Tetanus Symptoms

Tetanus is a bacterial disease that can ultimately be life-threatening. Clostridium tetani, the tetanus bacteria, can produce a toxin that can cause trouble breathing, lockjaw and severe muscle spasms because this toxin interferes with the nerves that control the muscles. The symptoms of tetanus vary from being mild to severe. Although tetanus can be treated, the treatment process takes a lot of time and is not guaranteed to be effective.

Symptom Incubation Period

• On average it takes about eight days for the symptoms of tetanus to occur. However, it can take as little as three days or as long as three weeks for symptoms to occur. Very few people experience symptoms immediately after getting tetanus.

Spasms

• Spasms are a very common symptom of tetanus. Spasms typically affect the muscles of the jaw and face. However, they can also affect the abdomen, chest and back muscles. The spasms associated with tetanus occur because of the toxin spreading to the nerves. As is spreads to more nerves, more muscles will be affected. The spasms associated with tetanus are often severe.

Stiffness

• Stiffness is another common symptom of tetanus. When stiffness begins to affect the jaw, lockjaw can occur. When a person experiences lockjaw, they are unable to move their jaw. The stiffness associated with tetanus can also cause difficulty swallowing. In addition to the jaw, the abdominal, chest and back muscles can also become stiff. The stiffness associated with tetanus is often severe.

Difficulty Breathing

• Another symptom of tetanus is spasms that occur in the respiratory muscles. These spasms can cause difficulty breathing. These respiratory spasms associated with tetanus are often severe.

Other Symptoms

• In addition to the spasms and stiffness, other symptoms of tetanus can occur. These symptoms include muscular irritability and fever. The muscular irritability can be severe and the fever can get quite high.

Treatment

• The majority of all tetanus cases are severe and the risk of death is always a possibility, but many tetanus patients do experience a full recovery. There are some patients, though, that do experience permanent effects, such as brain damage. To treat tetanus a combination of medications and supportive care is most often used. Medications used to treat tetanus include the tetanus vaccination, a tetanus antitoxin and certain types of antibiotics. Supportive therapies used to treat tetanus include sedation and a ventilator. Some patients will also have their muscles temporarily paralyzed. Most patients will often stay in an intensive care unit for a long period of time while undergoing treatment.