Explanation of Emergency
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 3:53 am
Safely through surgery. Always afraid of condition occurring in children.
This an adult.
I still think the right remedy would have averted but progressed very
rapidly/ Thank you Jean
The Sleep Tight Video©
Help for sleepless parents
Encyclopedia Index E epiglottitis | Search
epiglottitis
Epiglottitis is a very dangerous infection of the epiglottis (the flap of
tissue that closes off the larynx when one swallows - sometimes visible
sticking up behind the tongue as a rounded shape) and the area around the
voicebox (larynx) with a bacterial germ.
Classically, it was almost always caused by Hemophilus influenzae type B, an
aggressive bacterium that used to be responsible for many serious infections
in children under the age of five. The vaccine against this germ has
essentially wiped out H. influenzae epiglottitis, meningitis, cellulitis and
pneumonia, diseases that are now very rare but which used to kill or cripple
several thousand children a year. Unfortunately, rare cases of epiglottitis
still occur, caused by other bacteria (chiefly Staphylococcus aureus and
Streptococcus pneumoniae).
Children with epiglottitis have an illness that early on masquerades as
viral croup, but who had progressive symptoms of high fever, drooling,
restlessness and reluctance to lie down because of impending respiratory
obstruction. It was a nightmare emergency often ending in a race to the
operating room to get a breathing tube down into the lungs or a tracheostomy
done before the larynx closed up completely. It is now very rare and often
caused by other germs when it does occur. Good riddance.
Gone, but not totally forgotten. A child with croup who is worsening, who
cannot swallow his saliva and drools, or sits upright and can't tolerate
being laid down, or who shows any sign of breathing difficulty when quiet,
needs immediate medical attention. The child's breathing will be secured and
antibiotics will cure the infection completely in a couple of days.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
This an adult.
I still think the right remedy would have averted but progressed very
rapidly/ Thank you Jean
The Sleep Tight Video©
Help for sleepless parents
Encyclopedia Index E epiglottitis | Search
epiglottitis
Epiglottitis is a very dangerous infection of the epiglottis (the flap of
tissue that closes off the larynx when one swallows - sometimes visible
sticking up behind the tongue as a rounded shape) and the area around the
voicebox (larynx) with a bacterial germ.
Classically, it was almost always caused by Hemophilus influenzae type B, an
aggressive bacterium that used to be responsible for many serious infections
in children under the age of five. The vaccine against this germ has
essentially wiped out H. influenzae epiglottitis, meningitis, cellulitis and
pneumonia, diseases that are now very rare but which used to kill or cripple
several thousand children a year. Unfortunately, rare cases of epiglottitis
still occur, caused by other bacteria (chiefly Staphylococcus aureus and
Streptococcus pneumoniae).
Children with epiglottitis have an illness that early on masquerades as
viral croup, but who had progressive symptoms of high fever, drooling,
restlessness and reluctance to lie down because of impending respiratory
obstruction. It was a nightmare emergency often ending in a race to the
operating room to get a breathing tube down into the lungs or a tracheostomy
done before the larynx closed up completely. It is now very rare and often
caused by other germs when it does occur. Good riddance.
Gone, but not totally forgotten. A child with croup who is worsening, who
cannot swallow his saliva and drools, or sits upright and can't tolerate
being laid down, or who shows any sign of breathing difficulty when quiet,
needs immediate medical attention. The child's breathing will be secured and
antibiotics will cure the infection completely in a couple of days.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]