Roseola in children is a disease that most children under the age of four suffer from, but few parents know about it. In addition, not all pediatricians make the correct diagnosis, and often children get completely unnecessary with this ailment treatment.
Roseola - reasons
Roseola (sudden exanthema) for a long time was for doctors a "mysterious" disease, the causes of which could not be identified. To date, the infectious nature of the disease has been reliably established and it is found that the causative agent of roseola disease is the herpesvirus of types 6 and 7, which is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome in adults. When penetrated into the blood pathogen spreads throughout the body and, reacting with protective factors of the immune system, provokes the synthesis of anti-inflammatory elements and the emergence of a characteristic clinical picture.
Roseola - contagious or not?
Roseola in children - one of the most contagious diseases, the susceptibility to which almost one hundred percent. Breastfeeds receiving mother's milk are protected from infection with antibodies contained in it, but over time their number becomes insufficient to protect, and from about six months old, babies become prone to infection. The baby roseola is characterized by seasonality, developing often in the warm season.
Presumptive ways of transfer of infection - air-drop and contact, i.e. infection can occur when you contact a sick child, while communicating with him, using common household items, dishes, toys, etc. Some experts question the air-droplet mechanism for virus transmission because of the absence of respiratory symptoms in the clinical picture. There is also an opinion that it is possible to get infected not only from the sick child, but also from the carrier of the infection, which can be any person who has suffered this ailment.
Roseola - incubation period
When a provoking virus penetrates the body, the roseola in children does not develop immediately. After 5-15 days, the beginning of the clinical picture is marked, and during this period the pathogens actively multiply in different tissues, after which they enter the systemic bloodstream. No prodromal manifestations with this infection are observed.
How contagious is roseola?
It is established that the child is contagious from the moment of infection and about another day after the normalization of body temperature. Patients and carriers of viruses isolate the infection into the environment together with the biological fluids in which it is contained in the body. After recovery, the child has antibodies in the blood that protect him from re-infection. Those. children's disease of roseola can only occur once in a lifetime.
Roseola in children - symptoms
Sudden exanthema in children has symptoms recognizable, although the disease can only be determined at the second stage of the appearance of clinical signs. In children older than three years, the disease often occurs asymptomatically or only with the symptomatology of the first stage, t. The causative agent is relatively weak and with normally functioning immunity the body quickly suppresses it.
There are two periods of classical development of roseola in children with certain manifestations:
- A febrile period begins with a sudden rise in body temperature to high marks. The duration of this stage is 2-4 days, less often - up to 5 days, after which the body temperature indicators spontaneously normalize. Other signs are often not observed, except for the standard phenomena associated with high fever : drowsiness, lethargy, tearfulness, poor appetite. Sometimes there is an increase in the submandibular lymph nodes.
- The period of rashes starts 5-24 hours after the establishment of normal body temperature or simultaneously with its decrease. At this stage, the disease of roseola in children manifests a more characteristic symptom - a rash all over the body, while the state of the lymph nodes in the case of their swelling in the first period comes back to normal. The rashes last 2-5 days, after which they disappear without a trace. When the rash passes, the child is considered to be recovered.
Temperature at a roseola
Roseola, the symptoms of which at the first stage are identical to the manifestations of the onset of acute respiratory diseases, is often taken for ARVI or cold due to hypothermia. It is worth noting that the roseola in children is characterized by very high body temperature indices - a minimum of 38 ° C, often up to 39-40 ° C, sometimes up to 41.2 ° C. The raised temperature keeps persistently, weakly and for a short time is knocked down by standard antipyretic agents recommended in pediatrics.
Rash with roseola
The disease of roseola is characterized by typical eruptions, initially formed on the face, chest, abdomen, and after a few hours spreading to other areas of the trunk and extremities. Considering the rash with roseola disease (photo), it can be noted that its elements are numerous small specks and bubbles of pinkish and reddish hues with blurred contours. When pressing, the rash pale. She does not cause any discomfort - no itching, no burning, no pain. Peeling, redness of the skin, puffiness and other symptoms are also absent.
Roseola - tests
The diagnosis of "sudden exanthema" by a competent specialist can be established at the beginning of the second stage of the disease, when a rash appears. Often, no studies, in addition to visual examination of the child, is not required. Sometimes doctors prescribe a general blood test, which results in this case:
- decrease in the number of leukocytes (less than 4 G / L);
- low level of eosinophils (less than 10%);
- an increase in the number of lymphocytes (more than 40%).
In cases of doubtful diagnosis, a blood test can be recommended to detect the content of antibodies to the herpes virus type 6, 7, by one of the methods:
- linked immunosorbent assay;
- polymerase chain reaction method.
Roseola in children - treatment
Roseola in children, the symptoms and treatment of which are not subject to any doubt, does not require the use of any specific medications - neither systemic nor local. In most cases, the disease passes by itself and is tolerated by the child normally when creating comfortable conditions for it. Sudden exanthema in a child treatment involves the following simple recommendations:
- frequent and abundant drink (especially during the feverish period) - non-carbonated water, compotes, teas, fruit drinks, etc .;
- bed rest on the first stage of the disease;
- maintaining normal temperature and humidity in the room where the baby is, regular airing and cleaning;
- reception of easily digestible food.
If the child does not tolerate high fever, then in the appropriate dosage, adhering to the time intervals of admission, give him antipyretics - Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. In the absence of efficacy of one and the other drugs, the use of a stronger drug, Nimesulide, is permissible. After a febrile period, the child can already take walks in the street, avoiding contact with children.
Roseola - complications
Sudden exanthema in children often occurs without complications and consequences. In some cases, it is not excluded only the development of febrile seizures against the background of increased body temperature. This is expressed in the blanching of the baby's skin, rapid breathing, involuntary trembling of the limbs. Such symptoms can scare parents, but in most cases they do not pose any threat to health, passing in a few minutes.
To relieve the child's condition when cramps occur, you should take off his shy clothes, put him on his side, put a roller under his head, and slightly hold it. In addition, it is necessary to ensure the influx of fresh air, remove the nearby sharp and other dangerous objects. The ambulance needs to be called, if the baby loses consciousness, the attack is delayed.