Baby has rash and fever. Causes, treatment. Pediatrics

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every parent is familiar with the situation when the baby suddenly has a rash on the body and at the same time the temperature suddenly rises. Such symptoms are found in many diseases and conditions, some of which are considered quite dangerous for the child's body. Let's try to figure out what specific pathological conditions are characteristic of a particular disease, and how parents should behave when a rash and fever suddenly appear in a child.

Insect bite rash

One of the common causes of itchy redness on the body of a child is considered to be a reaction to insect bites: mosquitoes, bedbugs, and in some regions of Russia (mainly northern) poisonous midges. This manifestation may be accompanied by a slight increase in body temperature, since a reaction to insect venom begins in the baby's body, and immune processes are activated. As a rule, such a red rash appears after the unprotected stay of the baby in nature, after a night or daytime sleep.

These rashes cause the greatest alertness in early spring or late autumn, when it is believed that insects should not be there or yet. In these cases, acne appears on open areas of the skin, a rash on the hands, the temperature may be low. Before you panic, you should carefully inspect the child's room and bed for the presence of insects, while not forgetting that mosquitoes can become more active in the basement in the winter. After making sure that there are small pests in the room or furniture, measures should be taken to destroy them. The baby, as a rule, bites are treated with "Fenistil-gel" or "Psilobalm". If the temperature rises, give the child an antipyretic and antihistamine.

Rash due to an allergic reaction

The next no less common cause of a rash on the body of a baby is an allergic reaction of the body. Such spots can look like large rashes, and like small pimples. Most often, the child manifests the so-called "food allergy". Such a pathology occurs quite quickly: red rashes appear on the baby's body, accompanied by severe itching. In addition, in some cases, vomiting, upset stool and fever are possible. The general condition can also change: the child becomes lethargic and apathetic, or, conversely, excited and cheerful. Determine if correctparents were able to establish the cause of the rash and the allergen that caused it, only a children's doctor can. You should contact your child's pediatrician as soon as possible. In the absence of the possibility of rapid medical intervention, you can give the child a drink of activated charcoal or any sorbent, as well as an antihistamine to extinguish a possible reaction of the body. An allergic rash in a baby can also occur on detergents, for example, on a powder that is used to wash baby clothes. The task of parents is to correctly determine the cause of such a reaction of the child's body in order to treat the cause, and not just the consequences.

Childhood Infectious Diseases

However, often the cause of a rash on the body, especially accompanied by fever, can be a disease. The cause of skin manifestations can be a number of infectious diseases, which are most often ill in childhood. Many parents confidently believe that it is better for a baby to endure childhood viruses at preschool and primary school age, since this period is considered the most sensitive for a favorable course of infection. In fact, these diseases in childhood are much more easily tolerated by the body than in older adolescents and adults. A growing organism copes with microbes and pathological organisms much easier and more productively, and the immune system of a child is considered to be more flexible and active compared to an adult. Therefore, in childhood, viral diseases are easier to tolerate and take less time to recover.

Rash on the body andtemperature can signal many infectious diseases. Different viral pathologies are characterized by their own symptoms, but common to many diseases is that they are accompanied by rashes, fever and a number of somatic catarrhal manifestations. It is considered important for parents to be able to correctly recognize the symptoms of a particular disease, since the first signs can begin suddenly, and it is not always possible to urgently seek qualified medical help.

Chickenpox

Chicken pox or, as people say, chicken pox, is one of the most common infectious diseases, which in childhood is safely tolerated by about 85% of the population. The disease is characterized by the fact that the child's temperature rises, then the rash appears in the form of red spots with a watery vesicle. Initially, there are few rashes, but gradually there are more and more acne, while they can also be observed on the mucous membranes of the child. The appearance of spots in chickenpox is usually accompanied by severe itching, so a pediatrician may recommend antihistamines (except antipyretics).

The watery blister dries up after a few days, and a crust forms on the skin. A baby with chickenpox is considered contagious to others for two weeks: it is during this period that all “sores” will dry out and disappear. After that, the child is considered recovered. Chickenpox is transmitted by airborne dropletsthis disease belongs to the category of infections that are ill once in a lifetime.

During the course of the disease, careful hygienic care is especially important for a small patient: rashes must be regularly treated with drying agents. Care must be taken to ensure that the baby does not comb itchy pimples, as suppuration is possible at the site of the rash. Otherwise, chickenpox disease threatens to turn into furunculosis, which can occur against the background of chickenpox. The period of active rash lasts more than one day, therefore it is important to treat the rash that has reappeared in the child in a timely manner, and the temperature can also be maintained during the first few days of the disease. After the cessation of the appearance of new acne, as a rule, the temperature indicators of the child are normalized. From this moment, the baby begins to get better.

Rash with rubella

Another equally well-known disease, accompanied by a rash and fever in a child, is rubella. This infection differs from chickenpox primarily in the nature of the rashes: unlike large acne with chickenpox, resembling mosquito bites, a small rash appears with rubella. Initially, its appearance is preceded by malaise, the child may experience symptoms of an acute respiratory disease: fever, body aches, runny nose. After a couple of days or more, small pimples appear on the body, and there is pain in the eyes. As a rule, rubella rashes are not accompanied by itching, but they have a number of otherspecific features. A red rash occurs simultaneously throughout the body, while localizing in the face, back, chest.

A characteristic feature of this disease is that small dots appear in the twilight, and in bright light it becomes significantly discolored. An elevated temperature, as a rule, accompanies the disease for the first two days, then normalizes. A special sign of this infectious disease is also an increase in the occipital lymph nodes, fever and a rash on the abdomen of a child. Doctors usually recommend placing a small patient in a darkened room and providing an enhanced drinking regimen.

Special treatment of rubella, as a rule, does not require: within 4-5 days, the rash disappears without a trace, while immunity to this disease persists for life. Modern pediatrics insists that babies under the age of one year be vaccinated against rubella. Despite the fact that this disease proceeds relatively easily and without complications, this infection is considered especially dangerous for pregnant women. Contact of a pregnant woman with children with rubella is categorically contraindicated, especially if the expectant mother herself has not had this infectious disease and is not immune to it. The risk of severe contamination of the amniotic fluid in this case is too great, which leads to severe and irreparable pathologies of the unborn child. Therefore, it is recommended by doctors to play it safe and develop a stable immunity to this disease in advance.

Measles

Recently not so popular, but, nevertheless, from time to time, a disease called measles is also characterized by the presence of profuse skin rashes. This viral pathology begins with a sharp increase in body temperature, the appearance of signs of conjunctivitis, a runny nose and cough in a child. In the first three days, the disease is in the nature of a respiratory or catarrhal. On the third day, a rash appears on the child's body, and the temperature rises a second time.

On the first day, the rashes are localized in the face, then gradually descend on the chest, back, abdomen, limbs. Pimples are usually red in color, pronounced and spread throughout the body within three days. Initially, a small rash quickly increases in size, connecting in some places into red spots. From the third day of its manifestation, it begins to fade as it arose. The period of the disease is accompanied by cough, fever, general malaise. The rash on the body of the child does not immediately disappear without a trace: for some time, a certain pigmentation and peeling remain on the body in places of abundant rashes. Measles disease is always accompanied by certain symptoms, therefore, for parents, a temperature, a rash on the face with a previous cough and profuse lacrimation in the light serve as a signal to contact the doctors. Like any disease, measles does not tolerate self-medication. Therapy should be carried out according to the indications and under the supervision of the local pediatrician. Stable immunity to this disease occurs after complete healing and, according to doctors,also after timely vaccination.

Scarlet fever and the consequences of the disease

One of the most serious infections, accompanied by a rash in children, experts consider scarlet fever. This disease, caused by streptococcal pathogens, to some extent initially resembles a sore throat. In the first hours of scarlet fever, the baby's skin is clean, but the tonsils are enlarged, the mucous membrane in the throat turns bright red. The child feels unwell, by the end of the first or by the beginning of the second day of the onset of symptoms, the baby has a high temperature and a rash. Initially, it appears on the neck, while the nasolabial triangle acquires a pale, somewhat cyanotic hue, forming a characteristic scarlet fever triangle. The tongue of a small patient becomes a pronounced color, experts define such a symptom as "crimson tongue". Gradually, the rash spreads to the upper back and chest, then all over the body. This manifestation is localized most of all in the armpits, skin folds, lower abdomen, inner thighs.

Rash, itching, fever accompany the course of the disease for the first seven days, then the symptoms gradually subside. This does not mean that the baby ceases to be a source of infection for the surrounding children, and therefore is isolated from the children's society for 21 days. Therapy for scarlet fever is carried out under the supervision of a local pediatrician. Be sure the child undergoes a course of antibiotic treatment, which the doctor selects for him.

This viral pathology is considered dangerous because of the complications it can cause. First of all, this disease poses a danger to the heart and kidneys of the child. That is why it is important for the entire period of treatment to strictly follow the recommendations of the pediatrician: take the necessary tests on time, give the baby the prescribed drugs, undergo an examination by a pediatric urologist and a cardiologist.

Erythema infectiosum

A viral disease called "infectious erythema" is diagnosed in children from 2 to 12 years old during epidemics in children's educational institutions. The first couple of days, the symptoms resemble SARS or acute respiratory infections: fever, runny nose. The first rashes appear on the cheekbones in the form of bright red dots, which gradually merge into a single relief pattern. Small pimples, merging, can form a geographical pattern, a lacy pattern. Over the next two days, the rash spreads throughout the body, merging in places into swollen spots. After the appearance of acne, the child ceases to be contagious to others: the most dangerous period is the period before the appearance of the first rash. After seven days, skin manifestations disappear, occasionally appearing during physical exertion, excitement, sunbathing.

Acute viral infection of infants

Infection in infants or young children, caused by the causative agent of the herpes virus, begins with an acute febrile state. The body temperature of the baby suddenly rises to 39 degrees and above, the acute period lasts about three days, and in some cases up to five days. Firsttime the baby does not have rashes: the fact that the child is ill is signaled only by a feverish state. The temperature drops critically on the fourth day, then small rubella-like rashes appear on the child's body, which are localized mainly on the neck and trunk. A characteristic symptom is also lack of appetite, irritability and enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes. Since the disease is infectious, the baby becomes contagious to others. This period continues until the first rashes appear - after that, the risk of contracting the virus from a sick child is minimized.

Meningococcal disease

The most dangerous viral disease, accompanied by rashes on the body and high fever, is considered meningococcal infection. This disease is extremely dangerous because it tends to hurricane, so it is important to be able to recognize the main symptoms of an impending disaster in time.

Infection begins suddenly: initially there is a runny nose and a sharp rise in body temperature, pain in the muscles and joints, severe vomiting may open. In a child, a rash and fever simultaneously appear by the end of the first day of the disease. In the event that a skin reaction occurs immediately in the first hours of the course of the disease, specialists, as a rule, predict an unfavorable development of the disease in a particularly severe form. Rashes, initially pink, gradually turn into irregularly shaped hemorrhages under the skin, prone to rapid increase. Mainlyits elements are concentrated in the area of the limbs, face, torso of the baby. If there is the slightest suspicion of a meningococcal infection, the child should be urgently delivered to the clinic. The life of a little patient depends on how quickly and correctly the parents react.

Rules for parental behavior at the first sign of an infectious disease

Children's specialists recommend that parents follow a number of rules if a baby is suspected of having a viral disease, accompanied by skin rashes. Acne may appear on the face, neck, limbs of the child, a rash may appear on the back. The temperature may be elevated, may remain normal. In any case, parents must definitely show their son or daughter to a pediatrician, and the sooner the better. It is advisable to invite a doctor to the house, as it is necessary to avoid contact of a sick child with other children. If a hemorrhagic rash appears on the skin, you should immediately call an ambulance and hospitalize the child until the diagnosis is clarified, since such a rash can serve as a “terrible” sign of a meningococcal infection. Until the doctor examines the child, fragments of skin manifestations should not be lubricated with antiseptics, especially "green", "Fukortsin" and other coloring agents for treating integument. The doctor should carefully examine the nature of the rash, which will greatly facilitate the process of making a diagnosis. As a rule, a rash with various infections is quite typical, so most often an additionallaboratory testing to determine the type of disease is not required.

And most importantly: do not panic and get lost. If the child is sick, you need to pull yourself together and take all measures to quickly respond in a situation where the baby's condition worsens.