There are no outbreaks of epidemics of this disease today, but it continues to worry many people. It is important to be aware of this issue in order to sound the alarm in the first cases of detecting a characteristic plaque or affected mucous membranes. Consider what diphtheria is - symptoms and differences in the signs of the disease in an adult and a child.
What is diphtheria
In general, the disease is characterized by inflammation of the organs of the upper respiratory tract, skin lesions and other sensitive areas of the body. When diphtheria is observed, few can accurately determine its symptoms. The nature of the disease is contagious, but this disease is dangerous not so much by local manifestations as by the consequences for the nervous and cardiovascular systems. The cause of their defeat is poisoning by a toxin produced by pathogens of diphtheria - Corynebacterium diphteriae. These bacteria are transmitted by airborne droplets.
Types of
Diphtheria is distinguished depending on the location of acute infection. The respiratory tract, eyes, skin, ears and genitals may be affected. By the nature of the disease, the disease is typical or filmy, catarrhal, toxic, hypertoxic, hemorrhagic. There are several stages that indicate the severity of the disease:
- is an easy( localized) form;
- mean( common);
- is a severe stage( toxic diphtheria).
Clinical manifestations of diphtheria
It is difficult to diagnose the disease independently. Diphtheria - local symptoms of it may be similar to manifestations of angina, rather than a dangerous infectious inflammation. The disease is determined by performing mucosal analyzes. The causative agent falls on the vulnerable parts of the skin, where it begins to multiply, creates inflammation foci. Locally, necrosis of the epithelium occurs, hyperemia appears.
Exotoxin or diphtheria toxin, produced by diphtheria bacteria, spreads through the blood and lymphatic ways, contributing to general intoxication of the body. In the presence of autoimmune processes, complications directed at the nervous system can develop more quickly. After recovery, signs of diphtheria disappear and antibodies appear, but they do not always reduce the risk of getting infected again.
In adults
In recent years, the incidence of such infectious diseases among the adult population has increased. At the same time, several organs can be affected. The most common form is the disease of the pharyngeal mucosa, so it is often confused with sore throat. The patient has a fever, chills and severe sore throat. There is edema of the tonsils, and on their surface you can see a filmy coating, which is absent in healthy people. It persists even after the temperature is normalized.
If a person is abusing alcohol, he has a risk of developing toxic and hypertoxic forms. They provoke the spread of edema throughout the body, cause seizures. These processes occur rapidly. After a few hours, the patient's blood pressure drops and a toxic shock occurs. These events often lead to death. Symptoms of diphtheria in adults are often more pronounced than in children.
In children
In order to minimize the severity of symptoms in infecting children, they are vaccinated for the prevention of diphtheria. The degree of manifestation of symptoms will depend on whether pre-immunization has been performed. Children without vaccinations are at risk of dangerous complications and death. In newborns, the localization of inflammatory processes is observed in the umbilical wound. At the age of breastfeeding, the affected area can be the nose, after a year - the larynx shell and the oropharyngeal envelope.
Symptoms of oropharyngeal diphtheria
This is the most common manifestation of the disease( 95% of cases).The incubation period is from 2 to 10 days. When the mucous membrane of the oropharynx affects diphtheria, the symptoms are similar to those of a sore throat. A characteristic feature is the appearance of a dirty white coating on the tonsils. The degree of manifestation of how the symptoms manifest themselves depends on the form of diphtheria, so it is important at the first suspicion to see a doctor for analysis.
With the common form of
If the form is common, diphtheria - its local symptoms is important to notice at an early stage, because it affects not only the tonsils, but also neighboring tissues. There is a risk of the following manifestations of intoxication:
- diphtheria film on the tonsils, tongue and pharynx is difficult to clean with a spatula, and on the place of removal, blood acts;
- body temperature rises to 38-39 ° C;
- there is a headache, pain when swallowing;
- lack of appetite, a general malaise.
Toxic
This form of the disease occurs in children who have not been vaccinated. Characterized by a sharp beginning, when the temperature rises sharply to 40 degrees. The patient refuses to eat, suffers from vomiting. Noticeably expressed pallor of the skin, there is a spasm of chewing muscles. The swelling of the oropharynx and neck develops. Plaque on fabrics from translucent turns into a dense, with clear edges. The greatest danger from all the symptoms is convulsions.
Hypertensive
Hypertensive patients at risk of developing a hypertoxic form are those with an unfavorable premorbid background( eg, diabetes, alcoholism, chronic form of hepatitis).With the onset of this stage, a rapid increase in temperature occurs. There are all signs of intoxication. Progression of the cardiovascular system is progressing. There is tachycardia, pressure drops, subcutaneous hemorrhages form. With such characteristic clinical pictures, a lethal outcome can occur after 1-2 days.
Diphtheria croup
Diphtheria manifestations in croupiform form or diphtheria croup have recently been observed in adult patients. The disease has three stages that develop consistently:
- dysphoric - characteristic signs are barking cough, hoarseness;
- stenotic - loss of voice, silent cough, but breathing noisy, tachycardia, pale skin;
- asphyxia - surface frequent respiration, cyanosis increases, pressure drops, consciousness breaks, convulsions occur. The last stage is the most dangerous, because the supply of oxygen to the body is broken and a person can die from asphyxia.
Symptoms of localized diphtheria
Almost any manifestation of the disease has a similar clinical picture. If a person is suspected of diphtheria, local symptoms should be discussed with the doctor as soon as possible. This will prevent its development in the early stages. The toxin secreted by bacteria in the affected areas spreads throughout the body, but with a localized form, foci of infection can immediately be seen. These can be:
- nose and nasopharynx;
- affects the mucous membranes of the eye;
- genital tissue;
- skin, wounds and epithelial cover rupture.
Diphtheria of the eye
The incubation period is 2-10 days. Diphtheria eyes are more likely to affect children aged 2-10 years. This is a rare form of the disease that occurs against the background of diphtheria of throat, nasopharynx and other areas. A characteristic feature is the hyperemia of the skin of the eyelids, the appearance of transparent vesicles, which, bursting, form a scab in their places. Gradually it grows into a painless ulcer. There are diphtheritic, croupiform and catarrhal forms. In some cases, scars can lead to deformation of the eyelids.
Diphtheria of the nose
Let's look at the following: diphtheria of the nose - symptoms and features. The manifestation is isolated or the larynx, trachea can be affected on its background. Sometimes the raids spread to the descending ways. More often this form affects newborns and children under 2 years old. As in the cases described above, the patient has a fever, weakness and apathy. Nasal congestion, suprarenal discharge, dermatitis of affected areas of the skin occur. There is inflammation of the mucosa, it is covered with sores, fibrinous plaque.
Diphtheria of genitals and skin
The genital area, skin areas can become zones of damage. If diphtheria is diagnosed in such cases, what local symptoms does it have? This form also has a complex character and arises against the background of a disease of throat. In rare cases, there is an isolated manifestation. The patient feels pain when urinating, a slight itch in the intimate area. Noticeably redness, swelling of the mucous membrane, adjacent tissues. Due to the multiplication of bacteria, necrosis of cells occurs, in their place there is plaque and ulcers. There is an increase in lymph nodes in the inguinal zone.
Diphtheria of wound surfaces
If deep wounds are present on the skin surface, an infectious agent may enter the skin. Due to the body's struggle with infection, the temperature rises, the wound swells, becomes more painful. There is a white-yellow coating, which after a few days grows into a thick film. Another patient has a glint in his eyes, reddening of his cheeks.
Symptoms of specific complications
When a patient experiences diphtheria, her external symptoms may worry doctors less than symptoms of intoxication or complications. After all, with proper treatment, you can cope with external manifestations at an early stage. Due to toxic damage to the whole body through the blood and lymph channels, recovery can be accompanied by complications that have a specific nature and affect all body systems:
- cardiovascular - the work of the adrenals, cardiac muscle is disrupted, toxic myocarditis develops;
- nerve - sympathetic and autonomous ganglia, wandering and glossopharyngeal nerve can be damaged, in rare cases - nerve endings in hands and feet, which often leads to paralysis;
- excretory - a frequent complication is toxic nephrosis, especially in those who did not receive antidiphtheria serum on time;
- circulatory system - 75% of patients may suffer from leukemia, monocytosis was detected in 31%, and in 66%, ESR rates increased. Anemia or thrombocytopenia may occur.