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. With treatment, it is usually possible to stop the toxins causing further paralysis (muscle weakness), although it can take weeks or even months to fully recover.

Food-borne and wound botulism

Supportive treatment

Treatment for food-borne and wound botulism in hospital will involve supporting the body's functions while specific treatments are carried out.

If you are having difficulty breathing because the toxin is affecting the muscles used for breathing, you may be attached to a mechanical 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

Both food-borne and wound botulism will also need to be treated with injections of antitoxins. These are special antibodies (proteins produced by the body) that can block the effects of the Clostridium botulinum toxin on the nervous system (the nerves, brain and spinal cord).

Antitoxins should be given as soon as possible, even before test results have confirmed Clostridium toxin as the cause of the symptoms. A diagnosis of botulism based on your symptoms is enough to begin treatment.

The antitoxin will help prevent your symptoms from getting worse but it will not reverse the paralysis already caused. But this will improve naturally over the following weeks or months in most people.

If one dose of antitoxin is not enough, you may be given a second dose after 24 hours.

Treating or removing the source of infection

In some cases of food-borne botulism, medication may be used to induce vomiting or help you empty your bowel to remove the contaminated food from your body.

If you have wound botulism, the infected wound and possibly a surrounding area of tissue may need to be surgically removed. This is known as debridement and it is often necessary to stop further toxins being produced.

You may also be given antibiotics if you have wound botulism 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 in hospital to prevent breathing difficulties occurring.

Babies with infant botulism will be placed in an incubator to keep them warm and protect them from other infections. Artificial ventilation may be required to assist their breathing, and they may also be fed intravenously.

Infant botulism can normally be treated effectively using a medicine called botulinum immunoglobulin (also called BabyBIG). Botulinum immunoglobulin is created by extracting the antibodies from human blood that contains a high level of infant botulism-immune antibodies.

Babies with infant botulism usually respond quickly to treatment and are well enough to leave hospital within a few weeks. Any paralysis may last a few weeks, but most babies will make a full recovery.