Emergency treatment

The treatment of noma is based on rapid management which includes:

• administer antibiotics to stop the progression of lesions (penicillin G, metronidazole, aminoglycosides, etc.);
• to rehydrate the patient and provide him with an adequate nutritional intake (most often by gastric tube);
• to clean the oral lesions daily with an antiseptic;
• to treat underlying diseases, such as malaria for example.

If administered quickly, this treatment can cure the patient in about 80% of cases.³. Many sequelae, both aesthetic and functional, are often to be deplored² after healing.

Physiotherapy

Ideally, exercises should be done daily as the lesions heal to prevent the tissues from retracting and obstructing the opening of the jaw.

surgery

When the patient is disfigured, surgical reconstruction can be considered one or two years later, once the tissues are well healed.

Surgery restores a certain mobility to the jaw, facilitates nutrition and language, in particular by “repairing” lesions creating communication between the mouth and the nose and limiting aesthetic damage and therefore the psychosocial impact of scars. .

Several international associations offer surgical reconstruction interventions to victims of noma, but most of them are unfortunately not supported and remain stigmatized or even excluded within their community.