Doctors now give the tetanus shot (given as the combined Dtap) to patients for everything from dog bites to kitchen knife wounds. It is a common practice that many don't question if they even need the shot. What are the risks? Does the injection even help prevent it? These are the questions we should all be asking when we are being told to have any kind of vaccine.
What Is Tetanus?
Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, occurs when the tetanus bacteria gets into the bloodstream and releases a nervous system toxin. The bacteria can be found extensively in cultivated soils. It also lives harmlessly in the gut of many animals. The infection caused by the bacteria is anaerobic (ie. it cant live in the presence of oxygen).
What's The Real Cause of Tetanus?
It is not the bacteria itself which causes the development of tetanus, but the toxins it produces under certain conditions.
"Under normal conditions no disease will occur if spores are introduced into a wound." (J. Ark Med Soc Vol 80, No 3 p134)
"It is the compromised host, or traumatised patient, either by surgery or accident, who is most apt to develop tetanus." (J Foot Surgery Vol 23, No 3 p235).
So in other words, the tetanus bacteria may be a factor in tetanus, but not its main cause. If it was, the disease would be more common that it is, in light of the fact that it occurs frequently in many places.
4 Reasons Why You Don't Need A Tetanus Shot
1. It's Good Drainage That Prevents Tetanus
The true cause of tetanus is not a germ, but dirt and filth. Tetanus develops when drainage of a wound is unchecked and dirt is retained in a tissue. If good drainage takes place from the beginning, the wound won't result in tetanus. When there's enough oxygen to a wound the tetanus bacteria can't survive. Keeping the wound clean with hydrogen peroxide is one way to prevent infection.
2. The Vaccine Doesn't Prevent Tetanus
While a doctor is likely to insist that the vaccine does protect you, this is simply not true at all. Deaths from tetanus were already falling long before the vaccine started being given routinely. In fact deaths had already started dropping for the last 60 years before this since 1901.
While it's possible for the body to create anti-bodies to the toxin, antibody response to a vaccine doesn't mean it will provide protection. The presence of antibodies after a vaccine doesn't equal immunity.
If you have a tetanus shot after infection it won't make any difference. Why? Simply put because the vaccine takes weeks to produce sufficient antibodies.
The journal of Neuroscience Research reports that "Exposure to tetanus toxin fragment by nerve terminal from an intramuscular depot is an avid and rapid process and is not blocked by vaccination"
3. Your Chances Of Getting Tetanus Are Incredibly Low
I think Dr Blaylock says it best when he says that your chance of getting tetanus is about the same as getting hit by a meteor.
"Tetanus vaccine is probably one of the most ridiculous vaccines ever. Your chances of getting Tetanus are about the same as walking outta here and getting hit by a meteor. If you get a cut or puncture wound and you put peroxide on it, your chances of getting tetanus are zero because tetanus organism is anaerobic. It can not live in oxygen. Tetanus comes from the bowels of animals. As long as you don't have a sheep or a cow in your house, I don't think you're in any danger."- Dr Russell Blaylock.A quick search of the statistics shows how incredibly rare tetanus is in Australia. When it does occur it is mainly in older adults (not children.) In fact there has only been one reported case of tetanus in a young child in the last 25 years.
4. The Harmful Ingredients In the Vaccine
The Dtap vaccine has some highly toxic ingredients, such as formaldahyde, a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, as listed in The National Toxicology Program. If you are curious about the harmful effects then you can check out the long list of adverse reactions that are listed on the package insert.
What REALLY prevents Tetanus?
Keeping a wound clean is the best way to prevent it from getting infected, and if you do suspect tetanus, then there is the anti-toxin serum shot (which doesn't have the harmful effects of the vaccine). Vitamin C has also been shown to be effective in treating tetanus.
No I won't be getting a tetanus shot, or getting one for my child just because one child contracted it. I wont take the risk for something that is so incredibly rare that we've barely seen any cases in Australia in the last few decades. It's time we all stopped judging other parents for the choices they make and start learning the facts.
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