tetanus treatment

When a tetanus infection becomes established, treatment usually focuses on :



a) controlling muscle spasms.
b) stopping toxin production
c) neutralizing the effects of the toxin



a) . controlling muscle spasms and supportive treatment.
• Sedatives such as diazepam (Valium) to control muscle spasms , also supportive treatment are given to patient such as Ventilator support to help with breathing in the event of spasms of the vocal cords or the respiratory muscles . other than that IV rehydration also can be given because, as your muscles spasm constantly, increased metabolic demands are placed on your body.
• Analgesics also can be given as needed.
• Patients should be put in quite dark environment to prevent more stimulus that can cause muscle spasm.





b) stopping toxin production
stopping toxin production can be done by administering antibiotics . it is done to kill the causative agent for tetanus which is clostridium tetani. Large doses of antibiotic drugs (such as metronidazole or intramuscular penicillin G) are also given once tetanus infection is suspected, to halt toxin production. Surgical debridement is important to remove the necrotic tissue that is essential for proliferation of the organisms.

c) neutralizing the effects of the toxin
Treatment includes administration of tetanus immune globulin (TIG), which comprises antibodies that inhibit tetanus toxin (also known as tetanus antitoxins), by binding to and removing unbound tetanus toxin from the body. Binding of the toxin to the nerve endings appears to be an irreversible event, and TIG is ineffective at removing bound toxin. Recovery of affected nerves requires the sprouting of a new axon terminal. There are two type of antitoxin, either antitetanic serum (ATS) obtain by immunizing horses with toxoid or hbuman tetanus immunoglobulin (HGIG) which does not have hypersensitivity reaction as a side effect . Antitetanic serum can cause hypersensitivity reaction so a skin sensitivity test should be done.