Infant Infections
Infectious childhood diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, chicken pox, mumps, scarlet fever, etc., do not pose a significant danger to children.
It is known that infants feeding on mother's milk are less likely to have such infections. For example, an infant will not get measles if the mother has suffered a measles, but can get pertussis, even if the mother had had this illness in her childhood. Therefore, babies should be carefully guarded against contact with persons suffering from infectious diseases. To do this, you need to know how to spread the infection and prevent infection.
How are infectious diseases spread?
The cause of the development of an infectious disease is bacteria or smaller microorganisms - viruses. Usually a viral infection is transmitted directly by contact with an infected person. But not only a person can become a peddler of the disease, it is often transferred by flies, cockroaches and other insects. Thus, viruses spread not only in the air, but also on clothes and other objects of use of the infected person. Infection can occur not only through direct contact with the patient during conversation, but also in contact with his things, and also if he is in the same room as the infected. It is worth to fear not only personal communication with the infected, but try to avoid entering the patient's apartment, especially for moms with babies. What should parents do to protect the child from the disease? First of all, the patient should be isolated and excluded from any contact with the infant. The mother of the baby does not have to communicate with the sick person, otherwise it involuntarily becomes the transmitter of the disease.
Parents of an infant should not make visits to their homes, knowing that there is someone from the family who has an infectious disease. The same recommendations should be applied when visiting public institutions, for example, a polyclinic, a store, etc., especially during periods of epidemic outbreaks of the disease.
Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is fairly common among children since the age of one year. Outbreaks of measles are most often seen in the spring or during epidemics.
The first symptoms of measles usually appear 10-15 days after infection. At first, measles flows like a cold in severe form, gradually increasing. At this time there is a runny nose, a strong dry and frequent cough, hoarseness of the voice, the mucous membrane of the mouth cavity inflames, the temperature rises to high figures. Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes is manifested by their reddening and lacrimation. If you draw back the eyelid, you can see that inside it is an intense red color. Such symptoms, especially during an epidemic, give reason to think that this is measles.
The rash appears 3-4 days after the onset of the disease. First, there are indeterminate pink spots behind the ears, in the face area, on the limbs, and then spread all over the body, becoming bigger and darker. The day before the rash can be observed in the depth of the mouth, from the cheeks near the site of the lower molars appear the appearance of tiny white spots surrounded by red. The rash usually manifests itself within 1-2 days, while the temperature is very high. And the kid in the meantime continues to cough heavily and, despite the drugs, feels very ill. If measles passes without complications, then 2 days after the appearance of the rash the temperature begins to decrease, after 4-5 days the rash gradually passes;then recovery comes quickly.
If after a certain drop the temperature rises again, and the baby feels worse and worse, then measles has given a complication. After it, often there are ear abscesses, bronchitis, pneumonia, although at present such effects are rarely observed. But, nevertheless, they are possible, especially for weakened children.
While the temperature is holding, the baby almost does not eat anything. Does not refuse only liquid food. Therefore, he needs more drinking, warm tea, milk, vegetable and fruit juices, rich in vitamins.
During illness, especially at high temperature, the sick child is assigned exclusively pastel mode, but already two days after a persistent drop in temperature, he can get up. It is quite safe to allow the baby and play with the children within a week after the onset of the rash, provided that the cough and other symptoms of the illness have passed.
The child is contagious mainly before the appearance of rashes, therefore at the first signs of the disease the child must be isolated from other children. There are highly effective measles vaccinations, which begin to do to children at 12-14 months of age. Why not before? Because in the first months of life, children usually do not get measles, as maternal antibodies protect them from the disease. The introduction of a vaccine, with just one injection, ensures the prevention of the disease for a long time, although the vaccine itself can cause a slight increase in body temperature. Vaccination is not mandatory, but it is recommended, especially to weakened children, who are exposed to respiratory diseases.
Safety vaccination quickly provides protection for the body. If the vaccine is introduced within 5 days after contact with a measles patient, it is able to prevent the disease, because it is much faster than measles virus.
In order to prevent the development of measles, gamma globulin is used, with the timely introduction of which the disease either does not develop, or proceeds very easily.
Pertussis. Due to vaccination, whooping cough is currently rare, but has not completely disappeared. It is still a long-lasting disease, debilitating for the child.
Immediately after contact with the pertussis carrier, the incubation period begins, which lasts approximately 8-10 days, usually without any symptoms of onset of the disease. At the end of this period, the child has a slight cough, which is increasing with each passing day. Against the background of a cough, body temperature rises. By the end of the second week, cough becomes durable, heavier, acquires a paroxysmal character. During the attack, the baby's face turns red, tears appear in his eyes. From the constant stress caused by a cough, bleeding in the belly coat of the eyes is possible. A fit of cough ends with a deep wheezing, a withdrawal of viscous sputum and often vomiting.
Such seizures can be repeated from 5 to 30 or more times a day. Their duration and frequency determine the severity of the disease, which develops within 2-3 weeks. Gradually, the cough weakened, the attacks became less frequent. Pertussis - a long illness, lasts from 5 to 12 weeks. An increase in temperature during pertussis may indicate a complication in the form of pneumonia, nasal bleeding is possible.
Pertussis is difficult to treat with antibiotics. Usually, doctors prescribe only symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating coughing attacks, prescribed and sedatives. In the diet of the child should make changes related to coughing attacks, which can begin at any time. It is recommended to feed the baby often and in small portions, preferably after a fit of coughing or vomiting.
The occurrence of whooping cough up to 18 months is especially serious for the child. At this age, coughing attacks, lasting up to 2-3 minutes, can lead to a stop of breathing. To avoid the risk of asphyxiation, a small child should be hospitalized, at least for a while.
Antibiotic vaccination is not mandatory, but vaccination is usually performed starting at 3-4 months of age;for this purpose, the DTP vaccine( adsorbed pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus vaccine) is used. As a rule, anticoeclusive vaccination is not done for children prone to convulsions.
After contact with a sick whooping cough before the onset of coughing, the appointment of gamma globulin can prevent the disease or at least weaken its manifestations in case of occurrence. Quarantine, as a rule, lasts 30 days from the onset of the disease, because during this period the child is considered infectious. The same measures are also applied to the brothers and sisters of the baby.
Scarlet fever is caused by hemolytic streptococcus .Fortunately, now the frequency of scarlet fever has decreased significantly and this disease is much easier than before. Usually it affects children from 2 to 8 years. The incubation period of the disease on average is 4-5 days. The first symptoms appear suddenly, the disease initially resembles angina with a sharp increase in temperature, an increase in cervical lymph nodes, often with a general malaise and vomiting, sometimes multiple.
Very quickly, after 1-2 days, there is a rash in the form of a solid red veil consisting of plaques and spots that do not have clear boundaries and gradually merge. The rash is especially abundant on the flexural surfaces of the hands, in the folds of the neck, on the sides and in the lower abdomen, i.e., first in warm places, moist parts of the skin.
It spreads quickly all over the body, grabbing the face, not touching only the skin around the eyes and in the mouth area. If the baby opens his mouth, you can see that the entire oral cavity is "flooded" with red, and after a while the tongue begins to blush, beginning with the edges. Coloration of the tongue is similar to that of a strawberry.
In the absence of complications, scarlet fever lasts several days;the temperature decreases, the rash gradually disappears. But the peeling of the skin passes sometimes only towards the end of the second or third week and remains particularly noticeable on the hands and feet, during which the skin peels off as large rags during the illness.
Complications in the form of impaired renal function and joint disease, which were previously observed in scarlet fever, have become rare these days because of the treatment with antibiotics that have a strong effect on streptococcus. Nevertheless, as before with scarlet fever, it is necessary to systematically check the presence of protein in the urine.
At present, severe cases of scarlet fever are rarely noted. In most cases, this disease occurs in a muffled, worn out form and can be limited to the onset of a rash, which can not easily be correlated with eruptions in scarlet fever due to less intensity and duration. But, given the previous angina, the presence of hemolytic streptococcus in a smear from the pharynx, peeling of the skin on the limbs, it is possible to put an accurate diagnosis.
Until relatively recently, scarlet fever was contagious throughout the period of the disease;Now after a few days of antibiotic treatment, it no longer poses a danger to others. And if earlier isolated scarlet fever child from other children for a period of 40 days from the date of the disease, today he remains in quarantine only 2 weeks, after which, in the absence of streptococcus in the smear from the throat, he is considered healthy.
Mumps( mumps) is also an infectious disease that is most often affected in the spring and winter. Parotitis is a disease of the salivary glands, usually parotid, located in the cavity behind the ear lobe. At the same time, the gland fills the cavity first, and then the whole face swells, while the tumor displaces the ear lobe upward. Pig rarely occurs in a child under 1 year. Mumps can be treated only once in a lifetime. By the way, if the mother once suffered a mumps, the newborn has immunity to this disease, persisting for 6-7 months.
The incubation period of the disease lasts on average about 3 weeks, and the patient becomes infectious already a few days before the appearance of characteristic symptoms and then about 10 days.
The main sign of the disease is the swelling of the parotid salivary gland, and in most children, one side of the neck swells first, and after 1-2 days the tumor appears on the other side.
The child is difficult to swallow, chew, sometimes even just open his mouth, because the inflamed gland is very painful, especially when touched. The swelling reaches its maximum after 3 days and lasts 2-3 days, then gradually decreases. As a rule, at the beginning of the disease the temperature is low, but it rises already on the 2nd-3rd day and lasts throughout the illness. Often, the tumor goes through 3-4 days, but it can last 7-10 days. Because of the high temperature and the constant feeling of pain, there is anxiety, irritability, weakness. In especially severe cases, vomiting and abdominal pain are possible. Therefore, during bedtime, bed rest is recommended, which must be observed as long as the temperature remains high. Particular attention in this case should also be given to nutrition: to exclude from the diet acidic and salty foods that irritate the salivary glands;and it is also necessary to avoid food that requires chewing.
Often, when a child has a tumor located on the sides of the neck, doctors suspect parotid gland disease or the usual inflammation of the lymph nodes. By the way, inflammation of lymph nodes is characteristic for angina, although in this case the tumor does not cross jaws. Therefore, when the first symptoms of the disease should immediately call a doctor, since only he can establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment of the disease. For example, the usual inflammation of the lymph nodes requires a completely different treatment.
Diphtheria is considered one of the most dangerous diseases, which, however, can be prevented. If the child received three injections against diphtheria in the first year of life, additional vaccinations in one year and then every 3 years, he is practically immune from this disease. Thus, thanks to vaccination, this infectious disease, previously aroused serious concerns, has now become rare. Nevertheless, it is still observed in cases when children were not vaccinated.
Usually diphtheria in its manifestations resembles a severe form of angina and begins with a general malaise, redness in the throat, high fever. Over time, dense films form on the mucous membrane of the throat and larynx, breathing becomes difficult. Sometimes diphtheria begins with the larynx, with hoarseness and barking coughing, breathing becomes more difficult. The disease is accompanied by intoxication of the whole organism;there is weakness, pallor, rapid pulse, while the temperature may remain low.
If prophylactic vaccinations were not performed or the vaccination was incomplete( without the necessary repeat), a child's disease with angina should cause suspicion of diphtheria. In this case, it is necessary to call a doctor who, if suspected of diphtheria, immediately injects serum and other medicines into the baby, and also takes a smear from the pharynx to reveal the diphtheria bacillus.