering your questions – she’s not a climate expert”(. Run by the Glasgow Skeptics (with grandstanding by ecofascist Green MSP Pat Harvie, previously gay government paid youth worker though I would never match the ecofascists by saying that he had ever shagged any of the aforementioned sheep) it seems the world of anti-science spouting is even smaller and more incestuous than it previously appeared.

    From the obscene thieving Nazi Child abuser’s entry on NCSE

    Should the disgusting animal wish to apologise or feel able make any explanation, without obscenity, or indeed should any member of BCSE feel I have been in any way unfair I extend my invitation, as normal, to give them a platform and possibly a piece of rope. If not to me it might wish to apologise to the people of Glasgow and all the sheep in Sauchiehall Street.

  13. #13 Jill
    June 1, 2012

    Any suggestions for those of us who are unable to receive the shot? I garden, do yard work, and keep backyard chickens. I always wear gloves and real shoes while working because of the tetanus risk. As a baby, a stopped breathing with my dtap immunization and have been advised against getting the tetanus booster.

  14. #14 Greg
    June 1, 2012

    Is there a shot you can get to prevent Neil Craig? Because that would be a boon to these discussions.

  15. #15 Thisbe
    June 2, 2012

    Jill – talk to your doctor about that! I don’t know how old you are or if your adverse reaction has been further interrogated at all, but there are sometimes things that can be done. It is worth pursuing, because Clostridium tetani is ubiquitous. Avoiding actual visible dirt isn’t even necessarily good enough; it could be anywhere and everywhere.

  16. #16 Thisbe
    June 2, 2012

    I guess maybe that wasn’t that helpful, sorry. Another important thing is to seriously clean all wounds. More than you think necessary – like flush with hot water for at least fifteen minutes, even if it doesn’t seem that bad. And then keep it clean.

    Loosely related: all bite wounds from any species should be even more thoroughly cleaned and closely watched. The journey from “bite wound” to “septic joint requiring hospitalization, IV antibiotics, and surgery” can take about three days.

  17. #17 emmer
    June 4, 2012

    as i understand it, puncture wounds are the most likely to lead to tetanus taking hold, thus wounds that could allow anaerobic growth are the most likely to allow tetanus to grow.
    one of my children had a significant reaction to a tetanus shot. he had swelling and redness at the site to the point we had to cut his rubber pants off as well as some fever. the doc changed to giving him a partial dose in future boosters, which he said would confer some immunity.

  18. #18 Susan
    June 4, 2012

    I am in school with a man from Cameroon; he got tetanus as a child and nearly died. If his neighbor, a judge (and wealthy) hadn’t taken him to the rich people’s hospital – and paid for my fellow student’s treatment himself, he would have died.

    You can take this or leave it, but there is some evidence (also coming from African nations) that once you receive ‘x’ number of doses you have lifetime immunity. I suspect this is what England’s vaccine booster schedule is based on.

  19. #19 Jason
    Virginia
    June 5, 2012

    Very cool thoughts.

  20. #20 Neil Craig
    June 7, 2012

    I assume the Greg here is Greg Laden who, having claimed on his own thread to be the sole “climate scientist” in the world promoting warming without being paid by the state, was proven actually to be a state paid assistant anthropology teacher.

    Greg stick to censoring your own site. You have no right to demand that others follow your example (though I admit everybody else on “scienceblogs” does.

  21. #21 Tisn’t the Season [Page 3.14] « Random Information
    June 9, 2012

    [...] Infection through open wounds can be fatal, as the bacterium releases a neurotoxin that causes uncontrolled muscular contractions. So if it’s been ten years or more since your last vaccination, now is a good time for a [...]

  22. #22 Tisn’t the Season [Page 3.14] |
    June 10, 2012

    [...] Infection through open wounds can be fatal, as the bacterium releases a neurotoxin that causes uncontrolled muscular contractions. So if it’s been ten years or more since your last vaccination, now is a good time for a [...]

  23. #23 royal blue evening dress
    http://thebeautifulldress.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-20.html#tb
    June 27, 2012

    Very Nice Blog, I Like It Very Much, Thanks. You Can Vist My Blog,Maybe You Like mone ,Website:cheapcoolworld” http:cheapcoolworld.BR[url=http:cheapcoolworld]cheapcoolworld[url]