How to Treat Botulism Poisoning
Less than 200 cases of botulism poisoning are reported every year. Still, this disease has a lasting effect on its victims and can be fatal. Botulism can take different forms, which require different types of treatment. Here’s how to treat botulism poisoning.
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Instructions
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Understand the symptoms of botulism poisoning. Victims of botulism poisoning can suffer from double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth and muscle weakness. Botulism poisoning can arise from clostridium botulinum in food, from wounds, and from spores that grow in the intestines of infants. Symptoms of infant botulism may include a weak cry and failure to feed.
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Provide equine antitoxin. Victims infected with wound- or food-related botulism poisoning can be treated with this injection. Infant botulism poisoning is treated with a human-derived antitoxin. Any treatment regimen for botulism poisoning will require weeks of recovery on the part of the patient.
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Place the patient on a ventilator. Extreme cases of botulism poisoning will cause respiratory problems in the patient. The patient will need to be placed on a ventilator to help him breathe until his lungs are strong enough to breath on their own. This will require a hospital stay.
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Request home-health or private-nursing services for the patient. In extreme cases, respiratory therapy may be needed to get the patient back on track. An extended hospital stay is not always appropriate once the patient has been stabilized and a doctor has prescribed a specific treatment. Home health and/or private nursing may also be cheaper for the weeks of rehabilitation that will be required.
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Hospitalize the patient in cases of wound-related botulism poisoning. A surgeon will need to cut away contaminated portions of the wound. In most cases, patients will have to be kept overnight for observation of the wound. The patient will have to be observed for weeks to determine if all poison was removed.
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