Botulism - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Botulism Definition

A bacterium that occurs widely in nature and is a cause of botulism; it has six main types, A to F. Botulism is a rare but potentially very serious illness. The bacterium may be entered the body through wounds.

A severe, manytimes fatal food poisoning caused by ingestion of food containing botulin. It may be characterized by nausea, vomiting, disturbed vision, muscular weakness, and fatigue.

Botulism Causes

Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease. Botulism may also occur if the organism enters open wounds and produces toxin there. It may be caused by the potent toxin of the Clostridium botulinum bacterium. After the toxin is absorbed into the bloodstream. If botulism not treated, the symptoms of botulism may be progressed to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles.

The causes of food-borne botulism may be home-canned foods that are low in acid, like green beans, corn and beets. Foodborne botulism follows ingestion of toxin produced in food by C. botulinum . The most frequent source is home-canned foods, prepared in an unsafe manner.

There are three main types of botulism:

• foodborne botulism
• infant botulism
• wound botulism
• Adult intestinal botulism

Botulism symptoms

In the case of botulism, severity varies with the amount of toxin ingested and the patient's degree of immunocompetence.

The common symoptoms of the botulism may include:

• abdominal cramps
• difficulty swallowing and speaking
• progressive weakness with paralysis
• nausea
• dry mouth
• vomiting
• double vision
• breathing difficulty
• temporary lack of breathing 
• no fever, usually

In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin in between 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours.

Botulism treatments

In the case of botulism, patients should be hospitalized immediately and regularly monitored.

The goal of botulism treatment is to establish a clear airway, aid breathing, give botulinus anti-toxin, and provide supportive therapy.

Drugs that increase the amount of acetylcholine, such as pyridostigmine may be given.

Patients suffering from wound botulism should receive equine antibiotics such as penicillin. If you're having trouble breathing, you will probably need to use a ventilator.