Diphtheria: symptoms and treatment
In our children’s diseases dictionary you will find information on the causes and the best treatment options for children’s diseases from A to Z.
Diphtheria is caused by bacteria and is a serious notifiable disease that occurs mostly in winter. The bacteria attack the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat and larynx, where they produce a substance that is one of the strongest biological toxins. It damages tissues and other organs as the poison spreads throughout the body through the blood. Respiratory paralysis, which can lead to death, is also possible. Here in Western Europe, diphtheria has become rare, which is not least due to the precautionary vaccinations. However, that does not mean that the disease no longer exists. Diphtheria is even more common in Eastern Europe.
Index
ToggleCauses of diphtheria
Diphtheria is transmitted from person to person through droplet or smear infection, i.e. through sneezing, coughing, speaking or direct skin contact.
diphtheria symptoms
Please take your child to a doctor immediately if they show the following symptoms:
- Headache, sore throat, difficulty swallowing
- severely swollen lymph nodes in the neck
- foul-sweet breath odor
- general feeling of illness, often severe
- low or high fever
- gray-yellow coating on pharyngeal wall and tonsils
- purulent-bloody cold when the nose is affected
- barking cough, increasing hoarseness
- shortness of breath
Diphtheria: therapy and course
Even if diphtheria is suspected, the administration of an antidote that neutralizes the free toxins must be started immediately. In addition, your child will receive an antibiotic. It prevents the bacteria from multiplying further, but does not work against the toxin itself. If the disease is treated in time, it goes well and the symptoms disappear after about a week. Healthy contacts must also be screened and given antibiotics as a preventive measure. If there is insufficient vaccination protection, these people will be vaccinated.
diphtheria vaccination
In order to be protected against the disease, your child should have three vaccinations in infancy and one vaccination after about a year, as recommended by the Standing Vaccination Committee (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute. The vaccination is usually carried out as a combination vaccination with tetanus and whooping cough or other vaccines. The combination vaccines save your baby a lot of injections and thus a lot of pain and tears. Redness or swelling at the injection site can occur as side effects of the vaccination. Older people usually tolerate the vaccination less well than children. The protection period of the diphtheria vaccination is about ten years, after which it must be refreshed. You can find the STIKO recommendations in the vaccination calendar. If you are unsure whether you should have your baby vaccinated, you should ask your pediatrician. He will certainly answer all your questions and inform you about the risks and side effects of vaccination.