Salmonellosis is a very common foodborne infection affecting children of all ages. The disease responds well to medical treatment, but in some conditions it can lead to the development of dangerous complications.
It is only natural that many parents are interested in additional information. What are the symptoms of salmonellosis in a child? How does the infection enter the body? What medications does the doctor prescribe? How can you help your baby at home? What complications can an infection lead to? The answers to these questions are important to many readers.
Characteristics of the exciter
Salmonellosis is an infectious disease caused by certain types of Salmonella. They are gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria. The pathogen cell is protected by a microcapsule and equipped with peritrichia, which ensure its mobility.
Once in the human body, salmonella settles in the mucous tissues of the intestine. Here, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply and produce a specifica toxin that causes the death of beneficial microflora bacteria.
It is worth noting that the causative agents of salmonellosis are very unpretentious - they can remain viable for a long time in the external environment. Bacteria die at a temperature of 60 degrees (within 12 minutes). But when frozen, the cells retain the ability to live. Ultraviolet radiation also has a detrimental effect on pathogenic cells.
Ways of spread of infection
We already know why a child develops salmonellosis. The reasons are quite clear - a pathogenic bacterium enters his body. But how does it happen? The spread of infection can be done in different ways.
- Most often, salmonella enters the body with food - the source of infection can be animal meat, eggs. That is why it is so important to buy only fresh products and follow the rules for their storage. Food must be properly cooked.
- Bacteria can also spread through drinking water. In addition, you can catch the infection while swimming in a polluted reservoir, pool (if appropriate disinfection is not carried out).
- The contact-household way of transmission of salmonella is also possible. For example, the infection can spread among team members while sharing dishes, towels, toys and other items (this pattern can often be observed at school, kindergarten).
- Potentially dangerous is contact with some domestic and wild animals. The point is that representativessome species can be carriers of infection (the animals themselves do not have symptoms of intestinal diseases).
- You can catch the infection through close contact and an infected person.
Gastrointestinal form and its symptoms
Salmonellosis in a child can occur in different ways. It all depends on the age of the patient, the state of the immune system, the degree of spread of the infection, the quality of the therapy provided, and many other factors.
The incubation period for Salmonellosis in children is usually 1 to 4 days, although some babies show symptoms within hours of infection.
First, there are characteristic signs of intoxication. Body temperature rises to 37.5-38 degrees. There is weakness, chills, headaches. The baby becomes whiny, does not sleep well, is naughty.
Then you can observe symptoms that indicate damage to the tissues of the digestive system. There are spastic pains in the abdomen - discomfort, as a rule, is localized in the region of the stomach and navel. The patient suffers from nausea, which then turns into uncontrollable vomiting.
The symptoms of salmonellosis in children include diarrhea - feces are liquid, watery, and sometimes foamy, and often acquire a greenish tint. Bloating and rumbling in the abdomen can be observed. In the most severe cases, the baby's skin becomes bluish. Clonic seizures may occur.
Sometimes salmonellosis develops as enterocolitis. In such casesafter about 2-3 days from the onset of the disease, the volume of feces begins to decrease. There are false urges to defecate. In the stool, sometimes there are impurities of mucus and blood.
Gastritis form
In some patients, salmonellosis occurs like gastritis. In this case, there is no diarrhea, which sometimes greatly complicates the diagnostic process. The inflammatory process begins abruptly - there is a slight increase in body temperature, but other symptoms of intoxication are practically absent.
Little patients suffer from severe pain, which is localized in the epigastrium. As the disease progresses, severe vomiting appears.
It is worth noting that even after successful treatment, bacteria still remain in the patient's body for some time. In the acute form, the child is contagious for 15-90 days. However, sometimes the disease becomes chronic - in such cases, the patient is a carrier of bacteria for another three months even after undergoing appropriate therapy.
Typhoid-like salmonellosis
Salmonellosis in a child may be accompanied by other symptoms. In the typhoid-like form, disorders such as vomiting and diarrhea, if present, quickly disappear. At the same time, the baby is worried about constant headaches. The child becomes weak and lethargic. There are problems with sleep - small patients constantly wake up at night.
Wave-like changes in body temperature are also characteristic - fever is replacednormal state and vice versa. Against the background of the disease, an increase in the size of the liver and spleen is often observed. A hemorrhagic rash appears on the skin of a small patient. It is worth noting that the clinical picture of such a disease is very similar to typhoid fever, which leads to incorrect diagnosis and, accordingly, ineffective therapy.
Clinical picture in septic form of the disease
This form of salmonellosis is usually diagnosed in babies in the first year of life. In the initial stages, you can observe the appearance of standard symptoms of gastroenteritis. However, these disturbances are rapidly disappearing.
The disease is accompanied by constant fluctuations in body temperature. The baby starts to sweat a lot. During the examination, the doctor may note an increase in the spleen and liver, the appearance of tachycardia. The characteristic symptoms include myalgia - the muscles are constantly in a state of tension, so the child suffers from constant pain and weakness.
It is worth noting that sometimes the infection spreads to other organ systems. In the absence of proper treatment, salmonellosis often ends with the formation of purulent foci in the lungs, the development of pneumonia and pleurisy, damage to the kidneys and heart.
Features of the course of the disease in newborns
Salmonellosis in a child in the first year of life can proceed a little differently. In this case, signs of general intoxication of the body come to the fore. For example, you can observe the retraction of a large fontanel. The baby becomes restless, sleeps badly, refuses to eat and oftenspits up. Bloating also interferes with your baby's sleep and rest.
Body temperature rises to 39 degrees, although in some cases this figure may remain within the normal range for the first few days. Diarrhea usually appears after 3-4 days. Lack of treatment in this case often leads to death - you can not ignore the doctor's instructions.
Diagnostic measures
It is urgent to see a doctor immediately after the first symptoms appear. Diagnosing salmonellosis in a child can be difficult, as other intestinal infections are accompanied by similar disorders.
- First, a general examination is performed, the doctor collects information about the symptoms to take an anamnesis.
- An effective diagnostic procedure is bacterial culture of vomit or stool. Such a study takes several days, but it makes it possible to grow a culture of the pathogen, determine its type, and test the sensitivity of bacteria to certain drugs. If a generalized infection is suspected, then bile and urine samples may also be taken for analysis.
- Sometimes immunofluorescence is additionally recommended - by the way, kits for conducting such tests at home can be purchased at a pharmacy.
- Serological tests for salmonellosis in children are also carried out. Such a study allows you to detect the presence of specific antibodies in the blood, which confirm the presence of pathogens in the patient's body.salmonellosis. By the way, the child is sent to such tests both at the stage of diagnosis and after the completion of the course of therapy (this makes it possible to check whether the infection has really been cured).
Drug therapy
Treatment of such a disease is best done in a hospital - so the child will be constantly under the supervision of a doctor. The specialist will select and draw up a therapy regimen, focusing on the patient's age, his general condition, the degree of spread of the infection throughout the body.
- Antibiotics for salmonellosis in children are used only when the disease is severe or the infection is generalized. Effective are Rifampicin, Amikacin, Nevigramon. Mild infections do not require antibiotics.
- Sorbents (for example, Enterosgel) are prescribed for small patients, which help to bind and remove toxins released by pathogenic bacteria from the body.
- Dehydration is extremely dangerous, so the body is rehydrated using special solutions.
- Intestinal microflora suffers from salmonellosis first of all - its natural composition must be restored. For this purpose, patients are prescribed "Linex", "Bifiform", "Hilak". Such drugs help to populate tissues with beneficial bacteria and create conditions in the intestines for their active reproduction.
- For severe diarrhea, drugs such as Neointestopan, Imodium are used.
- If the baby suffers from pain instomach, then the doctor prescribes antispasmodic drugs (for example, No-Shpu).
- The little patient needs bed rest, rest and proper nutrition.
How long is salmonellosis treated in a child? In this case, it all depends on the state of the immune system. Sometimes the symptoms of an intestinal infection disappear after 4-5 days. In some children, a bacteriocarrier is formed, which requires additional restorative measures - therapy in this case can last for months.
Treatment of salmonellosis in children at home
It is impossible to self-medicate with such a disease, especially when it comes to a small child. After discharge from the hospital, the baby needs appropriate care. In particular, it is necessary to maintain the water-s alt balance. The child needs to drink a lot. For this purpose, juices, fruit drinks, teas, compotes, non-carbonated mineral water are suitable.
It is important to follow the right diet. And periodic children should take vitamin complexes - this will help strengthen the immune system, prevent the transition of acute inflammation into a chronic form and bacteria.
Features of food
Treatment of salmonellosis in children necessarily includes nutrition correction. A properly selected diet will help to gradually improve the functioning of the digestive system.
If we are talking about a newborn baby, then, of course, breast milk remains the main food for him. In the diet of a child older than four months (if he is on artificialfeeding) you can include special fermented milk mixtures, buckwheat or rice porridge on the water, as well as light vegetable puree.
Diet for salmonellosis in older children has some features. The diet should consist of light, frayed dishes that are quickly absorbed by the digestive system. The menu can include baked fruits, boiled vegetables in the form of mashed potatoes, dairy-free cereals. Fish and meat are allowed, but only low-fat varieties - such products must undergo proper heat treatment. It is better to use them grated.
Of course, some foods should be excluded from the diet. The following products are banned:
- dairy and sour-milk products, as they increase intestinal motility and only aggravate the condition of a small patient;
- pastry, rye flour pastries;
- s alts and canned foods;
- sweets;
- spices;
- smoked meats;
- berries;
- fresh vegetables and fruits (they should be consumed either boiled or baked).
In the first five days, the daily amount of food should be reduced. Of course, keeping the child only on the water is not worth it, especially if the baby is hungry. Fractional nutrition is more preferable. You need to eat often (every 2 hours), but in small portions - this way you can relieve the burden on the digestive tract, ensure fast, most complete digestion and assimilation of food.
This diet should be followed for 27-30 days. Of course, as you recover, you can gradually introduce familiar foods and dairy products into the diet, but it is important to carefully monitor the reaction of the child.
Possible consequences of salmonellosis in children
Each parent facing a similar problem is interested in how such a disease can affect the he alth and further development of the baby. It should immediately be said that the treatment of salmonellosis in children in most cases ends successfully - the body is fully restored.
As for complications, their appearance, as a rule, is associated either with improperly performed or delayed treatment, or with a strong weakening of the immune system (for example, infants and babies born prematurely are more difficult to tolerate intestinal infections).
- The disease is associated with prolonged dehydration, which is dangerous, especially when it comes to a growing organism. Sometimes, against the background of the disease, there is a disruption in the functioning of the renal tubules, which leads to the accumulation of nitrogenous wastes in the blood, the development of renal failure.
- Protracted intoxication negatively affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system. In severe cases, salmonellosis is complicated by cerebral edema.
- Together with the blood, the pathogen quickly spreads throughout the body. In most cases, the digestive system suffers from infection, but the inflammatory process sometimes spreads to other organs.
- If a child gets sick with salmonellosis, then for some time he is a carrier of the infection. Sometimes such a bacteriocarrierbecomes chronic. In this case, the baby must undergo an additional course of treatment. In addition, there may be problems with attending a kindergarten, school, swimming pool and other public places - in a hospital, doctors may refuse to issue a certificate.
- If there is a chronic form of the disease, then patients periodically experience relapses of salmonellosis.
Prevention: how to prevent infection
Prevention of salmonellosis in children comes down to following some simple rules:
- To teach a child to observe the rules of personal hygiene is from an early age. If the baby is still too small, then you can not let him out of sight - carefully watch what the child plays with and what the child touches.
- It is worth limiting the contact of children with farm animals that can be carriers of infection.
- We must try to limit the contact of the child with the sick.
- All food should be properly cooked. Remember to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating. Buy meat products and eggs from qualified sellers, follow the rules for their storage.
- If you have any doubts about the quality of drinking water, it does not hurt to get a home filter or at least boil water before drinking.
- Don't swim in potentially dangerous waters.
- The house should be regularly wet cleaned, while not forgetting to thoroughly wash all children's toys.
- Baby clothes (as well as mother's clothes and beddinglinen) should be washed at high temperature and be sure to iron.
Symptoms of salmonellosis in children are not that hard to spot. If there are any alarming changes in the condition of the baby, you should immediately consult a doctor. The infection is much easier to treat if it is diagnosed in time.
