What is tetanus and how often should I have a tetanus booster shot?
Tetanus is a bacterial infection that is acquired by penetration of tetanus bacteria into a person’s skin. The bacterium, clostridium tetanii lives in the dirt and on rusty objects. When these objects penetrate the skin, the bacteria is deposited underneath the skin layers. As the bacterium grows and multiplies it will give off a toxin that affects the muscles in the body that causes them to contract and not release. This is the condition known as tetanus. This condition can be prevented by the administration of a tetanus shot. If at some point in your life you have stepped on rusty nail or cut yourself with a rusty object or had some sort of punctured wound that required you to go to the doctor, then you would have been administered a tetanus booster. It is recommended by the CDC or Centers for Disease Control that you get a tetanus booster once every five years. Some people may think that they don’t need one until they actually have an incident. This simply isn’t true. The best appro
