Essay/Term paper: Diphtheria

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Medicine

I am doing a report on the disease Diphtheria. The
definition of the disease is a bacterial disease that
affects the throat and can cause serious or fatal
complications. It is a serious disease caused by the
bacterium. There is a lot of history on this disease.
In the late 1800"s diphtheria came across western
Europe and the United States, it killed thousands
of children. The diphtheria characterized by
infection is more contagious than the disease
characterized by respiratory infection. Diphtheria
is a disease of the respiratory system. It causes
membranes to grow on the inner throat.
Sometimes the membranes release a toxin into the
bloodstream(which is poisonous). The membranes
clog the air passages then you can hardly breath,
most of the time you will die. You should have
complete bedrest for two to three weeks. Then a
man named Bela Schick came over the Schick
test. He discovered that the disease was only to
be found in humans. It may sometimes enter and
effect the skin. This disease is now rare in most of
the world. That is most of the history on
diphtheria. There are many symptoms that can
aware you that you have the disease. You should
notice the first symptoms during the first through
seventh days after you get it. Some of the first
symptoms you sill get are fatigue, a low-grade
fever, and a sore throat. Next you will also notice
swelling to the neck. Some other symptoms are
painful swallowing, nausea and vomiting, chills,
bloody, watery drainage from nose, scabbing of
nostrils and upper lip, bluish coloration of skin,
fever, headache, breathing difficulty, croup-like
cough, hoarseness, stridor, drooling, and rapid
breathing. Those are most of the symptoms of
Diphtheria. There are many treatments for
Diphtheria. As soon as the disease is suspected
diphtheria antitoxin is given as an intramuscular
injection. The Disease is treated with antibiotics.
As an infant you should safely be give the DPT
vaccine. This vaccine is a three in one vaccine that
protects against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus.
The vaccine has some side effects as slight fever,
crankiness, and tenderness of skin. DPT is usually
given in the leg or the arm. You can also be give
the DT vaccine. The DT vaccine is a two in one
vaccine. This vaccine should be given to children
less than seven years old. This is given in the arm
or the thigh. This protects against diphtheria and
tetanus. There is one last vaccine. It is the Td
vaccine. The Td vaccine is also a two in one
vaccine that protects against tetanus and
diphtheria. This should be give to adults only.
After the regular series of injections, a booster of
Td vaccine should be taken at the age of fourteen
to sixteen and every ten years after that. This is a
different dose than the DT vaccine. This one is
usually given in the arm. The vaccination is one of
the recommended childhood immunizations and
should begin during infancy. A lot of times it is
required before the children start school. There is
a minimum of three injections, but there can be five
taken. There is a benefit of taking the vaccine. The
benefit is that 85% of the people who received
three injections of the vaccine will be protected
from the disease for ten years. There are also
some risks involved with the vaccines. DPT often
causes mild side effects suck as slight fever, mild
crankiness, and tenderness of the injection site for
a few days. They happen because of the pertussis
component of the vaccine. DTP can cause some
risks in one out of every one thousand seven
hundred and fifty people. These effects are
convulsions, febrile seizure, and shock or collapse.
In some cases brain damage has also been known
to happened. This is very rare though. If you have
has seizures before this time then you are most
likely to have seizures. There is also death which is
a very rare possibility too. There are also some
contradictions you might run into about the
vaccinations also. If your child is sick with
something more serious than a mild cold, the
vaccine may be put off until the child is feeling
better. If your child has seizures or brain damage
the vaccine will also be put off until tests show that
they are not getting worse. After your child has
had the vaccine you should contact a physician if
the following happened: seizures within three to
seven days after injection, any serious brain
problem within seven days after injection,
worsening of seizures or other brain problem,
mouth, throat, or face swelling within a few hours
after injection, difficulty breathing within a few
hours after injection, temperature of one hundred
and five degrees Fahrenheit or higher within two
days after injection, shock or collapse within two
days after injection, and persistent, uncontrolled
crying that lasts for more than three hours at a time
within two days after injection. For one or two
days after the injection it is normal for the child to
experience fever, soreness at the injection site,
swelling at the injection site, and redness at the
injection site. Adults who just recently get the shot
can has swelling at the injection site for up to three
days. You can get an examination from a physician
and it may show that there are characteristics of
gray membranes in the throat, enlarged lymph
glands, and swelling of the neck or larynx. The test
includes gram stain of membrane, throat culture,
and ECG.