Diphtheria Essay, Research Paper

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.