The he alth of a child at any age causes a lot of concerns among parents. Even a slight runny nose or cough becomes a reason for a visit to the local pediatrician. What can we say about the situation when the child is covered with red spots. Blisters, blisters, pimples - any spots that suddenly appear on the baby's body indicate that urgent medical care should be provided to him.
Infectious diseases
The fragile body of a child is constantly exposed to attack by harmful microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria and fungi. A newborn baby, as a rule, is given the immunity of the mother to all kinds of infectious diseases. But there are situations when a child is born with a weakened immune system, which contributes to his susceptibility to infectious diseases. In later life, the baby comes into contact with a large number of people, which can also cause infection with diseases that are transmitted by airborne droplets or household.
To the most commoninfections often referred to as childhood infections include measles, rubella, roseola, scarlet fever, varicella (or chickenpox), and infectious mononucleosis. They are united by a common symptom - red rashes on the child's body.
Measles Rash
Measles is an infectious disease characterized by the greatest contagiousness among other known ailments of this type. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets and has an incubation period of 1-2 weeks.
Measles characteristic:
- increase in body temperature to 38 °C or more;
- weakness, lethargy;
- cough;
- runny nose;
- conjunctivitis (inflammatory process on the mucous membrane of the eye);
- rash on inner cheeks;
- rash all over body.
When measles spots on the body are dry, red, have an irregular shape. After a few days, the diseases change color to brown and merge with each other. A feature of the disease is that it does not begin with a rash, but with hyperthermia, cough and runny nose. Parents notice that the child is covered with red spots all over the body, only on the 4-5th day of illness. All symptoms disappear and the skin is completely clear after 2 weeks.
Treatment for measles is symptomatic, as there is no special drug aimed at combating its pathogen directly. Drinking water is important to avoid dehydration. To relieve inflammation of the eyes, eye drops, herbal decoctions are used. At high temperatures, you can not do withoutantipyretics.
Diagnosis of rubella
Rubella is an acute viral infection transmitted by airborne droplets and household routes. The incubation period can last up to 25 days.
Symptoms:
- subfebrile body temperature (within 37.5 °С);
- minor runny nose;
- sluggishness;
- increased and sore lymph nodes;
- headache;
- red dotted rash that does not tend to form large areas of redness.
After the child is covered with small red spots, the skin will be completely cleared in 3-4 days.
A specific drug against rubella, as in the case of measles, does not currently exist, so the symptoms of the disease are eliminated. Antipyretic, antiallergic, immunostimulatory and general antiviral drugs are used.
Vaccination is the only way to prevent measles and rubella.
Chickenpox
Chickenpox (chickenpox) is a disease caused by the herpes virus that enters the upper respiratory tract as a result of communication with a sick person. The incubation period is 2-3 weeks.
Signs of disease:
- rashes in the form of bubbles all over the body, occur in stages on different parts of the skin;
- high body temperature;
- may be accompanied by a headache.
When chickenpox, others note that the child itches and becomes covered with red spots.
For the treatment of chickenpox, suchdrugs like "Acyclovir", "Alpizarin". Prevention consists in vaccination and timely isolation of a sick child.
Exanthema in scarlet fever
If the child is covered with red spots all over the body, another reason for this may be scarlet fever. This is a bacterial infection transmitted by household and airborne droplets and got its name from its characteristic symptom - a bright red rash.
How to recognize scarlet fever:
- rashes of red color, forming large areas of redness all over the body;
- angina;
- nausea;
- swollen lymph nodes in the neck;
- high body temperature;
- no rash in the area of the nasolabial triangle, its pallor;
- skin peeling as rash fades.
Because scarlet fever is a bacterial infection, antibiotics ("Amoxicillin", "Erythromycin" and others) are prescribed for its treatment. It is also necessary to comply with bed rest, the use of immunomodulatory drugs, vitamins, means to restore the intestinal microflora, antipyretic drugs.
To reduce the likelihood of scarlet fever, it is recommended to maintain personal hygiene and avoid large crowds, especially during epidemics.
Rash with roseola
Roseola is not an independent disease, but the body's reaction to infection with the herpes virus type 6. Children are most susceptible to this disease at the age of 6 months.up to 2 years. You can get infected by airborne droplets or household contact. Contact with skin covered with rashes does not spread herpes type 6.
Symptoms of roseola:
- increase in body temperature to 38-39 °C;
- minor runny nose and stuffy nose;
- cold hands and feet due to general hyperthermia;
- pallor of the skin;
- possible febrile convulsions;
- dark pink rash, which is spots up to 5 mm in diameter, slightly raised above the surface of the skin, with a pale border.
Antiviral drugs are not used to treat roseola. The main means to alleviate the condition of the baby are antipyretics, drinking regimen, regular ventilation and wet cleaning.
To prevent the disease, it is important to strengthen the child's immunity, support breastfeeding as long as possible, provide the child with he althy sleep and proper nutrition, appropriate for age.
Infectious mononucleosis
Mononucleosis is a disease caused by the herpes virus type 4, or Epstein-Barr. A child can get mononucleosis by contact-household method, mainly through saliva. A rash is observed in 25% of patients - upon examination, it is noted that the child's face is covered with red spots. The rash then spreads to the entire body.
Symptoms:
- signs of pharyngitis and tonsillitis;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- rash in the form of indurated pink or dark red spots;
- enlargement of internal organs (spleen, less often -liver).
Treatment for the virus is symptomatic. Analgesics are used to relieve pain, drink plenty of water to remove toxic substances from the body, antiseptic drugs to treat pharyngitis and tonsillitis. Antibiotics, antiherpetic and antiviral drugs are used to treat severe forms of the disease and its complications.
Prevention consists in increasing the child's immunity, limiting contact with the sick, and disinfecting the room where the sick person is. There is currently no vaccine for infectious mononucleosis.
Allergy, diathesis, urticaria
Diathesis - a child's predisposition to allergies. There are many reasons for diathesis and allergic reactions in infants and older children: bad habits of the mother during pregnancy, toxicosis, the presence of allergens in the daily life of the mother and baby after birth (household dust, pet hair). In addition, the child's immunity is not yet fully developed, which often causes an incorrect immune response to substances that are quite safe for an adult. These include some food products (eggs, chocolate, citrus fruits), and hygiene products (soap, shampoo, cream, and so on).
Symptoms of diathesis:
- cheek redness;
- a rash of a different nature, which can be present both on the whole body and in its individual areas, for example, it may be noted that the child's hands are covered with red spots;
- periodic occurrence in placesredness of crusts;
- diaper rash that doesn't go away with good personal hygiene;
- when ignoring the first signs, a metabolic disorder develops, a decrease in the child's activity is possible, followed by a developmental delay.
For the treatment of children's allergic reactions, sorbents are prescribed for the speedy removal of substances that caused allergies from the body, and antihistamines to eliminate unpleasant symptoms.
If the child is suddenly covered with red spots, it is worth suggesting one of the varieties of childhood allergies - urticaria. This is a sudden allergic reaction, which is manifested by characteristic blistering rashes on the skin of an infant. Sometimes this symptom is accompanied by fever, nausea and vomiting.
For the prevention of any allergy, it is recommended to avoid adding highly allergenic foods to the child's diet; for hygiene procedures, use only hypoallergenic products intended for children. If the baby is breastfed, special attention should be paid to the mother's diet.
Erythema nodosum
There is another ailment of an allergic nature, for which skin rashes are a characteristic symptom. This is erythema nodosum - an inflammatory process in human vessels, which was preceded by various infectious diseases.
A characteristic manifestation of the disease is that the child is covered with red spots, or rather, dense subcutaneous nodules, which on the surface of the skin look like red spots with a diameter notover 5 cm.
The treatment of erythema consists of two stages - getting rid of the infection that caused the disease, and stopping the symptoms of inflammation itself.
Antibiotics are used to treat infections, anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs are used to relieve inflammation, physiotherapy is often prescribed.
The main preventive measure is to see a doctor in time to treat infectious diseases that can further provoke erythema nodosum.
Manifestation of prickly heat
If a child is covered with red spots and the body itches, you can suspect he has a condition called prickly heat. This is a red rash on the baby's body, most characteristic of newborns and children of the first year of life. Prickly heat occurs because the skin of the baby is much thinner and more vulnerable than the skin of an adult, moreover, thermoregulation is not sufficiently developed in babies. Because of this, at the slightest irritation, irregular hygiene procedures, small pimples, sometimes blisters, may appear on the child's skin, which disappear after the elimination of the irritant (sweat, tight clothing, unnatural fabrics).
If a child is covered with red spots during prickly heat, what should I do?
- Keep hygiene.
- Dress your baby according to the weather.
- Ventilate the room where the child is.
- Avoid swaddling tight.
- Wear only natural fabrics for your newborn.
- Use breathable diapers to help prevent diaper rash.
Lichen and its variety - eczema
When a child itches and becomes covered with red spots, it is quite logical to assume that he has lichen - a disease that has a fungal or viral nature. You can get it from animals (ringworm), as a result of damage to the skin or diseases of internal organs (eczema), after infection with a fungus (pityriasis), as a result of disturbances in the immune system (lichen planus), due to virus damage (lichen pink).
Depending on the type of ailment, it is characterized by different types of rashes:
- pink lichen is characterized by the appearance of small round pink or red spots;
- pityriasis versicolor is characterized by darker red or even red-brown rashes;
- with ringworm, in addition to red spots, peeling and itching of the skin appear;
- eczema is characterized by the appearance of red spots, crusts, peeling, cracks, blisters;
- lichen planus causes shiny, irregularly shaped, reddish-violet nodules.
Despite the fact that lichen is treated mainly at home, you can’t do without medical help - only a doctor can confirm the diagnosis and determine the type of illness. Depending on the type of disease, antihistamines, corticosteroids, and antifungals are used to treat it. It is also recommended to give up bad habits andfollow a special diet.
For the prevention of the disease, it is important to strengthen the immune system and limit the contact of the baby with street animals.
Psoriatic rashes
Psoriasis is a chronic disease of a non-infectious nature, the causes of which have been little studied to date. The disease is not contagious, according to one version, it is not psoriasis itself that is inherited, but a predisposition to it.
Symptoms of the disease:
- spotted skin rashes;
- itching of the skin;
- flaking.
Most often young people under 20 suffer from this disease. But it also occurs in children. Therefore, if the child is covered with red spots, the likelihood of this particular skin lesion cannot be ignored.
Unfortunately, now medicine is not able to cure psoriasis completely. To alleviate the condition and achieve a state of remission, blood purification, cryotherapy are used, a visit to the solarium is recommended.
For the prevention of relapses, it is important to strengthen the immune system, avoid stressful situations.
Other causes of red spots on baby's body
In addition to the diseases described above, there may be other reasons for the appearance of red spots on the body of babies:
- Insect bites. The nature and size of the spots depends on which insect bit the child and on the individual reaction of his body, including the presence of allergic reactions.
- Disorder of the nervous system - sometimes you can see that the child, when crying, is coveredred spots. With such symptoms, one should exclude stressful situations in the child's life, create a friendly atmosphere at home, try to find out the cause of the baby's nervous tension.
- Spots in newborns. In newborns, mostly in weak and prematurely born, in the first days after birth, red spots may appear on the skin, which disappear on their own and are considered as a variant of the norm.
- A reaction to cold, or the so-called cold allergy, is redness of a supercooled area of the skin, which disappears on its own after a few hours, sometimes the symptom persists for up to several days.
- Diseases of the cardiovascular system and blood. These causes of rashes are extremely serious and require immediate medical attention.
If the question arises why the child is covered with red spots, an urgent consultation with a pediatrician is necessary, since the safest condition without timely assistance can be fraught with serious complications and consequences.
