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Scarlet fever is a childhood disease that mainly affects children between the ages of 3 and 8 years, and can very rarely affect older children or young adults. This disease is caused by a bacteria.
In the past, the presence of this bacteria sometimes led to rheumatism or kidney disease in children, so antibiotics were often prescribed to combat the bacteria.
scarlet fever
Today, scarlet fever usually clears up on its own and there is often no need to take antibiotics. There is no vaccine available to prevent scarlet fever in children.
What Are the Symptoms of Scarlet Fever?
With scarlet fever, your child usually has a sore throat, fever and spots on the skin.
First complaints
According to Thuisarts, the first complaints of scarlet fever are not feeling like eating. In addition, a child often has a fever that quickly rises, sore throat, nausea and vomiting.
Second day
On the second day of scarlet fever, spots appear on the skin. The spots start on the chest and then spread to the rest of the body. Especially in the armpits and groin and not around the mouth. These spots can best be described as rough, small bumps like goosebumps.
The skin can become so rough that it feels just like sandpaper. Fortunately, these spots do not itch. The spots are red in color on light skin, but not on dark skin.
After three days
After three days of scarlet fever, the child may develop a red tongue. The tongue not only becomes red, but also thick and bumpy. This is also called a raspberry tongue.
After three to five days, the fever drops again. And a few days later the spots also go away. After 2 to 3 weeks, the skin may start to peel. Especially on the hands and feet.
How do you get scarlet fever?
Scarlet fever is caused by the bacteria streptococcus. This bacteria can also lead to only sore throat or erysipelas. Scarlet fever is contagious and can be passed from one child to another through air droplets when coughing, sneezing or talking.
When to call the doctor?
According to Thuisarts, you should call your GP in the following cases.
The child is very sick. The child is short of breath. The child breathes with noise (for example, wheezing or screeching). The child turns blue. The child can no longer drink or swallow. The child is drooling a lot. The child can hardly open its mouth. The child is getting sicker. The child has a fever for more than 5 days. The symptoms last longer than 10 days.
Also call the doctor if the child has had scarlet fever and becomes ill again in the weeks to months after, with complaints such as: feeling like nothing, pale face, thick eyelids, pink urine, thick, red joints and again fever and restless movements.
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2023-09-04 16:20:16
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