$Unique_ID{PAR00058}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Diphtheria}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Diphtheria sore throat Pus Gray membrane Fever Cough breathing
Difficulty bacteria bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae inflammations nose
throat tonsil tonsils lymph nodes inflammation germ toxin poison heart damage
paralysis Croup pneumonia immunized boosters immunization antitoxin
penicillin erythromycin}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Diphtheria


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Persistent, severe sore throat
     - Pus in throat
     - Gray membrane in throat
     - Fever
     - Cough
     - Difficulty in breathing

     HOME CARE
     - None.  Diagnosis and treatment must be handled by a doctor.
     - If your child has a severe sore throat, see your doctor.
     - If a child with a sore throat has not been immunized against diphtheria
       or had the appropriate diphtheria boosters, tell your doctor.
       Otherwise, the doctor may not look for diphtheria.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - Diphtheria is a serious (possibly fatal) illness.
     - Prevent diphtheria by getting your children immunized and by getting
       required booster shots.
     - If your child has not been immunized, every cough, sore throat, or case
       of croup could be diphtheria.
     - If a child is having any trouble breathing, do not attempt to look in
       the child's throat.
     - Do not give cough medicine to a child who is having any trouble
       breathing.
     - Throat cultures to detect strep throat do not show diphtheria bacteria.
       A separate culture for diphtheria must be taken.
     - A child may have both strep throat and diphtheria at the same time.
     - A child who has not been immunized can catch diphtheria from a healthy
       person who is a carrier of diphtheria bacteria.
     - Do not travel to an underdeveloped country where diphtheria is common
       without immunization and appropriate booster shots.


     Diphtheria is a frequently fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium
(Corynebacterium diphtheriae).  Diphtheria is contracted by exposure to a
person with the disease or to a carrier of the disease.  (A carrier is a
person who has the bacteria in his body but is healthy.)  Symptoms of
diphtheria may develop within two to four days after exposure to the bacteria.
     The diphtheria germ causes inflammation of the nose, throat, tonsils, and
lymph nodes of the neck.  The germ kills by destroying tissue and by producing
a toxin (poison) that causes heart damage and paralysis.  Croup and pneumonia
are common complications of diphtheria.
     The protective immunization against diphtheria has been available for
over 40 years.  It is among the safest, cheapest, and most effective of all
known vaccines.  Even though this safe vaccine is available, diphtheria still
exists throughout the world because many persons are not immunized.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     The major symptom of diphtheria is a persistent, severe sore throat.  The
infected throat develops pus and a gray membrane that looks similar to that
seen in strep throat and mononucleosis.  Other symptoms include fever, cough,
and troubled breathing.
     The diagnosis of diphtheria must be made by a doctor.  Diphtheria is
difficult to diagnose for several reasons.  First, many American doctors have
never seen a case of diphtheria.  Second, diphtheria closely resembles
mononucleosis, strep throat, and various forms of croup.  Third, the doctor
may not suspect diphtheria and therefore will not test for it.  Routine throat
cultures taken in a doctor's office to detect strep bacteria do not show
diphtheria bacteria; the only way to detect diphtheria is by a nose and throat
culture that is specifically for identifying diphtheria bacteria.  Therefore,
if a patient happens to have both diphtheria and a strep infection of the
throat but the doctor does not consider the possibility of diphtheria and
performs only a routine throat culture, the strep infection will be identified
but the diphtheria will be missed.  That is why it is so important to let your
doctor know if your child has not been fully immunized against diphtheria.

HOME CARE

     There is no home treatment for diphtheria.  It is a serious (possibly
fatal) disease, and treatment must be handled by a doctor.  If your child has
a severe sore throat, see your doctor.  If your child has not been immunized
or has not had the necessary boosters, you must report this so that the doctor
knows to look for diphtheria as well as strep throat.
     The best step parents can take is to prevent diphtheria through proper
immunization.  It is essential that infants be routinely immunized for
diphtheria.  Three shots are required during the first six months of life.
Routine boosters are required at 18 months of age and again at four to six
years of age.  Boosters are required every ten years thereafter for a
lifetime.  If your child has not been immunized, every cough, sore throat, or
case of croup should be suspected of being the beginning of diphtheria.

PRECAUTIONS
  -  If your child's diphtheria immunization status is not up to date, be sure
     to inform the doctor treating your child.  Diphtheria may be the furthest
     thought from your doctor's mind.
  -  If a child is having any trouble breathing, do not attempt to look in the
     child's throat.
  -  Do not give cough medicine to a child who is having any trouble
     breathing.
  -  Remember that a child who has not been immunized can contract diphtheria
     from a well child or adult who is a carrier.
  -  Never travel to an underdeveloped country where diphtheria is common
     without proper immunization or booster shots.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     If your doctor suspects diphtheria, the disease can be diagnosed and
treated.  Diphtheria antitoxin and large doses of penicillin or erythromycin
are effective if started early enough.  A tracheotomy (a surgical procedure in
which an opening to the windpipe is made through the neck) may be necessary if
the condition is severe.

RELATED TOPICS:  Coughs; Croup; Immunizations; Infectious mononucleosis;
Pneumonia; Sore throat; Strep infections