If Your Child Diphtheria

Your child's throat had complained of pain and pain when swallowing? Watch out for it soon especially if accompanied by fever, headache, heart beats faster, nausea and vomiting. It could be a child stricken with diphtheria.

Diphtheria is an acute infection caused by toxin-producing bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. More often attack children. The cause is bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. These bacteria usually attacks the respiratory tract, especially especially the larynx, tonsils and throat. But too often poisons to attack the skin and even cause nerve damage and heart.

Symptoms & Complications

Symptoms begin with a mild sore throat and painful swallowing. Not rare in children followed by fever, nausea, vomiting, chills and headache. Swollen lymph nodes in the neck often occurs.

Usually the bacteria multiply on or near the surface of the mouth or mucous membranes of the throat and cause inflammation. When the bacteria get to the nose, runny nose will. Inflammation can spread from the throat to the vocal cords (larynx) and causes swelling that narrows the airways and breathing difficulties occur.

The bacteria are transmitted through saliva spray from coughing patients or objects or food that has been contaminated by bacteria. When he had entered the body, the bacteria release toxins or poisons. This toxin will spread through the blood and can cause tissue damage throughout the body, especially the heart and nerves.

The toxin usually attacks the nerves, such as nerves in the throat. Patients having difficulty swallowing the first week of toxin contamination. Between the third week until the sixth week, there could be inflammation of the arm and leg nerves, resulting in weakness in the arms and legs. Damage to the heart muscle (myocarditis) may occur at any time during the first week until the sixth week, are minor, appeared as a mild abnormalities in ECG. However, the damage can be severe, even causing heart failure and sudden death. Cardiac and neurological recovery took place gradually over many weeks. In patients with poor hygiene levels, often diphtheria also attacked the skin.

In the attack will be discovered diphtheria pseudomembran weight, ie the membrane layer consisting of white blood cells die, bacteria and other materials near the tonsils and other parts of the throat. This membrane is not easily torn and gray. If the membrane is released by force, then the mucus layer below it will bleed. Membrane was the cause constriction of the airways or all of a sudden could come off and clog the airways, so that the child has difficulty breathing.