Hi everyone! My name is Isabelle Laplante and I’ve been an RN here at the Cortes Health Centre for the last 5 years.

I wanted to demystify questions you might have regarding vaccines, especially in children, and in particular in regards to tetanus.

As per HealthLink BC, “Tetanus is a disease caused by a bacterial infection. The bacteria make a toxin, or poison, that causes severe muscle spasms. Tetanus can be very dangerous, but you can get a shot to prevent it. Tetanus is also called "lockjaw" because muscle spasms in your jaw make it hard to open your mouth. Tetanus also causes seizures and makes it hard for you to swallow or breathe.”

This is especially true if someone has a cut that is dirty. Tetanus lives in the soil, so it’s not just from “rusty nails”.

When someone comes in with a dirty cut and they are not immunized, we recommend getting tetanus immunoglobulin, which can be given at the Campbell River Emergency with an IM injection, preferably within 24 hours. We also recommend getting the vaccine at the time, or in advance of any injury, as well. Adults should receive the tetanus vaccine every 10 years.

This great link covers most questions:

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthwise/tetanus-0

For any questions or to book an immunization appointment with our Public Health nurse call 250 850 2117. They usually come to Cortes about once a month.

Preventative measures can save a lot of stress.

We also recommend, in general, that children receive all their routine childhood immunizations. Public health can help answer a lot of these questions.

Here's another great link to check out regarding vaccine safety:

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthwise/vaccine-safety

Thank you,

Isabelle, RN and the Cortes Health Centre team