If shots (vaccines) are supposed to simulate the infection before getting the real thing, why does it work after you get the actual virus in your body
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Tentanus is not a virus but a bacteria. The vaccine works in the same way as for a virus though. When you get an infection it is usually down to just a few cells. The viral load is very small. So your immune system might not notice the infection at first. Especially for bacteria it takes some time for the infection to multiply and spread. But a vaccine have a very high viral load spreading vast amounts of proteins throughout the blood system in seconds. The immune system will trigger immediately and start making antibodies to fight the vaccine. So when the infection finally gets a hold the immune system is full of antibodies and already highly active.
There’s only a few microbes in you initially. The shot helps you build immunity before the infection progresses too far.
However, tetanus bacteria is anaerobic. So for an advanced infection, they excise tissue all around the initial wound and the exposure to air kills the tetanus. This may be related to the old wives tale that wounds need to breathe to heal: a wound that would have given you what was once lethal tetanus wouldn’t if it got air.
there are two kinds of tetanus shots.
One kind is the tetanus vaccine. you have to get that kind before you get injured, as a precaution. That’s the kind of vaccine you’re describing, which primes the immune system. it takes at least a week (usually two) for a vaccine to fully activate your immune system.
The other kind is the tetanus anti-toxin. it’s basically purified antibodies that will neutralize the tetanus toxin. it works right away, because your body doesn’t have to make the antibodies. But it’s temporary. The antibodies only stay in your system for a few days or weeks.They make anti-toxin by vaccinating some other animal, usually a horse. the horse becomes immune to tetanus toxin, and we collect blood from the horse which contains antibodies against tetanus toxin. the antibodies are purified and we use that as anti-toxin.
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