Diphtheria: symptoms, manifestations, forms and methods of diagnostics

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The symptoms often baffled not only parents but also doctors. Mass immunization has made this disease quite rare today, not all pediatricians in his practice encountered it. However, a significant number of carriers and the increasing number of people who refuse vaccinations, the causes of growth disease. Therefore, the main symptoms of diphtheria is useful to know all.

This is a severe bacterial disease that causes diphtheria Bacillus. This has been known since ancient times, and has always been extremely dangerous, especially for children.

In different Nations of the diphtheria called deadly ulcers of the throat, malignant sore throat, and even the hangman's noose. All this is well characterized by the disease.

By themselves, bacteria could have caused the man so many problems, if not the toxins that they secrete. These substances provoke severe disease and its complications, including defeat of heart, kidney, nervous tissue.

Before the invention of the serum against diphtheria, she had caused the death of approximately half of the ill children. Adults encounter this disease less common, but they are not insured.

How is diphtheria?

The main way of spread – airborne. So at risk are people who spend a lot of time in contact with other workers transport, trade, teachers, doctors, and children in kindergarten, schools, orphanages.

But there may be other causes of disease transmission of the bacteria through everyday objects, for example, toys, dishes, Cutlery. Most often it is found in children's collectives.

The incubation period ranges from 2 to 10 days and depends on many factors, primarily age and immune status of the sick. But there may be other causes: the strain of bacteria, the sensitivity to the toxin, localization of inflammation and so on.

Distributors of diphtheria bacilli serve ill people and carriers. Vaccination greatly reduces the likelihood of the onset of the disease, but does not completely eliminate. The last course of immunization a person can be an asymptomatic carrier for a long period of time, or transferred diphtheria in a very mild form.

Inflammation starts in the area of the entrance gate of infection. They can be mucosa, rarely – damage to the skin. Given the airborne pathway, most often diphtheria of the oropharynx, rarely nose. Such forms of disease as diphtheria nose, ear, eyes, genitals and wound surface are extremely rare.

Early symptoms of diphtheria

After infection takes an average of 4-5 days before the first signs. Often fix such manifestations:

• Sore throat. They are sufficiently weak to cause concern as the bacteria emit when propagating, including, and pain killers.
• Rise in temperature. In the early stages of the disease it is not too high – up to 38-38,5 degrees.
• The appearance of plaque on the tonsils. At first it jelly-like or quite easy, like a spider web, but in 2-3 days the dense gray-white film on the tonsils. Tonsils themselves are swollen, reddened. Sometimes the inflammation extends to the Palatine arch and the sky.
• The lymph nodes behind the ears and on the neck a little enlarged.

But there are characteristic differences. In contrast to most respiratory diseases, diphtheria does not give runny nose and nasal congestion.

From this stage there are two possible option:

• In children and adults, who have passed all the necessary vaccinations, the state is gradually improving, subsides swelling and inflammation of the tonsils. The disease ends, like the common cold.
• If vaccinations were not done, then in most cases develops toxic form. It flows is extremely difficult and often leaves behind health effects.

How is the toxic form of diphtheria?

By the second or third day, increasing the amount of toxins in the blood, causing new symptoms appear:

• The temperature rises to 39-41 degrees.
• The skin is pale, dry.
• Swallowing difficult.
• Spasm of the masticatory muscles, causing the patient is difficult to openmouth.
• Appears on the tonsils dense off-white or gray-white film with a pearl hue. The film is not separated, when trying to remove it is mechanically formed bleeding surface.
• Language densely overlaid.
• Signs of intoxication: weakness, lethargy, headache, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting.
• There may be swelling of the neck.
• Characteristic sickly-sweet breath.

Listed symptoms of diphtheria associated with the spread of toxins throughout the body. If time does not begin treatment, they will affect other organs and systems. The highest sensitivity to them is different myocardium, nerve fibres, kidney tissue. Therefore, without treatment the second week of the disease may be signs of heart and kidney failure, disorders of the nervous system.

True croup in diphtheria

Gradually increase symptoms of croup. Unlike false croup, typical of viral and bacterial infections, diphtheria is called true.

Croup is an inflammation of the larynx caused by the spread of the disease. He is accompanied by edema and stenosis of the muscles. This is the main causes of respiratory depression. If you do not start timely treatment, croup can lead to death because of increasing respiratory distress.

Characteristic signs of this condition, rough, barking cough, which is sometimes called the seal, the voice becomes hoarse. After some time develops aphonia – loss of voice.

At this stage, changing the breath. Breath becomes difficult and elongated, with a characteristic whistling noise. The child is not getting enough oxygen: skin pale nasolabial triangle is blue, he tosses his head to ease the breath, the sweat covers the face.

Without medical care, there comes the deterioration of the child falls into a semi-oblivion, the pulse becomes thready. This is often the state ends up choking.

The development of the groats take from several days to several hours in young children. The smaller the child's age, the faster growing symptoms and the heavier they are tolerated. This is due to the more narrow lumen of the larynx, and a tendency to swelling of the tissues.

Atypical forms of diphtheria

The described form of diphtheria (diphtheria of the throat) is not only the most common but also the hardest. It is found in 90% of cases without treatment in half of the cases end in death. The rest remain diverse and severe complications.

But besides this form there may be others:

• Diphtheria of the nose. Breathing through the nose difficult, there may be a slight sukrovichnye allocation, rarely purulent. Nasal mucosa is swollen, inflamed, sometimes there are small films, sores. On the skin near the nose moist areas are formed, later they dry up. Diphtheria of the nose can occur in isolation or in combination with lesions of the larynx or the oropharynx. If it occurs in isolation, the signs of intoxication no.
• Diphtheria of the eye. This files most often begins as a conjunctivitis. In this form (catarrhal) the conjunctiva is inflamed, there may be some selection. When membranous variant of development of the conjunctiva are formed by diphtheria film, the eyelid swells, possible purulent discharge. When toxic, the most severe form, these symptoms combined with the signs of intoxication and the spread of inflammation to other parts of the eye.
• Diphtheria of the ear. Rare form, often occurs as otitis media. There are different reasons for this localization: a complication of diphtheria of the nose or the introduction of pathogens in the ear. In the first case, the characteristic otitis media in the second – external. Symptoms: sharp pain, the appearance of films in the ear passage, the sweat on the eardrum.
• Diphtheria of the genitals. This condition is rare. Most often it is a consequence of pharyngeal diphtheria, if the patient puts pathogens in the genital mucosa. Men and boys suffering the foreskin, and women and girls the vulva, vagina, anal area. Typical symptoms – inflammation, redness, and plaque film, inflammation of inguinal lymph nodes.
• Diphtheria of wound surfaces. Develops if bacteria get into an open wound, abrasion, or other breach of integrity of the skin. Such stripes are formed by dense gray-white film that are hard to remove. Tissue around the reddened, swollen. Protracted course of the disease, they fester.

Methods of diagnostics of diphtheria

First diagnosis of this disease includes inspection. The doctor examines the throat, palpate the neck, regional lymph nodes, tonsils, listens to the bronchi and lungs, examining the condition of the skin, if necessary, interrogates the parents figuring out how the child behaved lately. But visual inspection may not be sufficient to prescribe treatment.

Even today, when diphtheria is rare, when referring to the doctor with symptoms of angina, you need to eliminate this heavy and dangerous disease. In the early stages they are very similar to each other, so it is important to rule out a worst case scenario.

The doctor takes a smear from the pharynx, which is then examined under a microscope. Microscopy is one of the most simple andquick methods of diagnosis, so it is used primarily for coarse search of pathogens.

If the survey gave a positive result will require advanced diagnostics:

• Bacterial inoculation. Allows to determine not only the presence of pathogens, but also their number.
• General analysis of blood. In diphtheria note the high content of leukocytes with a shift of leukocyte formula to the left, increase ESR.

To clarify the diagnosis may require other diagnostic methods, for example, bronchoscopy, as well as detailed studies of the kidneys, heart and other organs. After that, the doctor may find a more effective treatment of the disease.

How is the treatment of diphtheria

As with many other diseases, treatment of diphtheria should begin as early as possible. In the process of life bacteria produce toxins that are detrimental to many internal organs. Therefore, the speed of onset of treatment is the key to quick and successful recovery.

The treatment of this disease, beginning with the introduction of diphtheria serum. It binds toxins circulating in the blood, and does not allow them to poison the body. The difficulty is that the serum is able to neutralize the toxins, associated with tissue of the heart, kidneys and other organs.

In addition, the treatment of the disease involves the administration of antibiotics to resolve the cause – diphtheria bacilli. Most often the drug of choice become erythromycin, rifampicin, penicillin. Appoint long, at least 10 days, course, to destroy all bacteria. These drugs do not affect the toxins, so without anti-diphtheria serum, their use is impractical.

For the relief of symptoms of the disease the doctor prescribes a topical treatment – gargling, irrigation with disinfectants.

The treatment of this disease includes properly chosen diet and drinking regime. The diet should be sparing but high in calories to support the body. It is necessary consumption of large amounts of fluid to reduce the appearance of intoxication.

Prevention of diphtheria

Although the treatment of this disease are quite successful, yet the high probability of complications. To prevent the development of diphtheria – too much risk, so in the first place is prevention.

The only effective way to protect yourself and your child from this disease is a timely and full immunization. Vaccinations that make three months, many times reduce the risk of developing diphtheria. It's not absolute protection, the disease may appear, but tolerate him vaccinated people easily without dangerous consequences and complications.

How need a vaccination today?

Many believe that because today diphtheria is rare, the need for mass vaccinations really disappeared. Unfortunately, this is a fundamentally flawed idea.

Of course, epidemics and even a local outbreak is now almost never occur, but mass immunization for many years has led to the fact that a significant part of the population is asymptomatic carriers or perevalivaet diphtheria in easy stages.

Communicating with such people, an unvaccinated child or adult may become infected and transfer the disease is really is quite severe. And since it is difficult to say how many carriers will meet in everyday life, the risk of disease in unvaccinated remains even today.

Another common mistake made by many people: they believe diphtheria is purely a children's disease that in adulthood they will never encounter. But it's not, and now increasingly fixed cases of diphtheria among adults.

So prevention is not dependent on age needed vaccinations for both adults and children.

After reading this article, you will better understand what diphtheria what are the causes of this disease and what it can cause, what are the principles of diagnosis and treatment, and most importantly – what should be prevention.