Roseola baby, or sudden exanthema is an infectious disease that affects children under 2 years old. As soon as this disease is not called: pseudo-red, three-day fever, sixth illness, infant roseola. All these "folk" names arose due to very specific symptoms of the disease.
Symptoms of roseola in children
At first, the child's body temperature rises sharply, up to 39-40 ° C. All other symptoms that occur even against the background of temperature are secondary. It can be general weakness, lethargy, decreased appetite, diarrhea in mild form. The temperature usually lasts 3-4 days, and then it falls off, and within a few hours the child, who already looks absolutely healthy, has a rash - the second characteristic symptom in children's roseola. Small point and spotted rashes of pale pink color on the face and body, very similar to the appearance of rubella, do not give the child any discomfort and after a few days completely disappear.
The causes and mechanism of infection with baby roseola
The cause of this unusual childhood disease, like roseola, is the herpes virus. Basically, parents are interested in questions about why this virus affects exactly such small children, whether the roseola is contagious and how it is transmitted. As for age, the herpes attacks precisely the kids, because they have not yet formed immunity to this virus (which occurs closer to 3 years). Adults, however, are often carriers of herpes, but do not get sick due to antibodies to this pathogen. Therefore, even his own parents can infect a child, absolutely without knowing it. Infection is transmitted by airborne droplets, and the incubation period for roseola is from 5 to 14 days. The incidence of baby roseola is usually exacerbated in late spring.
Is it treated with roseola?
As such, the treatment of exanthema does not exist, since the disease itself passes, without any intervention in the child's body. The only thing that parents can do for their baby is to give him an antipyretic agent (when the temperature exceeds 38-38,5 °), and, of course, to give a weakened and therefore capricious child a little more attention. Do not forget about the abundant drink that the baby needs when the temperature rises, regardless of the diagnosis and cause of the disease. It is especially important to prevent dehydration of the body with diarrhea.
The unusual nature of roseola is in the extreme complexity of setting the right diagnosis. Since the first symptom of the disease is high fever, it can be confused with a number of other diseases - from respiratory viral infection to poisoning. Next, the temperature of the rash may also be a symptom of almost any childhood illness. Doctors rarely choose expectant tactics and usually write off the fever in a child for colds, prescribing appropriate treatment, in which the child, in fact, does not need.
The disease of infant roseola does not bear any special consequences. An exception may be only complications that sometimes occur in children after high fever, namely febrile convulsions. Also, if the doctors could not recognize the sudden exanthema and prescribed antibacterial drugs aimed at treating another, non-existent disease, this could entail certain problems, in particular, allergic reactions.
Roseola by almost two years have had almost all children. But it can still be avoided if we take preventive measures to temper and strengthen the immunity of the child.