Treatment for botulism will depend on the type of botulism you have, although in all cases you will need to be admitted to hospital. If botulism is not treated quickly, it is likely to be fatal.
It can take 10 days to several months for someone to fully recover from being infected with the botulinum toxin.
Food-borne and wound botulism
Treatment for food-borne and wound botulism will require immediate admission to hospital.
If you are having difficulty breathing because the toxin has spread to your lungs, you may be attached to a ventilator (a machine that helps you breathe by moving oxygen-enriched air in and out of your lungs).
You may also be given fluids and nutrients through an intravenous drip (where a tube is placed directly into a vein in your arm).
Antitoxins
Botulism will need to be treated with injections of antitoxins. Antitoxins are antibodies (proteins produced by the body) that can neutralise a specific toxin, in this case the Clostridium botulinum toxin.
Antitoxins work by blocking the effects of the toxin on the nervous system (the nerves, brain and spinal cord).
They should be given as soon as possible. It is not necessary to wait for test results that confirm the presence of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria or toxin. A diagnosis of botulism based on your symptoms is enough to begin treatment.
If you have botulism it will need to be reported to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) by the doctor who diagnoses you. The HPA will then provide the antitoxin.
The antitoxin will help prevent your symptoms from getting worse but it will not cure any paralysis (muscle weakness) already caused by the toxin. If one dose of antitoxin is not enough, you may be given a second dose after 24 hours.
Food-borne botulism
In some cases of food-borne botulism, medication may be used to induce vomiting to remove all of the particles of infected food from your body.
Enemas (an injection of fluid into the large intestine) may also be used for this purpose because they encourage you to empty your bowels.
Wound botulism
If the infection has been caused by wound botulism, the infected wound and possibly a surrounding area of skin will need to be surgically removed.
The process for doing this is known as debridement. It is necessary to remove the area surrounding the wound to stop further toxins being produced. In some cases, this may lead to scarring.
You may also be given antibiotics (medicines to treat an infection caused by bacteria) to prevent any further infections developing.
Infant botulism
Infant botulism tends to be less serious than other types of botulism because the levels of toxins released by the bacteria are lower than in other forms of the condition. However, the condition still requires emergency medical treatment to prevent breathing difficulties occurring.
Babies with infant botulism will be placed in an incubator (a clear, enclosed cot) to keep them warm and protect them from secondary infection. Artificial ventilation may be required to assist their breathing, and they may also be fed intravenously (through a tube placed directly into a vein).
Infant botulism can be successfully treated using a medicine called botulinum immunoglobulin (which has the brand name BabyBIG). Botulinum immunoglobulin is created by taking samples of human blood that contain a high level of infant botulism-immune antibodies (infection-fighting proteins.
Most babies respond quickly to treatment, and they should be well enough to leave hospital within two-and-a-half weeks. Any paralysis may last a few weeks, but babies grow new nerve endings so they should make a full recovery.
