In our case is Tetanus worth it, or just as bad as the other?

[BarnMomma]

Hi,

First time posting here.

Our son is 18 mo old (still nursing) and not vaxed. Hubby and I feel very strongly about it. We have a very natural household...eat only local organic produce, grass fed meats, raw milk, homeopathic etc. Our son has flourished. Never had more than a sniffle for 48 hours. We're also a very outdoorsy family and son spends lots of time outdoors rain, shine, ice, snow, what have you.

We also ride horses and DS has been toted along to the barn since he was 3 months old in any weather. He loves it there. He's there for a few hours a day 5 days a week. Tractors, horses, hay...it's all too much fun for him.

But now that he's a real live running jumping climbing toddler, we suddenly became concerned over tetanus becasue horse manure IS a big carrier. He's taken a few spills there already and I'm only assuming the older he gets the bigger the falls will become.

So I guess my question is do you think tetanus is worth it or is it just as big a sham as the rest of the vaccines? Do you think we're at a higher risk?

My doc is very supportive of our nonvaxing but even he suggested tetanus. I'm worried becasue the ones without Pertussis have themerisol and the full on cocktail is just sooooo much more that I ever wanted him to have.

Any advice is welcomed!!!

[Marnica]

I hear your concerns, but I think if you educate yourself about Tetanus you may find that you don't think vax is worth it.
Tetanus spores are around us all the time. It is only in a deep wound that does not get oxegen to it where Tetanus can set up shop and thrive. If a wound bleeds (which most do) than tetanus is not a concern. Proper wound care is the best defense against tetanus. If it were me, I would pass on this vax and if there was an injury where my LO got a wound that did not bleed, I may consider the TIG (tetanus immune globulin)

[momto l&a]

After I did a bunch of reading on tetanus I didn't see the need to vac our kids for it.

They are country girl playing with their donkeys weather permitting barefooted.

Tetanus is in the dust in your home.

you know what cracks me up is you go to the ER for a cut and they give DT NOT TIG. DT does nothing for the possibilty of tetanus in your current cut. :

[Scattershoot]

you know what cracks me up is you go to the ER for a cut and they give DT NOT TIG. DT does nothing for the possibilty of tetanus in your current cut.

Amen to that. Dr. Mendelsohn said the tetanus shot should not be ruled out, and a lot of people are against vaccines but for some reason tetanus is still on the list. At the ER, they will probably give the dt shot. It is full of nastiness, including mercury. The odds on reacting bad to a tetanus shot are much greater than getting tetanus. The reaction to the shot could last for years because that stuff doesn't like to come out of the body.

[Scattershoot]

you know what cracks me up is you go to the ER for a cut and they give DT NOT TIG. DT does nothing for the possibilty of tetanus in your current cut.

Amen to that. Dr. Mendelsohn said the tetanus shot should not be ruled out, and a lot of people are against vaccines but for some reason tetanus is still on the list. At the ER, they will probably give the dt shot. It is full of nastiness, including mercury. The odds on reacting bad to a tetanus shot are much greater than getting tetanus. The reaction to the shot could last for years because that stuff doesn't like to come out of the body.

[PaigeC]

I agree that the vaccine is not needed. There have only been an average of 40 cases each year in the US and they are usually in people over 60 or IV drug users. There have only been 2 cases in children under 5 yro since 1989. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...ds/tetanus.pdf

[jjawm]

Tetanus scares me. But I also know I reacted to it as a child - not horribly, but enough that I was always given it in half or quarter doses. I haven't given dd the vaccine yet - I'm still not sure what I'll do about it.

[~*~MamaJava~*~]

thanks for the great information - we live on a farm and every once in a while I get the fear of tetanus in me. we'll keep the non-bleeding-wound info in mind.

[alegna]

Tetanus has ALWAYS been incredibly rare. Even in days when everyone lived covered in manure.

-Angela

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by BarnMomma

... is it just as big a sham as the rest of the vaccines?

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...d.php?t=231708

[luminesce]

Tetanus has never been common in children (or anyone really). It has always been so uncommon, in fact, that they really don't know how well the vaccine works.

[Lazy Gardens]

Tetanus bacteria (Clostridium tetani) can infect a wound and produce the toxin that does the dirty deed without causing any apparent sign of infection: no swelling, redness, inflammation or pus. Bacteriologically speaking, "anaerobic" doesn't mean zero oxygen, just "lower than usual oxygen" levels. All it takes to set up sufficiently low oxygen levels for C. Tetani to thrive is a too-tight bandage or bad bruising on the wound. About 50% of the cases of tetanus had no apparent would or one that was so minor that the victim had not sought medical attention.

The amount of tetanus toxin needed to kill a human is quite a bit less than the amount needed to give immunity ... hence the development of the vaccine which contains enough de-activated toxin to create an immune response so that toxin can be neutralized as soon as a bacteria produces some.

Before you dismiss the idea of the vaccination - look up what it takes to treat tetanus should the child be infected. It's not as simple as a few antibiotics, it's medically intense, extremely invasive and not always successful. I've seen two cases in the USA, one adult and one 12-year old boy. It was not something I'd want to inflict on anyone.

As for serenitii's claim that tetanus has not been common ... it's a leading cause of death in newborns and their mothers in places where the vaccines are not widely given. Just use Google for "neonatal tetanus" and "maternal tetanus". Vaccinating women gives their babies a brief passive immunity, but it's long enough for the umblicus to heal.

[kiara7]

Originally Posted by Lazy Gardens

Tetanus bacteria (Clostridium tetani) can infect a wound and produce the toxin that does the dirty deed without causing any apparent sign of infection: no swelling, redness, inflammation or pus. Bacteriologically speaking, "anaerobic" doesn't mean zero oxygen, just "lower than usual oxygen" levels. All it takes to set up sufficiently low oxygen levels for C. Tetani to thrive is a too-tight bandage or bad bruising on the wound. About 50% of the cases of tetanus had no apparent would or one that was so minor that the victim had not sought medical attention.

The amount of tetanus toxin needed to kill a human is quite a bit less than the amount needed to give immunity ... hence the development of the vaccine which contains enough de-activated toxin to create an immune response so that toxin can be neutralized as soon as a bacteria produces some.

Before you dismiss the idea of the vaccination - look up what it takes to treat tetanus should the child be infected. It's not as simple as a few antibiotics, it's medically intense, extremely invasive and not always successful. I've seen two cases in the USA, one adult and one 12-year old boy. It was not something I'd want to inflict on anyone.

As for serenitii's claim that tetanus has not been common ... it's a leading cause of death in newborns and their mothers in places where the vaccines are not widely given. Just use Google for "neonatal tetanus" and "maternal tetanus". Vaccinating women gives their babies a brief passive immunity, but it's long enough for the umblicus to heal.

In some third world countries, there is a custom of putting dirt on the umbilical cord stomp, so to speak, of newborn babies - hence the tetanus. Someone I'm sure will post a link, but aren't there like 20-25 cases in the whole of US a year?

[runes]

Originally Posted by Lazy Gardens

Tetanus bacteria (Clostridium tetani) can infect a wound and produce the toxin that does the dirty deed without causing any apparent sign of infection: no swelling, redness, inflammation or pus. Bacteriologically speaking, "anaerobic" doesn't mean zero oxygen, just "lower than usual oxygen" levels. All it takes to set up sufficiently low oxygen levels for C. Tetani to thrive is a too-tight bandage or bad bruising on the wound. About 50% of the cases of tetanus had no apparent would or one that was so minor that the victim had not sought medical attention.

The amount of tetanus toxin needed to kill a human is quite a bit less than the amount needed to give immunity ... hence the development of the vaccine which contains enough de-activated toxin to create an immune response so that toxin can be neutralized as soon as a bacteria produces some.

Before you dismiss the idea of the vaccination - look up what it takes to treat tetanus should the child be infected. It's not as simple as a few antibiotics, it's medically intense, extremely invasive and not always successful. I've seen two cases in the USA, one adult and one 12-year old boy. It was not something I'd want to inflict on anyone.

As for serenitii's claim that tetanus has not been common ... it's a leading cause of death in newborns and their mothers in places where the vaccines are not widely given. Just use Google for "neonatal tetanus" and "maternal tetanus". Vaccinating women gives their babies a brief passive immunity, but it's long enough for the umblicus to heal.

Thank you for pointing out a very important aspect of vaccine research.

The INDIVIDUAL risk benefit analysis for any given vaccine needs to be done with relevant local data for that individual. Comparing neonatal tetanus rates in developing nations in which it is a custom to dress the umbilicus with mud (thus introducing the tetanus to the wound) is very different than the risks that this family encounters in their day to day life.

I've seen this quite often in the mainstream media and my opinion on this is that the use of this data as "evidence" that tetanus is very prevalent is intellectually dishonest and fear-mongering.

And just plain wrong.

[kriket]

I grew up on a horse farm, and as children we were aware of tetanus. As long as you practice wound care, you're not going to contract tetanus. It is exceedingly rare!

[Emmeline II]

I pm'd you a more detailed post.

In the United States, tetanus is primarily a disease of older adults. Persons greater than or equal to 50 years of age now account for over 70% of reported cases. An average of 43 people per year contract Tetanus and there are 0-2 deaths out of a population of 301,139,947 (over 300 MILLION) in the US. (In comparison (FEMA) estimates there are 200 deaths and 750 severe injuries from lightning each year in the U.S.). A Tetanus vax at time of injury is supposed to be a booster to those current on vax and TIG (tetanus immunoglobulin) is for the unvaxed.

From 1992 through 2000 (9 years), 15 cases of tetanus in children <15 years of age were reported from 11 states. Two cases were in neonates <10 days of age;the other 13 cases were in children who ranged in age from 3to 14 years. The median length of hospitalization was 28 days; 8 children required mechanical ventilation. There were no deaths. (I don't have info on their state of health or wound care).

From 1992 through 2000 (9 years), 15 cases of tetanus in children <15 years of age were reported from 11 states. Two cases were in neonates <10 days of age;the other 13 cases were in children who ranged in age from 3to 14 years. The median length of hospitalization was 28 days; 8 children required mechanical ventilation. There were no deaths. (I don't have info on their state of health or wound care).

"Keep in mind that the tetanus vaccine became available for widespread civilian use in the late 1940's. Thus tetanus mortality had declined from 205 deaths per 100,000 wounds in the American Civil War (1860) to about .4 deaths per 100,000 population in 1947 at the beginning of widespread civilian use of the vaccine. This means that sanitation, nutrition, year around nutritional improvements, general hygiene, and wound hygiene had reduced the mortality and incidence of tetanus by as much as 99.8 percent before the widespread use of tetanus vaccine." Hilary Butler 89wds

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Lazy Gardens

It was not something I'd want to inflict on anyone.

Neither is a reaction to the vaccine, which a few people have had to deal with in their family. At least Tetanus can be treated in the highly unlikely event that her child were to contract Tetanus.

[BarnMomma]

Thank you alll very much for your replies.

We have decided to not vax for tetanus. I just don't feel any better about the vax than I do about the disease.

Now my next question is what is proper wound care? I'd prefer natural care but I'm open to anything should the instance arise when tetanus could be a possibility.

And for homepoathic care, could you put it in simple easy directions as I'm still leaning. (up until our child I used ACV and coconut oil for most ailmentys but for a child I need to expand my "medicine" cabinet)

THANKS!