EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SCARLET FEVER PT 1

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SCARLET FEVER PT 1 Jul,28,2020

Scarlet fever, or Scarlatina, is a type of infection that can be transmitted from one given person to another. Even though anyone can get affected by this health condition, children between the age of 5 and 15 are more likely to get affected because of their relatively lower immunity. This is actually a bacterial disorder and tends to develop in people who have a strep throat. Note that strep throat is a sore and scratchy throat that is caused by a bacterial infection. Furthermore, Scarlet fever is characterized by the presence of bright red colored rashes all over the body. Hence, it got the name. A sore throat and high fever are also accompanied by the health condition and can be diagnosed by a family doctor.

The red rashes may sometimes look like bad sunburns. It typically is seen on the neck and face of the affected person at first and then starts spreading to other body parts like the back, the chest, and the rest of the affected child’s body. These bumpy rashes will be really itchy worsening the condition and the areas around the rashes may go white as you press on them hard.

When the rashes subside, the skin around the toes, fingertips, and groin of the affected person may start peeling off. Even though this childhood health issue was considered severe at first, there are many antibiotic treatments available in the medical field for its effective cure. Still, if left untreated, scarlet fever can result in severe problems and can affect the liver, kidneys, heart, and other significant parts of the body.

The Symptoms

The most notable symptom that points towards scarlet fever is the bright red bumpy and itchy rashes all over the body. Apart from this, many other red flags indicate that your kid is suffering from scarlet fever and some of those symptoms include;

Red Streaks – The folds around the parts of the body including the elbows, armpits, knees, neck, groin, etc., tends to exhibit deep red rashes when compared to the rest of the body.

Red Face – The affected child may exhibit a red or flushed face except for the mouth; you can usually notice a pale white area just around the mouth of an affected child.

Strawberry Tongue – This is one of the earlier symptoms of scarlet fever; the tongue of the affected child will become extremely red and bumpy. Plus, it will be coated with a white covering.

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    About the Author

    Dr. Ghassan M. Al-Jazayrly, MD

    A graduate of University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Al-Jazayrly or, as he is colloquially known: Dr. AJ, is an oncologist and hematologist of a Complete Care Community Health Center (CCCHC) with more than 36 years of experience. In recent years, he’s been involved with a non profit organization known as Every Woman Counts (EWC) which provides free breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to California’s underserved populations in order to eliminate health disparities for low-income individuals.

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