Botulism Treatment

Botulism is a dangerous bacteria that affects a small number of people across the United States each year. It is a condition that if left untreated, or not treated soon enough, can be deadly. Botulism is a toxin that can enter the body through two primary ways: an open wound, or through the gastrointestinal system by what you eat. Scientists have discovered seven types of botulism strands: A through G. Humans are affected by the strands A, B, E, and sometimes F.

Symptoms

• There are three main types of botulism: food-borne, infant and wound. The symptoms for each can be different, although each type has the potential to be life-threatening. Food-borne botulism stems from improperly preserved foods that contain the botulinum toxin-producing bacterium, clostridia. Symptoms may appear within 18-36 hours of ingesting the contaminated food. You may experience double vision and difficulty swallowing or speaking. Gastrointestinal symptoms may include constipation, nausea, and vomiting. If botulism worsens, you may develop paralysis that starts in the muscles of the head then progresses throughout the body. You then may experience difficulty breathing, which can lead to respiratory failure and death.

  Infant botulism is most commonly the botulism C strand. It typically occurs due to the ingestion of spores from honey or corn syrup. These spores multiply and cause botulism poisoning. The most common signs of infant botulism are constipation, lethargy, and difficulty eating. As the poisoning worsens, your infant will have noticeable trouble sucking and swallowing, which may be noticeable to a nursing mother by way of breast engorgement. Your baby may exhibit muscle weakness, which will show in the inability to control head movements. This is extremely dangerous due to the possible further development of respiratory failure.

  Wound botulism most commonly occurs due to a trauma; such as a crush injury to an extremity, or following surgery. When the bacteria clostridia develops in a wound, it can produce botulinum toxin. Symptoms typically appear 4-18 days after the injury and are very similar to food-borne botulism. However, you may not see the gastrointestinal symptoms with wound botulism.

Treatments

• Treatment begins after diagnosing the botulism bacteria. This is done with a physical exam as well as blood work and possible stool sample. Blood work is important in the process of diagnosing botulism due to botulism having the possibility of mimicking other diseases. Once the blood work comes back positive, an antitoxin is given. The antitoxin is only treatment for, and deactivates the botulism that has not yet attached itself to nerve endings. Infants cannot receive adult antitoxins. Infants receive a treatment called, botulism immune globulin, or (BIG). This treatment helps to neutralize toxins before they can bind to the nerves.

  The treatment for botulism then follows the individual symptoms; such as, for breathing trouble, an airway may need to be created and oxygen given. IV fluids are a typical treatment for replenishing lost fluids due to vomiting and diarrhea. If you are having trouble eating, you may need a feeding tube.

  Sometimes surgery is needed in order to thoroughly clean out a wound and remove the source of the infection. If the bacteria is a gastrointestinal bourne organism, you may need enema treatments to clean out the intestines. However, these types of treatments should be limited to non-magnesium containing products. Magnesium has the ability to enhance the effect of the toxin.

Antibiotics

• Botulism does not respond to antibiotics. Outside the antitoxin, there are no other medications used to treat the bacteria. However, if a secondary infection develops, antibiotics can be used to treat it. In infants, the use of antibiotics is particularly discouraged. This is because dying bacteria can release more toxins into your baby's system and create more problems. The only case in which to use an antibiotic in an infant would be to treat a secondary breathing infection.