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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffRecovering from diphtheria requires lots of bed rest. Avoiding any physical exertion is particularly important if your heart has been affected. You may need to stay in bed for a few weeks or until you make a full recovery.
Strict isolation while you're contagious also is important to prevent spread of the infection. Careful hand-washing by everyone in your house helps prevent spread of the infection. Because of pain and difficulty swallowing, you may need to get your nutrition through liquids and soft foods for a while.
Once you recover from diphtheria, you'll need a full course of diphtheria vaccine to prevent a recurrence. Having diphtheria doesn't guarantee you lifetime immunity. You can get diphtheria more than once if you're not fully immunized against it.
- Diphtheria. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs089/en/. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Diphtheria. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec14/ch172/ch172c.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Daybell DK, et al. Epidemiology and clinical features of diphtheria. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Overturf GD. Corynebacterium diphtheriae. In: Long SS. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Revised Reprint. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50002-X&isbn=978-0-7020-3468-8&uniqId=235245982-7. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Daybell DK, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of diphtheria. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 9, 2011.
- Recommended immunization schedule for adults aged 19 years and older — United States, 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/child-adolescent.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2013.
- Tetanus, diphtheria (Td) or tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccine: What you need to know. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-td-tdap.pdf. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Bishai WR, et al. Diphtheria and other infections caused by corynebacteria and related species. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Online. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2898307. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Recommended immunization schedule for persons aged 0 through 18 years — United States, 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/child-adolescent.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2013.
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