When to Seek Medical Care

When to call the doctor

• Call your doctor if you have questions regarding whether your tetanus immunization is current.

• If you have a wound, you should seek medical attention. If you are not immunized or have not kept up your booster every 10 years, any open wound is at risk of developing tetanus. Many emergency physicians advise a tetanus booster be given if the patient's last booster is between five to 10 years old because patients may not accurately recall the date of their last booster and also because not all patients' immune systems will give 10-year protection following the vaccine.

When to go to the hospital

• Most doctors can care for minor wounds with mild degrees of contamination. In addition, most doctors maintain tetanus vaccines in their offices and can update anyone who is inadequately immunized. Call your doctor and follow his or her advice regarding whether or not you should seek treatment in a hospital's emergency department after an injury or wound.

• If the wound is large, crushed, or heavily contaminated, you should go to the nearest hospital's emergency department for evaluation. Occasionally, both a tetanus booster and tetanus antibodies are required if you have any wound that is tetanus-prone. Tetanus antibodies are reserved for people with incomplete immunizations with a tetanus-prone wound.



• If you have a recent injury and are starting to experience muscle cramps or spasms at or near the injury, you should go to a hospital's emergency department.

• If you have trouble swallowing or have muscle spasms in the facial muscles, go to the emergency department for treatment.