Nowadays, scarlet fever is most common in children from 2 to 10 years old. In the spring and autumn, the incidence increases, visiting the kindergarten and school risk of scarlet fever higher. Especially dangerous is the first month of adaptation of a child who has come to a new collective or returned after a summer vacation.
The greatest danger is streptococcus toxins, which poison the body. Streptococcus is very widespread in the external environment, up to 20% of people are its carriers and do not suspect about it.
Sources of infection
The main source is a patient with scarlet fever, as well as sore throat, tonsillitis, streptodermia (when streptococcus affects the skin), mastitis and other infections caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcus.
Infection occurs by contact with the patient by airborne droplets (by coughing, sneezing, talking), through household items (dishes, toys, clothes and underwear), as well as through food (milk, dairy products) and creams.
Markers of disease
As a rule, the incubation period of scarlet fever in children lasts from 2 to 8 days. The onset of the disease is usually acute, and moms can tell with an accuracy of an hour when the child is sick. He has a sharp rise in temperature, often up to 39 °, there is pain in the larynx.
The diagnosis of scarlet fever is based on clinical indications (acute onset, the presence of fever, intoxication, acute catarrhal or catarrhal-purulent tonsillitis, abundant acne, etc.) and laboratory data.
The difference between scarlet fever in children from other infections
Contrasting the scarlet cheeks and pale nasolabial triangle is one of the main symptoms. On the first or second day of the disease, a scarlet fever occurs in the neck, chest, arms, and legs. A thicker rash covers the folding surfaces in the folds of the skin (on the elbows, popliteal and inguinal areas). The second distinctive feature of scarlet fever is itching, which often bothers the child. The third sign is the so-called "glowing pharynx". If you ask the child to open his mouth wide, you can see a bright red throat - all the soft palate, tonsils, and arches become red. At the beginning of the disease, the tongue is densely laid, then from the edges and tip it is cleared and becomes crimson with pronounced papillae.
Rashes and other symptoms of scarlet fever are typical to keep an average of 3-5 days. Then the skin starts to turn pale and flake off. Especially the desquamation in the area of the palms, where the upper layer of the skin can be removed, as an element of clothing, is particularly pronounced.
By the 7th-10th day the patient recovers. However, the child will be able to return to the kindergarten or school collective only 14 days after full recovery, that is, 21 days after the onset of the disease. This is explained by the fact that the entire period of illness and recovery people remain contagious to others.
What is dangerous scarlet fever?
As often happens, not so much the disease itself is dangerous, as its possible complications. Streptococcus is still considered one of the most unsafe microorganisms, because they are affected by the heart and kidneys. Also, allergic myocarditis or glomerulonephritis may develop. After scarlet fever, the child may have purulent inflammation of the middle ear, inflammation of the lymph nodes, arthritis, stomatitis. Due to the implementation of effective treatment complications in scarlet fever can occur extremely rarely. For the complete recovery of the child, it is enough to follow all recommendations of the doctor and ensure proper care for him.
Treatment of scarlet fever
The key to a quick recovery is the timely access to a doctor. Treatment of scarlet fever is usually done at home. Hospitalization in a hospital is necessary in severe cases and with the development of complications. Before the drop in temperature, bed rest should be observed. During the acute course of the disease, the child should be given a warm drink (tea with lemon, fruit juices), food is better to offer a liquid or semi-liquid with some restriction of proteins.
With all forms of scarlet fever, penicillin antibiotics are prescribed for 5-7 days. It requires an additional prescription of vitamin therapy (vitamins B and C). After the transferred scarlet fever, as a rule, life-long immunity is preserved.
How not to get sick!
Today, there is no vaccine against scarlet fever in children, so the main measure of prevention remains the exclusion of contact with patients. In the family it is very important to pay attention to the health status of not only children, but also adults, who are potential sources of infection. Especially, attention should be paid to newborns and infants up to one year.
If it was not possible to avoid the disease, the sick child must be isolated for 3 weeks from others, especially from brothers or sisters. It is advisable to place it in a separate room and allocate personal utensils, linens, towels, toys, hygiene items. The underwear of the patient with scarlet fever should be boiled, the dishes should be washed and stored separately, toys washed with soap under running water.
Mom, caring for a sick child, should wear a mask (gauze bandage), gargle with any antiseptic solution, take vitamin C - these preventative measures will protect it from infection. To avoid infecting other children in the family, the room where the patient is in need to be ventilated regularly (3-4 times a day) and daily wet cleaning with the use of detergents. These are the basic rules of behavior in scarlet fever in children, the symptoms, the treatment of which was described above.