Posted on 02/22/2005 6:15:55 PM PST by neverdem
REALLY?
THE FACTS Any 10-year-old can explain the link between rusty nails and tetanus. But few people realize that the bacteria that cause it are widespread and that the disease has less to do with rust than with the nature of a wound.
Clostridia bacteria, the family of C. tetani, can be found in soil, dust, feces and on the skin. They reproduce only in the absence of oxygen, so any wound deep enough can become a breeding ground.
A rusty nail will do. But the infection can come from many sources - sewing needles, animal bites, gardening tools, splinters. Injuries that create dead skin, like burns and frostbite, can also lead to infection.
The symptoms can be severe. Once the bacteria get underneath the skin, they produce toxins that attack the central nervous system, causing spasms and muscle rigidity all over the body, most frequently in the face. About a quarter of the estimated 50 to 100 Americans who contract the disease each year die.
Although the tetanus vaccine is routinely given to children, its effects wear off after 10 years, and many people fail to get boosters.
THE BOTTOM LINE Any object, rusty or not, that punctures or damages the skin can lead to tetanus.
scitimes@nytimes.com
Why so? The doc checked her own resources and agreed. Are docs supposed to be infallible? The amount of medical information is expanding exponentially. Depending on your granddaughter's age, she may have been due a tetanus booster. That's why they want to give a tetanus booster almost anytime someone goes to an emergency room with anything more than a superficial laceration.
I bolded "cannot" because I was taught that you never say never in medicine. The advice assumed that the horse was immunized, and that the horse had a normal immune system.
There was a show about the history of penicillin on PBS. A clinic in Florida was testing various molds and spores, then they found this strange blue mold that seemed to inhibit bacteria.
Either the sample got lost, or it wasn't very strong, whatever, they started to request oranges from around the world looking for the mold.
No luck. It was lost.
Then, one of the guys was walking around in downtown Miami or whereever, and stopped at a fruit stand.
One of the oranges had this funky blue mold on it. It was what they were looking for.
Penicillin has saved millions of lives.
ping
I thought that's what I said in 13.
Is MRSA the same as MSRA? Does Methicllin Staphylococcus Resistant Aureus make sense?
You don't have to be hospitalized to catch it now. It used to found only in hospitals.
Right. It's MRSA, however, not MSRA. Methicillin-resistant Staph Aureus. Big, bad problem. And not only in hospitals. Some nursing homes are real problems.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.