Diphtheria

Symptoms:

• mild sore throat
• painful swallowing, burning sensation when swallowing
• fever
• nausea and vomiting
• chills
• headache
• bloody, watery (serosanguineous) drainage from nose
• scabbing and crusting (excoriation) of the nostrils and upper lip
• breathing difficulty
• rapid breathing
• croup-like (barking) cough
• hoarseness
• stridor
• bluish coloration of the skin caused by lack of oxygen
• drooling
• breathing, absent temporarily (apnea)

Note: In subclinical cases there may be no symptoms.

Signs and tests:

Physical examination may reveal the characteristic gray membrane (pseudomembrane) in the throat, enlarged lymph glands, and swelling of the neck or larynx.

Tests include:

• gram stain of membrane
• throat culture
• ECG (demonstrates evidence of myocarditis)