Can you drink alcohol with tetanus?

Written by Ai Bing Quan
General Surgery
Updated on November 30, 2024
00:00
00:00

After receiving a tetanus vaccine, it is not recommended to drink alcohol. It is best to avoid spicy, stimulating, and greasy foods. Usually, when patients are injured, they may need to receive a tetanus vaccine. Especially when injured by rusty metal, the tetanus vaccine can effectively prevent tetanus. However, drinking alcohol at the same time as receiving the tetanus vaccine can easily lead to a drug reaction, causing adverse reactions. For example, increased heart rate, dizziness, palpitations, vomiting, and even shock, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. Furthermore, drinking alcohol is also detrimental to the healing of wounds. Depending on the recovery of the body, patients can generally drink a small amount of alcohol after a week.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Xiao Lin
Emergency Department
53sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of mild tetanus?

Symptoms of mild tetanus may include the following: Firstly, localized muscle spasms or brief spasms in a single muscle. Additionally, one may experience facial numbness, facial asymmetry, and difficulty swallowing. Generally, these symptoms are mild and do not affect normal life. Therefore, if tetanus occurs, one should first go to the hospital for further relevant examinations and treatment. The general treatment involves administering penicillin for infection control. Additionally, symptomatic treatment includes sedatives to reduce spasms. Attention should also be paid to diet; it is advisable to drink plenty of water and consume fresh vegetables and fruits. One should avoid spicy, stimulating foods, seafood, and yeast-containing foods like beef and mutton to minimize the occurrence of tetanus symptoms.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Peng
General Surgery
48sec home-news-image

How long does a tetanus shot last?

Regarding how long a tetanus shot lasts, it depends on which type has been administered. Generally, there are two types of tetanus injections: tetanus immunoglobulin and tetanus antitoxin. Typically, doctors perform a skin test before administering the tetanus antitoxin; if the patient has a positive skin test and cannot tolerate desensitization treatment, tetanus immunoglobulin can be administered instead. These two medications have different metabolic times and their preventive effects vary. The metabolic time for tetanus antitoxin is generally one week, whereas for tetanus immunoglobulin, it can last about 28 days. Therefore, how long a tetanus shot lasts depends on the specific circumstances of the patient’s injection.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jin Quan
General Surgery
58sec home-news-image

Do you still need a skin test for tetanus allergy?

Under normal circumstances, if there is an allergy to tetanus, a skin test is not required. If tetanus vaccination is indeed necessary, human immunoglobulin can be injected, and this does not require a skin test. 250 units can be injected directly. Additionally, tetanus antitoxin desensitization injections can be used. The so-called desensitization injection involves diluting 1500 units of tetanus antitoxin into doses of 0.1 ml, 0.2 ml, 0.3 ml, and 0.4 ml, totaling 1 ml, and administering it in four doses, each 20 minutes apart. After the injections are completed, an observation period of 30 minutes is required to ensure there are no adverse reactions before the patient can leave.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Tang Da Wei
General Surgery
44sec home-news-image

How deep is a tetanus wound?

There is no clear boundary concerning how deep a wound needs to be to carry a risk of tetanus; mainly, it depends on whether the conditions allow for anaerobic bacteria to thrive. Particularly, wounds that are very small on the surface but deep can lead to substantial proliferation of tetanus bacilli. A common example is a foot wound caused by stepping on a nail, where the exterior opening of the wound is small, but it is deep inside, and the nail surface may be rusty and also carry a large amount of tetanus bacilli. If the wound is not promptly and thoroughly cleaned, it can lead to massive growth of tetanus bacilli, resulting in the onset of severe illness in the patient.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jin Quan
General Surgery
36sec home-news-image

Can tetanus be treated?

Tetanus is a specific infectious disease, most cases of which present as muscle tension and rigidity. Specific symptoms include difficulty opening the mouth, a sardonic smile, stiff neck, and opisthotonus. In severe cases, difficulties in breathing or even cessation of breathing can occur, and in critical cases, the heartbeat may also stop. Once tetanus occurs, it is crucial to seek active treatment at a hospital. With proper and systematic treatment provided by hospitals, most patients can be cured. Therefore, tetanus is a curable infectious disease.