Diphtheria is a highly contagious disease caused by infection with the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. In order to prevent the disease from getting worse, proper treatment and care are needed to speed up the healing process. The transmission process itself occurs through the sufferer’s saliva or contaminated objects. What processes must be carried out by sufferers to reach the healing stage? Here are some of the steps.
Treatment Process to Accelerate the Healing Process
Droplets or saliva of sufferers that enter a person’s body will multiply on the surface of the respiratory membrane. The bacteria will then produce toxins that contaminate the surrounding tissue. If not treated immediately, it is not impossible for the toxins to spread throughout the body through the blood. Before knowing the process that is gone through to reach the stage of recovery for diphtheria sufferers, here are some early symptoms that appear in sufferers:
- Fever chills;
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck;
- Coughs ;
- Sore throat ;
- Hoarse voice;
If a number of these symptoms are found, here are some steps that must be taken to achieve the recovery stage for diphtheria sufferers:
-
Get Yourself Checked
The first step that must be taken to reach the stage of recovery for diphtheria sufferers is to see a doctor. If a number of early symptoms are found as mentioned, usually the doctor will take a sample of mucus from the throat for further examination.
-
Give ADS Injection
If the laboratory test results are positive, the doctor will take the next step by injecting anti-diphtheria serum (ADS) to fight the spread of toxins produced by the bacteria. This injection is also effective in preventing life-threatening complications.
-
Undergoing Antibiotic Therapy
To kill the bacteria that cause diphtheria, the doctor will perform antibiotic therapy, which is done by administering penicillin or erythromycin. This procedure will be performed if the sufferer is proven not to have allergies to both antibiotics.
-
Give Steroid Injections
Steroid injections are usually given if the sufferer experiences symptoms of shortness of breath. This injection will reduce the symptoms of shortness of breath experienced by the sufferer.
-
Inpatient
The final process that must be done to achieve the stage of recovery for diphtheria sufferers is hospitalization. This is done so that sufferers get more intensive care and do not transmit the infection to others. By doing hospitalization, recovery will be more guaranteed.
Are there any preventive measures that can be taken?
Prevention efforts can be done early by vaccinating DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus), TD (Tetanus and Diphtheria), and DT (Diphtheria and Tetanus). The DPT vaccine can be given since the child is 5 years old, while the DT vaccine is given once when the child is 7 years old. Another vaccine, namely the TD vaccine, is given every 10 years since the child is 18 years old.
Not only vaccination, preventive measures can be done by yourself by maintaining cleanliness of your body, clothes, and the surrounding environment. Do not forget to practice a healthy lifestyle, with nutritious food intake. An unclean environment, as well as minimal sanitation can easily transmit diphtheria. Healthy food is also not necessarily good if bought outside the home, with a careless cooking process.
