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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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When to Seek Medical Care

When to call the doctor

• Individuals should know if their tetanus immunization is current; often primary-care physicians have immunization records and may be able to supply people with that information.
• If people have a wound, they should seek medical attention. If they are not immunized against tetanus or have not kept up tetanus booster shots 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, if they have the records, update anyone who is inadequately immunized. Call the patient's doctor and follow his or her advice regarding whether or not they should seek treatment in a hospital's emergency department after an injury or wound.
• If the wound is large, contains crushed tissues, or is heavily contaminated, individuals should go to the nearest hospital's emergency department for evaluation. Occasionally, both a tetanus booster and tetanus antibodies are required if patients have any wound that is tetanus-prone. Tetanus antibodies are reserved for people with incomplete immunizations with a tetanus-prone wound.
• If individuals have a recent injury and are starting to experience muscle cramps or spasms at or near the injury, they should go to a hospital's emergency department immediately.
• If individuals have trouble swallowing or have muscle spasms in the facial muscles, go to the emergency department for treatment immediately.