When considering a tetanus shot, you may have a couple of questions: What does it protect against? What exactly is tetanus? Do I really need to get a booster every 10 years? Both children and adults require protection from tetanus, a serious bacterial disease that results in the painful tightening of jaw muscles and other muscles around the body. A video uploaded by Gross Science tells you everything you need to know about tetanusshots, and why you shouldn’t think twice about them.

If protection from tetanus doesn’t convince you to schedule your tetanus shot booster every 10 years, the initial shot also provides high dose vaccines for diphtheria — a major cause of death and illness among young children — and pertussis, also known as whooping cough. People who have never been immunized against tetanus should receive the initial vaccination series: three tetanus shots given over the course of seven to 10 months.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani, which can be found in soil, dust, and animal feces. This vaccine-preventable disease is now considered uncommon in the United States following the introduction of the tetanus shot. An average of only 29 tetanus cases per year have been reported between 1996 and 2009, with nearly all cases affecting people who had never received their tetanus shot or 10-year tetanus booster.