The weather is getting colder and colder, and it is gradually the season of high incidence of various infectious diseases, especially in places where children gather, such as kindergartens and schools, which are prone to outbreaks. Parents must pay attention to them.
If your child has the symptoms mentioned below, you must not take them lightly.
1. Rotavirus enteritis
It is mainly caused by rotavirus infection. Pathogens are mainly transmitted through digestive tract and are mostly found in infants aged 6 months to 2 years old. The onset peak is in autumn, so it is also known as infantile autumn diarrhea.
The main clinical manifestations were diarrhea, Stool is yellow water or egg pattern, stool volume is large, water is large, frequency is large, generally 5 ~ 10 times/day, severe cases exceed 20 times/day, fever, vomiting, respiratory tract infection and other symptoms are often accompanied by 1 ~ 2 days at the beginning of the disease. A few can develop into severe cases, such as pneumonia, myocardial damage, liver damage, severe dehydration and so on, which can be manifested as poor spirit, shortness of breath, cold limbs, convulsions and so on.
The natural course of the disease is generally about 3-8 days, and most of them can recover by themselves. For ordinary cases, doctors will generally give symptomatic treatment and pay attention to adjusting intestinal flora.
For home care of children’s diarrhea, please click [Baby Diarrhea, What else can I do besides seeing a doctor? ] See more details.
2. Pink eye
Most pink eye diseases refer to [acute or subacute bacterial conjunctivitis], which are common in spring and autumn seasons and are highly infectious and can be caused by various bacteria.
It is often manifested as itchy eyes, foreign body sensation, tears, eyelid swelling, conjunctival congestion, increased eye secretions, and both eyes can suffer from diseases at the same time or successively. The disease is highly infectious and is often widely spread in kindergartens, schools and other collective units.
The disease must be given anti-infection treatment, because antibiotic eye drops are easy to discharge with tears, so the effect of children using antibiotic ointment is better. At the same time, it is best to rinse eyes several times a day with normal saline to clean intraocular secretions, and pay attention to reduce light stimulation.
When using eye drops or eye ointment, the baby can open his eyes and look up. Parents pull down the lower eyelid, drop the eye drops under the eyeball, and then let the baby close his eyes. The liquid drops or eye ointment will be evenly applied to the surface of the eyeball as the eyeball rotates.
Note that another [epidemic hemorrhagic conjunctivitis] caused by virus is more prevalent and more harmful. It can occur all year round, with obvious subconjunctival hemorrhage, often accompanied by enlargement of preauricular lymph nodes. In case of this, it is more necessary to see a doctor in time.
3. Influenza
Commonly known as influenza, is caused by influenza virus a highly infectious, fast spread of respiratory diseases. Generally, winter and spring season high incidence, caused by complications and death phenomenon is very serious. Children and adolescents suffer from this disease more, with the highest incidence rate of 5-20 years old.
Typical symptoms of influenza are: Sudden high fever, whole body pain, There are obvious fatigue and mild respiratory symptoms, including cough, sore throat, runny nose, tears, etc., but the clinical manifestations can be varied, and often vary due to different ages. Most of the symptoms of infant influenza are atypical, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea can be complicated. Newborns can be manifested as lethargy, refusal to eat milk and even apnea.
Although the disease is self-limited and children can recover by themselves in most cases, infant patients are prone to death due to severe complications such as pneumonia. Therefore, it is recommended to vaccinate children with influenza vaccine for prevention.
4. Mumps
Caused by mumps virus, it is high in winter and spring, mostly in children aged 5-15.
Most of them are manifested as sudden swelling and pain of parotid gland, which can have fever of different degrees and durations. The body temperature can reach above 39 ℃, and some children have no fever all the time.
The disease is often complicated with meningoencephalitis, pancreatitis, orchitis and ovarian inflammation. Therefore, when children suffer from mumps, abdominal pain, headache, vomiting, convulsions, testicular pain and other symptoms, parents should be alert to the possibility of the above complications and should be sent to the hospital immediately.
At present, there is no specific drug against mumps virus, mainly symptomatic treatment.
5. Measles
It is an acute infectious disease caused by measles virus, with high incidence in winter and spring and extremely strong infectivity. The incidence rate of children aged 6 months to 5 years old is the highest. Although the incidence rate has obviously decreased with the extensive vaccination of measles vaccine, there are sporadic cases every year.
The main manifestations of measles in the early stage are fever, conjunctival congestion, cough, etc. About three days later, rashes will appear on the hairline and behind the ears, gradually spreading to the forehead, face and neck, spreading from top to bottom to the trunk and limbs, and finally reaching the palms and soles of the feet. Some cases will have pneumonia, myocarditis, encephalitis and other serious complications, endangering life.
Therefore, when the child has cough, wheezing, chest tightness, vomiting, headache and even convulsions, it indicates that serious complications may occur and need to be sent to the hospital urgently.
In family care, children should be kept in bed and isolated until 5 days after rash, and those complicated with pneumonia should be extended to 10 days.
Please click here to see more about measles.
6. Chickenpox
It is caused by varicella-zoster virus and mainly occurs in children aged 2-6 years old. It is common in winter and spring. Typical symptoms are fever, systemic skin and mucosal macula, papules, herpes and scabs in batches.
Chickenpox is highly contagious, Susceptible children (such as children who have not been vaccinated with chickenpox vaccine) after contact with chickenpox children, almost all can be sick. Chickenpox is a self-limited disease, generally with a good prognosis, and can obtain lasting immunity after the disease. However, children with chickenpox are prone to skin secondary infection, chickenpox pneumonia, encephalitis, etc. When there are cough, dyspnea, headache, vomiting and other manifestations, it indicates that the child’s condition is serious.
The disease needs to be isolated until the rash is completely scabbed and dried. Local treatment is mainly to relieve itching and prevent infection. For serious cases, early use of antiviral drugs can effectively control the development of the disease.
7. Hand, foot and mouth disease
Caused by enterovirus, The most common pathogens are Coxsackie virus group A type 16 and enterovirus type 71. Although the onset peak is from April to July, it may also occur sporadically in autumn. Children under 3 years old have the highest incidence rate, characterized by maculopapules and herpes on hands, feet and buttocks, and sporadic herpes or ulcers in the oral cavity, which can be manifested as oral pain, antifeeding and fever.
Most children heal themselves within a week, and a few children may cause complications such as meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary edema, etc. Some severe children developed rapidly, leading to death.
How to nurse after infection?
Whether it is severe or mild, it is very important to give correct and effective nursing measures:
1. Disinfection and isolation are the foundation.
Children’s rooms should be ventilated in the morning and evening, and used clothes, bedding, bed sheets, etc. should be boiled or disinfected by sunlight. Children attending school should take temporary vacations, and families should try their best to reduce the number of visits to children’s houses to prevent cross infection.
If it is a mild case, it can be isolated at home. If it is a severe case, it needs to be hospitalized. Some families have two or three children, such as twins. Once one of them is infected with the disease, other children also need to avoid contact with him.
2. Diet and nutrition should keep up with
For children with fever, children should be encouraged to drink more water, and drugs should be given to cool down when necessary. Attention should be paid to the changes in body temperature and the presence or absence of water loss to prevent electrolyte disturbance and dehydration.
In terms of diet, children should be given nutritious and digestible liquid food, semi-liquid food or soft food, and children should not be given sour, spicy, sweet and dry hard food.
3. Frequent care for skin damage
Chickenpox, measles, hand-foot-mouth disease and other diseases accompanied by skin damage are generally accompanied by pruritus of different degrees, and infection is easy to occur after scratching. Therefore, local skin hygiene should be paid attention to.
Keep your skin clean and dry and change clothes frequently. Keep your hands clean, cut your nails short, avoid scratching herpes, and manage your children not to scratch herpes, especially on the facial skin. After scratching, secondary infection can be caused. If the lesion is deep, scar may be left, especially for children with chickenpox.
Children should also be taught to avoid rubbing their eyes with their hands. If the virus infects eyes, it can lead to keratitis.
4. Observe the disease carefully.
Some infectious diseases may have serious complications, such as chickenpox, measles children may have pneumonia, encephalitis, myocarditis and other complications, so should closely observe the child’s face, body temperature, mental state and accompanying symptoms, whether there is dyspnea, chest tightness, headache, vomiting, etc., when necessary, timely send to the hospital.
5. Pay attention to hand washing for prevention
Hand washing can prevent many infectious diseases and is a simple and efficient way to prevent infection. Therefore, parents are advised to guide their children to understand the importance of hand washing, teach them the correct way to wash their hands (click to view < < teach you 4 tricks, let your baby fall in love with hand washing > >), and urge them to form the habit of washing their hands frequently.
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