Word Count: 815I am doing a report on the disease . Thedefinition of the disease is a bacterial disease thataffects the throat and can cause serious or fatalcomplications. It is a serious disease caused by thebacterium. There is a lot of history on this disease. In the late 1800s diphtheria came across westernEurope and the United States, it killed thousandsof children.
The diphtheria characterized byinfection is more contagious than the diseasecharacterized by respiratory infection. Diphtheriais a disease of the respiratory system. It causesmembranes to grow on the inner throat. Sometimes the membranes release a toxin into thebloodstream(which is poisonous).
The membranesclog the air passages then you can hardly breath,most of the time you will die. You should havecomplete bedrest for two to three weeks. Then aman named Bela Schick came over the Schicktest. He discovered that the disease was only tobe found in humans. It may sometimes enter andeffect the skin. This disease is now rare in most ofthe world.
That is most of the history ondiphtheria. There are many symptoms that canaware you that you have the disease. You shouldnotice the first symptoms during the first throughseventh days after you get it. Some of the firstsymptoms you sill get are fatigue, a low-gradefever, and a sore throat.
Next you will also noticeswelling to the neck. Some other symptoms arepainful swallowing, nausea and vomiting, chills,bloody, watery drainage from nose, scabbing ofnostrils and upper lip, bluish coloration of skin,fever, headache, breathing difficulty, croup-likecough, hoarseness, stridor, drooling, and rapidbreathing. Those are most of the symptoms ofDiphtheria. There are many treatments forDiphtheria. As soon as the disease is suspecteddiphtheria antitoxin is given as an intramuscularinjection.
The Disease is treated with antibiotics. As an infant you should safely be give the DPTvaccine. This vaccine is a three in one vaccine thatprotects against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. The vaccine has some side effects as slight fever,crankiness, and tenderness of skin. DPT is usuallygiven in the leg or the arm. You can also be givethe DT vaccine.
The DT vaccine is a two in onevaccine. This vaccine should be given to childrenless than seven years old. This is given in the armor the thigh. This protects against diphtheria andtetanus.
There is one last vaccine. It is the Tdvaccine. The Td vaccine is also a two in onevaccine that protects against tetanus anddiphtheria. This should be give to adults only. After the regular series of injections, a booster ofTd vaccine should be taken at the age of fourteento sixteen and every ten years after that.
This is adifferent dose than the DT vaccine. This one isusually given in the arm. The vaccination is one ofthe recommended childhood immunizations andshould begin during infancy. A lot of times it isrequired before the children start school.
There isa minimum of three injections, but there can be fivetaken. There is a benefit of taking the vaccine. Thebenefit is that 85% of the people who receivedthree injections of the vaccine will be protectedfrom the disease for ten years. There are alsosome risks involved with the vaccines.
DPT oftencauses mild side effects suck as slight fever, mildcrankiness, and tenderness of the injection site fora few days. They happen because of the pertussiscomponent of the vaccine. DTP can cause somerisks in one out of every one thousand sevenhundred and fifty people. These effects areconvulsions, febrile seizure, and shock or collapse. In some cases brain damage has also been knownto happened.
This is very rare though. If you havehas seizures before this time then you are mostlikely to have seizures. There is also death which isa very rare possibility too. There are also somecontradictions you might run into about thevaccinations also.
If your child is sick withsomething more serious than a mild cold, thevaccine may be put off until the child is feelingbetter. If your child has seizures or brain damagethe vaccine will also be put off until tests show thatthey are not getting worse. After your child hashad the vaccine you should contact a physician ifthe following happened: seizures within three toseven days after injection, any serious brainproblem within seven days after injection,worsening of seizures or other brain problem,mouth, throat, or face swelling within a few hoursafter injection, difficulty breathing within a fewhours after injection, temperature of one hundredand five degrees Fahrenheit or higher within twodays after injection, shock or collapse within twodays after injection, and persistent, uncontrolledcrying that lasts for more than three hours at a timewithin two days after injection. For one or twodays after the injection it is normal for the child toexperience fever, soreness at the injection site,swelling at the injection site, and redness at theinjection site. Adults who just recently get the shotcan has swelling at the injection site for up to threedays.
You can get an examination from a physicianand it may show that there are characteristics ofgray membranes in the throat, enlarged lymphglands, and swelling of the neck or larynx. The testincludes gram stain of membrane, throat culture,and ECG.
