Tetanus is a condition that is caused by a bacterium known as Clostridium tetani. The bacterium lives in soil, animal feces and other unhygienic conditions, and manages to find its way into the body by way of a cut or wound. Even a small scrape is sufficient for the bacterium to enter a person's body.

The condition is also known referred to as lockjaw as the infected suffers from extreme spasms of the jaw muscles as the infection becomes worse.

Some of the signs of tetanus are lockjaw, as mentioned above. In fact, this is the first sign of the infection. Thereafter, the person starts suffering from spasms of the facial muscles. As the disease progresses, the neck becomes stiff and this makes it extremely difficult for the person to swallow. Then, the muscles of the calves and chest are affects. Besides constriction and contraction of the muscles, an infected person will also suffer from other symptoms. These include high temperature, high blood pressure, profuse perspiration and increase in heart rate that occurs intermittently.

When a person suffers from constriction of the muscles, it can stay for many minutes. During the contraction of the muscles, the body takes a characteristic shape wherein the back is arched and the entire body becomes rigid. Muscle contractions can last for up to four weeks and a person will take months to recover, provided the treatment is started immediately on suspecting the infection.

Sometimes, a person can suffer from a tetanus infection just at the site of the injury. This, however, is quite rare and not seen very often. In this type of infection, the contractions are restricted just to the body part which has sustained the injury, and the spasms can last for several weeks before they slowly start reducing in severity. 

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