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Scarlet fever in babies or children: contagion, symptoms, complications and treatments
Does your child have a high fever, sore throat, nausea and chest rash? It may be scarlet fever, do not wait to consult! Here is some information to know about this childhood disease.
How is it transmitted scarlatinehow can we recognize it, and how to treat it?
What is scarlet fever?
Scarlet fever is a bacterial disease infectious and contagious, caused by a group A streptococcus, it is a variant of angina. It is one of the eruptive childhood diseases, such as measlesthe varicella or even the feet hands mouth.
How is scarlet fever transmitted in children?
Scarlet fever is transmitted through the airways, by coughing or sneezing, or by direct or indirect contact, for example via contaminated objects. It is therefore quite common among young children in the community, especially between 4 and 10 years old.
This disease is contagious throughout the duration of the angina: approximately 2 days under antibiotics, but up to 3 weeks without adapted treatment. During the contagion period, the child must be isolated, so there is a school eviction up to 24-48 hours after the start of antibiotic therapy.
However, there is no prevention for scarlet fever: neither vaccine nor preventive treatment. The only possible prevention is to ensure good hygiene in children: wash their hands frequently and teach them how to do it well, cut their fingernails short, teach them to cough and sneeze into their elbow, to blow their nose in disposable tissues to be thrown away, etc.
What are the symptoms of scarlet fever?
The disease starts with a incubation period about four days. The child is tired, and his temperature quickly rises to 39 or 40 degrees Celsius. He also has symptoms of angina: sore throat, pain when swallowing, swollen and painful glands, red inside of throat. Sometimes, there is also nausea and vomiting, or abdominal pain. The tongue becomes covered with a white deposit, then turns raspberry red after a few days.
Along with these symptoms, red patches with an eruption of small pimples appear in the armpits, elbow creases and groin. This rash starts about a day after the fever starts. The pimples then spread to the chest, abdomen, face, and hands and feet, avoiding the mouth, nose, and the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The skin is grainy and red, with small pimples of an even brighter red. After 2 or 3 days of eruption, it stabilizes, before decreasing after 6 days. The skin then begins to peel for about ten days.
Can scarlet fever cause complications?
Some people are particularly at risk in the presence of group A streptococcus, they should avoid contact with children suffering from scarlet fever, and make a throat culture in case of contact:
- people over 65;
- people with active varicella;
- those with extensive skin lesions;
- drug addicts injecting substances intravenously;
- patients suffering from progressive pathology: diabetes, cancer, HIV infection, heart failure, blood disease, etc. ;
- and people on high doses of oral corticosteroids.
Pregnant women are not at risk for scarlet fever.
Scarlet fever is a benign disease, but poorly treated, it can however have consequences: abscess of the lymph nodes of the neck, kidney damage, or acute articular rheumatism. This disease can be treated very well with antibiotics, so do not wait to consult and treat the child.
How to treat scarlet fever?
Scarlet fever is treated with antibiotics. In the presence of symptoms evoking scarlet fever, it is therefore necessary to consult a doctor, who will carry out a Rapid Diagnostic Test, to confirm the diagnosis. This test is carried out using a swab rubbed in the child’s throat, the result is readable in a few minutes.
The doctor may also prescribe paracetamol for fever or pain. You can feed the child rather liquid and cold foods such as yoghurts or compotes. It is also important that he drinks plenty of water so that he does not become dehydrated due to the high fever.
Relatives of the child who have been in contact during the 7 days before the onset of the illness, or during the illness, and who also have angina, should also be treated with antibiotic therapy.
Sources :
Health Insurance, Marseille University Hospitals, CHU Sainte-Justine
Read also :
⋙ Scarlet fever now resistant to antibiotics
⋙ My child has scarlet fever: advice from the naturopath
⋙ Scarlet fever in adults: is it serious doctor?