How long can a tetanus shot protect you?

[kenny1999]

I have been searching on Google but the information about tetanus is confusing to me. For example, there are different terms, for example, tetanus shot, tetanus vaccines, tetanus booster, tetanus antitoxin. As for the expiration, there are a large range of results from a month, to 3 years or 5 years or 10 years. As for the doses, there are also different results, 1 shot or 3 shots.

Is there any clearer explanation about the prevention of tetanus for adult?

Added: About 3 years ago I got a tetanus shot after a deep wound cut by the edge of a metal can. Before that I did not get any tetanus shot for at least a decade and I don't know if I got it when I was a kid or baby. I also don't know what kind of tetanus shot I receive from the clinics, but it was only 1 shot and I left without any revisit. Am I still protected today?

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by kenny1999

[CharonY]

So a few things first. A tetanus antitoxin (or more precisely anti-tetanus immunoglobulin) is not a vaccine, but an acute treatment for folks getting or at high risk getting tetanus (essentially antibodies raised against the tetanus toxin). There rest are basically different names for vaccinations. 

I started of with writing something about tetanus schedules, but upon reflection it would fall squarely into the medical advice area. Instead look up on major health care providers and look at the recommended vaccination schedules.

I will just say that the scheduling depends on age and type of vaccine being provided and currently I believe all of them are on a recommended 10 year booster cycle. The CDC for example recommends Td (tetanus/diphteria) or Tdap (tetanus/diphteria/pertussis) every 10 years for adults (see the cdc tetanus website, for example).

There is at least one paper that I believe showed that even after 30 years there is significant protection, but I do not recall the size of the study, so I would always follow the 10 year recommendation.

 

 

[exchemist]

45 minutes ago, CharonY said:

So a few things first. A tetanus antitoxin (or more precisely anti-tetanus immunoglobulin) is not a vaccine, but an acute treatment for folks getting or at high risk getting tetanus (essentially antibodies raised against the tetanus toxin). There rest are basically different names for vaccinations. 

I started of with writing something about tetanus schedules, but upon reflection it would fall squarely into the medical advice area. Instead look up on major health care providers and look at the recommended vaccination schedules.

I will just say that the scheduling depends on age and type of vaccine being provided and currently I believe all of them are on a recommended 10 year booster cycle. The CDC for example recommends Td (tetanus/diphteria) or Tdap (tetanus/diphteria/pertussis) every 10 years for adults (see the cdc tetanus website, for example).

There is at least one paper that I believe showed that even after 30 years there is significant protection, but I do not recall the size of the study, so I would always follow the 10 year recommendation.

 

 

10 years is the general practice in the UK, certainly, though it is not recommended that everyone needs it. I used to get it topped up when I travelled abroad with Shell, as it was company policy, but not any more. If I worked with horses, or as a gardener, that would be different.  

[kenny1999]

33 minutes ago, CharonY said:

So a few things first. A tetanus antitoxin (or more precisely anti-tetanus immunoglobulin) is not a vaccine, but an acute treatment for folks getting or at high risk getting tetanus (essentially antibodies raised against the tetanus toxin). There rest are basically different names for vaccinations. 

I started of with writing something about tetanus schedules, but upon reflection it would fall squarely into the medical advice area. Instead look up on major health care providers and look at the recommended vaccination schedules.

I will just say that the scheduling depends on age and type of vaccine being provided and currently I believe all of them are on a recommended 10 year booster cycle. The CDC for example recommends Td (tetanus/diphteria) or Tdap (tetanus/diphteria/pertussis) every 10 years for adults (see the cdc tetanus website, for example).

There is at least one paper that I believe showed that even after 30 years there is significant protection, but I do not recall the size of the study, so I would always follow the 10 year recommendation.

 

 

Hi. In other words, the most probable kind of tetanus shot I received three years ago should be still good today? (i.e. one shot only, no known tetanus vaccine record in their computer, no tetanus vaccine received in the last 10 years before that one)

Because I wasn't concerned and I didn't ask about what it was at that time.

I have never seen about 30 years on the Google results, unfortunately. So yes there are too many different numbers which are really confusing.

 

[CharonY]

19 minutes ago, kenny1999 said:

Hi. In other words, the most probable kind of tetanus shot I received three years ago should be still good today? (i.e. one shot only, no known tetanus vaccine record in their computer, no tetanus vaccine received in the last 10 years before that one)

Because I wasn't concerned and I didn't ask about what it was at that time.

I have never seen about 30 years on the Google results, unfortunately. So yes there are too many different numbers which are really confusing.

 

Sorry, I should not have brought it up. It was just a research paper that crossed my mind. Please disregard it, as it is not typical practice. You could look up what types of vaccines are used in your area, but generally speaking you should be good. But do not take that as health advice and if you are doing something that is higher risk in getting infected, having additional boosters are normally not an issue (but again talk to your health hotline/provider).