Nailing Lockjaw Without a Tetanus Shot

Funny cartoons, incidence (zero), risks (many), benefits (none), & the actual treatment of Tetanus.

At this point I’m not an expert on every vaccine, but I inherently distrust all of them. Every time I go deep on any of them the data for efficacy is very poor, obviously biased, and of course there is no good safety data.

Additionally, most of the diseases we have vaccines for are extremely unlikely to affect the people getting vaccinated (the quintessential example being the Hep B shot, to prevent the STD, given to newborns).

Questionable if any efficacy, no safety data, full of toxins like aluminum, animal virus components that can trigger cancer genes in humans, cultured in animal cells or aborted fetal tissues, correlated with autism and every other chronic disease - there’s a laundry list of reasons to automatically avoid them.

But there are always the really scary ones…

What if you get bit by a rabid dog?

Well the vaccine isn’t going to take effect fast enough to help you anyway. The rabies immune globulin might (premade antibodies to rabies). That’s the actual treatment we have for Rabies.

And what if you step on a rusty nail and immediately start imaging you’re coming down with Lockjaw?

Well that’s the main topic of this post.

I just stepped on a rusty nail. Badly gouged the sole of my foot. Didn’t worry about getting a tetanus shot.

First of all what are the chances of getting Tetanus? In 2018 and 2019 throughout the entire US there was not a single case of tetanus.

There are plenty of rusty nails puncturing plenty of feet, but just as in the case of the rabies shot, the tetanus booster would have zero effect on an acute case of Tetanus, because it wouldn’t have time to trigger the immunity you would need. It’s meant for future prevention. The actual acute treatment is antibiotics (flagyl AKA metronidazole), tetanus immune globulin and supportive care.

So what that means is even though almost everyone stepping on rusty nails (and more) is getting the Tetanus shot, that doesn’t explain why nearly no one’s getting Tetanus.

In 2017 there were reported Tetanus cases, and some of them were vaccinated. Studies also show that tetanus antibodies do not confer immunity to tetanus. There is no data that proves tetanus antibodies confer immunity, it is an unfounded assumption.

But the real reason almost no one’s coming down with Tetanus in the US is that it’s carried in the guts of farm animals, so it’s just not present in the urban and suburban environments where nearly everyone lives. If you have farm animals defecating all over the place maybe you have some dirty rusty nails in your immediate vicinity that harbor tetanus (it’s not the rusty nail but the dirt carrying the spores from the excrement of those animals).

If you have a deep puncture wound it’s more likely to get infected with Tetanus which needs an anaerobic environment to multiply (i.e. no oxygen). If its a more open wound thats bleeding well there’s both oxygen present and the blood naturally helps sweep out any pathogens you were exposed to. In either case your immune system is mobilized immediately to the area and your cellular immunity which is dependent on cytotoxic T cells, macrophages and cytokines helps clean things up and eliminate any pathogens (including Tetanus) and infected cells. Antibody dependent immunity develops, but is only (somtimes) helpful for future exposures to the same organisms. Again there isn’t any proof that antibody dependent immunity has any efficacy for Tetanus, whether it’s naturally developed or via vaccination.

Whether or not you’re concerned about Tetanus, those with good immunity can get cut and heal without problem. Those with poor immunity and/or peripheral blood flow get cut and invariably get infected, usually not with Tetanus, but with one of the skin microbes like Staph - especially those with diabetes or those on immunosuppressive medications.

So the general care for an open wound is to let it bleed liberally before trying to staunch the blood flow. Then as an extra precaution you can also flush it out with clean water, preferably salt water or saline (in the ER they will usually run at least a liter through the wound. Then you can do what mothers have been doing for generations now: dump some hydrogen peroxide in there - though colloidal silver may be as effective and gentler on the tissues. You can also use iodine.

Then apply a bandaid and let it heal.

So what would I do if I was on a farm and got stuck with a rusty nail?

I’d treat it with something like colloidal silver or CDS and call it a day. There are many ways to boost your immune system to take out Tetanus or any other pathogen.

One respondent on Twitter did have the early typical symptoms suggesting developing Tetanus and this is what he did:

Still there will be people who remain unconvinced of the unnecessary nature of tetanus boosters. For them I have one last bit of information that may help save them from a bad vaccine reaction like these ones (or worse):

If you already had the primary series of tetanus shots research shows that you sustain “adequate” antibody levels for life. So even if it did work you don’t need that 10 yearly booster, it’s just a money grab.

Stop worrying about tetanus. You’re more likely to die from a lightning strike and no one really worries about those, unless their on the beach and a thunder storm kicks up, and in that case you just get off the beach, right?