DIPHTHERIA
What Is Diphtheria?Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that affects the mucous membranes of the throat and nose. It is highly contagious i.e. it spreads easily from one person to another it is spread by coughs and sneezes or by contact with someone with diphtheria or items belonging to them, such as handkerchief or clothing.
Diphtheria is a serious infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria that enter the body through droplet transmission. The transmission could be from the mouth, but the bacteria also enter through the nose and eyes.
Causes Diphtheria
Diphtheria spreads through respiratory droplets (such as from a cough or sneeze) of an infected person or someone who carries the bacteria but has no symptoms.
- Airborne droplets: When an infected person's sneeze or cough releases a mist of contaminated droplets, people nearby may inhale C. diphtheriae. Diphtheria spreads efficiently this way, particularly in crowded conditions.
- Contaminated personal items: People occasionally catch diphtheria from handling an infected person's used tissues, drinking from the person's unwashed glass, or coming into similarly close contact with other items on which bacteria-laden secretions may be deposited.
- Contaminated household items: In rare cases, diphtheria spreads on shared household items, such as towels or toys.
- The transmission could be from the mouth, but the bacteria also enter through the nose and eyes.
- You can also come in contact with diphtheria-causing bacteria by touching an infected wound. People who have been infected by the diphtheria bacteria and who haven't been treated can infect no immunized people for up to six weeks — even if they don't show any symptoms.
May include:
- A thick, gray membrane covering your throat and tonsils
- A sore throat and hoarseness
- Depression
- Difficulty breathing or rapid breathing
- Fever and chills
- Nasal discharge
- Swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes) in your neck
- Some patients may have skin involvement, producing skin ulcers.
How to diagnose Diphtheria
A diagnosis of diphtheria can be confirmed by taking a sample of cells from the throat, nose or wound on the skin. This will be examined to see whether the bacteria that cause diphtheria are present.
How to Prevent Diphtheria
- Avoid having contact with infected person. Contacts of people with diphtheria need to be investigated for the disease receive antibiotics and receive vaccination if required.
- Contacts whose work involves food handling or caring for unimmunised children are excluded from work until they certified to be free of the disease by the CDCB.
- Family or household contact with diphtheria should be excluded from childcare, preschool, school and work until cleared to return by the CDCB.
- People travelling to countries where diphtheria is common should have received a full course of immunisation and consider a booster dose of vaccine in discussion with their doctor.
- People with diphtheria need to be kept in isolation until they are certified to be free of the disease.
- Widespread immunisation against diphtheria is the only effective control. The diphtheria vaccine is administered through the National Immunisation Program. The first dose of diphtheria vaccine, in combination with other vaccines, is now recommended to be given at 6 weeks of age. For adolescents and adults, the combined diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis vaccine is preferred, if not given previously, as it provides additional protection against whooping cough (pertussis).
Diphtheria Home Remedies/Home Cure
Garlic Juice: Garlic is known to cure many deadly diseases and it has an uncanny feel of giving relief in even the most dire situations. As a remedy, take a spoonful of 2-3 crushed garlic cloves. This works wonders for curing this disease. Roll it in your mouth and swallow it. Keep repeating this for some time.
Mixture of Herbs: Make a paste of castor leaves, drumstick leaves, and garlic. When the paste is ready, let the patient inhale it. Also, you can gargle this paste with lukewarm water for an effective remedy.
Table Salt: Normal salt may be a good option for a sore throat. Just drink a glass full of water with salt mixed in. The mixture of salt and water will definitely help in reducing the effect. It is also helpful in breathing problems that usually occur due to a lack of salt in the body.
Treatment for Diphtheria
Universal immunization is the best measure to prevent diphtheria. The diphtheria toxoid vaccine, which is generally combined with the tetanus and pertussis vaccine, is currently recommended for administration to infants, adolescents, and adults. Immunization for infants and children consists of five DTaP vaccinations generally given at 2, 4, and 6 months, with the fourth dose being administered between 15-18 months, and the fifth dose at 4-6 years of age.
Diphtheria Home Remedies/Home Cure
Complications of Diphtheria
Incubation period
Time between becoming infected and developing symptoms.
Usually 2 to 5 days.
