Full Form of TT:
Tetanus Toxoid
TT Full Form is Tetanus Toxoid. Toxoid serves as a booster injection that is meant only for persons 7 years of age against tetanus (Tetanus Toxoid). This injection is used to prevent tetanus which is a very serious illness that can cause convulsions and severe muscle spasms. These muscle spasms are very strong that they can cause bone fractures of the spine. Tetanus results in death in 30 to 40 percent of cases.
Popularly known as Tetanus vaccine, Tetanus Toxoid is basically a vaccine that is used for the prevention of tetanus. The doses of vaccine are recommended during childhood and there are additional doses that are recommended every ten years. Generally after three doses of the vaccine, the person becomes immune.
There can be instances where the person has not regularly taken doses of Tetanus Toxoid then a dose should be immediately given within 48 hours of injury. People who are not completely immunized are recommended to take tetanus antitoxin. It is important that pregnant women are fully vaccinated with tetanus Toxoid and this is especially important for the purposes of preventing neonatal tetanus.
Tetanus Toxoid, which will hereinafter be referred to as TT throughout the article, was made in the year 1927 but it became available only in the 1940s. The introduction of TT causes a dramatic reduction of the cases of Tetanus and the vaccine was eventually included among the important medications, which are basic to the medical health system, by the World Health Organization (abbreviated as WHO). TT has been enlisted in the List of Essential Medicines. Apart from what has been mentioned above, there are other facets of TT that must be dealt with. Five things about TT are as follows:
History of TT
The discovery of first ever inactive TT was made in the year 1924. The vaccine became a success when it was used during World War II for prevention of tetanus in the military. In the year 1930, DTP ( which stands for Diptheria, Tetanus
Pregnancy
The introductory part of the article mentions quite clearly that pregnant women should be properly immunized with TT so as to prevent neonatal tetanus. All postpartum women, if they have not yet received Tdap or Td vaccine, in the preceding two years then it is recommended that Tdap is given after delivery and before discharge. Those pregnant women who have not been immunized with TT are recommended to receive three Td vaccines to prevent neonatal and maternal tetanus. In all these cases, Tdap is recommended to be administered only after the lapse of 20 weeks gestation period. Thus, TT is highly important for the safety of the pregnant women and the child.
Additional doses
There may be cases where booster shots are to be given. Such shots are essential because of the unstable rate of activity of lymphocyte production. This generally happens because when the vaccine is introduced in the body, productive activity of white blood cells starts declining. The decline indicates that boosters are needed to ensure activity of white blood cells.
Tdap and Td are booster shots that must be administered every ten years for the maintenance of immunity among adults from the age 19 to 65 years. Tdap is administered once only and it is not administered to people who are below 11 years of age. Td booster shots are administered to those who are above 7 years of age. Booster shots are to be administered before the age of 65 years and one shot should be Tdap and the remaining should be of Td.
Side effects of TT
TT vaccine is accompanied with certain side effects that everyone must know. The most common forms of side effects in this respect include redness, fever, swelling, soreness near the injection area, tenderness, etc. There have been reports of body aches and fatigue following the administration of Tdap. Tdap is known to cause painful swelling around the arm area and reactions near the injection spot. None of the cases relating to side effects has been reportedly fatal though a couple of serious side effects has been reported in Denmark such as anaphylactic shock, arthrlagia, urticaria, nephrosis, etc.
Mechanism of action for TT
The category of vaccination that TT belongs to is called artificial active immunity, which is produced when weakened or dead forms of the disease introduces itself into the body and causes immune response such as the production of antibodies. This is actually quite beneficial to the body system because when such responses are produced, it is an indication that the immune system is able to recognize the antigen and rapidly generate antibodies for the same. Thus, the mechanism is very much similar to that of other forms of vaccinations.
Immunization:
It is advised for all infants aging 6 to 8 years and even older than that. IT consists of a series of 3 or 4 injections. It depends on the type of tetanus Toxoid a person is receiving. It is recommended that a person must get a booster after a period of every 10 years. The first three doses are given as Diphtheria. The fourth dose is advised to have at the age of 15 to 20 months of age.
There should be an interval of at least 6 months in between the third and the fourth dose. A person who has been already infected by tetanus in his past is not likely to get suffered by tetanus again in the future. The vaccine has to be taken under the supervision of a professional doctor or any other specific health care organization. Tetanus, also known as Lockjaw, is a dangerous illness that results in seizures and severe muscular spasms that can bring fractures to the spine. The mortality rate in cases of tetanus is pretty high and therefore, it is regarded as a serious illness.
In order to prevent Tetanus, Tetanus Toxoid is used and generally consists of three or four injections of different kinds of Tetanus Toxoid, whichever is required. Since our bodies do not produce antibodies naturally, it is recommended that Tetanus Toxoid shots be given every ten years so to continue the process of immunization effectively and uninterruptedly.
It must be however remembered that Tetanus Toxoid do not immunize body from active tetanus infections, that can be treated with Tetanus Immune Globulin. However, it helps in regularization of the immunization of the body. Shots of Tetanus Toxoid may have some side effects like pain, redness, edema, etc. but apart from them, the vaccine is safe and effective in tackling tetanus.