Do Nails Have To Be Rusty To Give Tetanus

Exercise Rusty Nails Really Give You lot Tetanus?

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When y'all think of tetanus, does a rusty smash come to mind? Well, that prototype might exist a little rusty, as tetanus has nothing to do with rust itself.

Tetanus is a serious infection acquired by Clostridium tetani bacteria. These bacteria are found throughout our environment, dwelling in places such as soil, grit and feces. [25 Medical Myths that Just Won't Get Away]

Tetanus bacteria can infect the trunk through open wounds, especially deep, penetrating ones, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. It'south the nature of the wound itself that's dangerous; whatsoever object with the bacteria on information technology, rusty or not, that penetrates the skin and builds a tunnel for the bacteria to make its way into the body, can pb to tetanus.

And so why do so many people associate rusty nails with the infection?

"Somehow, someone conjured upward this image of stepping on a rusty nail" to describe how a person gets tetanus, Schaffner told Live Science. The image was likely an attempt to convey the idea that the rusty nail was in a dirty environment where these bacteria tin be found, he said, only it somehow took "on a life of its ain."

But "the environment doesn't have to be visibly dirty" for someone to get tetanus, he said. For example, there have been cases where people contracted the infection after slicing their hand with a kitchen pocketknife.

In the environs, C. tetani lie dormant in spore form, where they can survive extreme atmospheric condition for long periods of time, as long as oxygen in present, Schaffner said. But when the spores brand their manner deep into a person's body, their oxygen supply is cut off.

Information technology'south this lack of oxygen that shakes the bacteria to life. Awakened in the trunk, the leaner multiply and produce a unsafe toxin that's carried through a person's body in the blood. This toxin, not the bacteria, is what causes tetanus.

Tetanus can be avoided for the most part past keeping upwards-to-date with vaccines. Children should receive a series of shots that protects the body confronting the bacteria and adults should receive booster shots every x years. In the case of such a penetration injury, the doctor will recommend another booster shot if yous haven't had one in over five years.

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Originally published on Live Science .

Yasemin is a staff author at Alive Science, roofing health, neuroscience and biological science. Her piece of work has appeared in Scientific American, Science and the San Jose Mercury News. She has a bachelor's degree in biomedical applied science from the Academy of Connecticut and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/65007-do-rusty-nails-cause-tetanus.html

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