Tetanus shot

[SweetSue]

I'm a retired RN of 37 years but I don't have an answer for you. In my experience, at least here in the states, a Tetanus is a single injection not combined with any other vaccines. I would only be assuming that would be the same in Jamaica. The best answer would be to see if you can get any info from the doc in Negril. Good luck! You might be able to check with another physician in Negril and see what the standard protocol is in Jamaica.

DTaP - Diptheria, Tetanus & Pertussis is given as the primary vaccination series which begins in infancy.

Tdap - Tetanus, Diptheria & Pertussis is the first booster shot for tetanus. All adults who expect to have contact iwth a child younger than 1 year old should get this type of vaccination at least once.

Td - Tetanus, Diptheria - this is the standard booster for tetanus given once every 10 years.

I too would recommend checking with the hospital in Sav to see what type of booster was given. It should have been written down on your treatment form. In any case though, it is possible that your "local reaction" may have been caused by the skin cleanser used, the gloves, a secondary infection or even the injection technique rather than to the vaccine itself. It is not unusual to have mild redness, tenderness or muscle soreness for a few days post injection. Perhaps your sunburn type peeling was just that, caused by the sun in addition to the shot.

[SweetSue]

Actually, enough time has passed to make this a moot point. You could probably do well to just get a Tdap and be done with it.

[Nurse Marcia]

It was highly unlikely you got a pertussis booster according to my Dr. friend in Kingston. The usual practice is Jamaica is to only give a Tetanus booster for injuries like yours.

[yetta]

Yes Sweet Sue, you are correct. I didn't clarify that I was speaking of a booster...not the initial vaccinations. My bad!!! I worked in Orthopedics and we only gave the Tetanus boosters for cuts, etc. In the 27 years of working for that particular establishment....the tetanus booster was just as stated...only tetanus. Sorry that I responded so quickly that I overlooked an important word...booster.

Thanks for clarifying.

[rachel]

It was highly unlikely you got a pertussis booster according to my Dr. friend in Kingston. The usual practice is Jamaica is to only give a Tetanus booster for injuries like yours.

Thanks for checking that with your doctor friend. I was told by the clinic in Jamaica that my reaction was probably because I still had Tetanus immunity in my system since my previous Tetanus shot had been 7 years before. I had insisted on a Tetanus shot in the hospital though since I had a lot of dirt in the wound.

[Angel]

Rachel can you get your shot from work? At least you know you more than likely will need the Tdap then will be good to go for awhile. Make a note of it. Wishing you luck to not having a bad reaction. Last one may have been from your injury. Glad you were able to get that taken care of in Jamaica. Sorry you had a mishap there.

[rachel]

Yes, sounds like I can get my shot at work, free of charge even. I never had a reaction with the shot in the states, just the one in Jamaica so hopefully it will be okay. The first time in my life I ever had to be a patient in the hospital was in Jamaica and day 2 of a 16 day stay too yet.