Tens of years ago, scarlet fever confidently stood on the same level as the plague and almost inevitably led to the death of the patient. The worst thing is that at that time scarlet fever was exclusively a childhood disease; adults practically did not suffer from it.

It is difficult to even calculate how many children aged 2 to 10 years died from this terrible disease. Fortunately, now everything has changed radically - scarlet fever has become no more dangerous than a common cold and for children it is not at all scary.

Outbreaks of scarlet fever are recorded extremely rarely today, however, this now happens not only in children. The disease also affects adults quite often. However, the most unpleasant thing in this whole situation is that you can get scarlet fever more than once. After the illness, immunity does not arise, as is the case with chickenpox.

If you are a very unlucky person, you can get scarlet fever, just like the common cold, almost every year. To understand why repeated scarlet fever occurs, let's figure out where this disease comes from, how many people suffer from it, and what its symptoms are.

Article outline

Causative agents of scarlet fever

In general, scarlet fever, in terms of its etiology, is very similar to the most common sore throat. The causative agents of the disease are staphylococci of a special group, which quickly spread among children. That is why scarlet fever is an extremely contagious disease. Most often it affects children from 2 to 7 years old. It is practically not registered in newborns, thanks to maternal immunity.

If we talk about how many suffer from scarlet fever and the actual severity of the disease. In adults, scarlet fever is much milder than in children and all clinical symptoms are very mild. However, adults so rarely get scarlet fever that it’s not worth even discussing it; children are a different matter. In children, infection usually occurs in groups. You can catch scarlet fever at school or in kindergarten.

There are several ways to catch scarlet fever. Most often, the disease is transmitted by airborne droplets. You can also become infected through the so-called contact method, through the patient’s personal belongings or hygiene items.

It is quite rare, but you can still get scarlet fever through food if the causative agent of the disease gets into certain foods. Well, a completely exotic option for getting sick is when streptococcus enters the body through open wounds, in these cases the bacterium settles and begins to develop directly on the damaged surfaces of the skin or mucous membranes and the disease begins with a rash in this area.

In fact, you should only be wary of the first two options – airborne and household. Scarlet fever epidemics in kindergartens and schools follow exactly this scenario.

Children with scarlet fever are usually considered contagious exactly 21 days from the moment the first symptoms appear, regardless of how long they are actually sick. Even if the symptoms go away on day 5, quarantine should still be at least three weeks to avoid infecting others or getting re-infected.

Now the most important thing is immunity. Unfortunately, as you already understand, a person does not develop stable immunity from staphylococci and the disease can easily reoccur. With scarlet fever, like with the flu, only the type of bacteria that the child has already had is safe.

That is why you should not relax; you can get scarlet fever as many times as you like. This is especially true among children; epidemics most often occur in schools and kindergartens, and even if your child has already been sick, you should not neglect quarantine - the disease still remains very dangerous and you can easily get sick again.

Symptoms

Before scarlet fever appears in all its glory, it is usually preceded by an incubation period. This is the time when streptococcus has already entered the body and is just beginning to develop. The incubation period usually lasts from 2 to 12 days, at which time the person is actually already sick, but he does not yet have any symptoms.

But as soon as the incubation period ends, the disease begins abruptly. The patient's temperature quickly rises to particularly high levels; the fever can reach 39–40 degrees in children. General health also deteriorates sharply.

Lethargy, apathy, drowsiness and headache appear. In the initial stage of the disease, nausea and vomiting may also occur. Later, when the disease begins to actively develop, the following symptoms appear and increase:

• , usually appears several hours after the first symptoms of the disease develop. The rashes on the skin are very characteristic in the form of bright pink dots. First of all, rashes appear on the face, side surfaces of the body and in skin folds. Later, the rash spreads throughout the body.
• Another characteristic sign of scarlet fever is the pronounced contrast between the red, literally flaming cheeks and the pale nasolabial triangle - a rash never occurs in this place.
• A sick child's face is usually swollen, and there is an unhealthy shine in the eyes.
• A mandatory sign of scarlet fever is catarrhal or follicular tonsillitis. It is expressed by greatly enlarged tonsils, on which a whitish coating or even purulent plugs are often found.
• The jaw lymph nodes will likely be very enlarged and painful.

The active period of the disease usually lasts from 3 to 7 days. By the end of the week, the temperature begins to gradually subside, and the rash turns pale and gradually disappears from the skin, leaving behind no pigment spots.

After 2 weeks, when the patient is still considered contagious, active peeling of the skin begins. The most delicate areas are attacked first - the face, neck, armpits, and then the entire surface of the body is involved in the process. In large layers, especially in children, the skin comes off from the palms, soles, fingers and toes.

Somewhat earlier than the onset of peeling of the skin, the tongue is cleared, which at the beginning of the disease always turns bright crimson. The tongue acquires a normal color already on the 5th-6th day of illness, at which time the entire rash disappears from it.

If earlier scarlet fever was always severe, now in children and adults the disease is increasingly mild. Clinical symptoms in this case are very mild and can completely disappear already on the 3rd day after the onset of the active phase of the disease.

The main thing is to start treatment on time and not to start the disease. If treatment is not taken seriously, serious complications may occur in the form of damage to the heart, kidneys or lungs, even death. It was these complications that in the past were the cause of high mortality from.

Treatment

In adults and children, scarlet fever is usually treated at home. Inpatient treatment is indicated only for severe cases of the disease, as well as for children who have not reached one year of age and have never had scarlet fever.

It is very important that quarantine is strictly observed during treatment. Children who have had scarlet fever should not be allowed to attend classes for three weeks after the onset of the first acute symptoms of the disease.

The main therapy for the disease is the use of antimicrobial drugs. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that the antibiotic must be prescribed by a qualified doctor. Self-diagnosis and self-medication in the case of scarlet fever are unacceptable and extremely dangerous. In addition to antibiotics, the following measures would be useful for a speedy cure:

• Bed rest. Sick children should spend maximum time in bed. Leaving the house and engaging in active activities is prohibited. This regimen is necessary to avoid complications from the cardiovascular and urinary systems.
• Symptomatic treatment of sore throat is necessary. It is best to gargle with herbal infusions of chamomile or sage. You can use special sprays and aseptic tablets.
• Nutrition should be rational and as light as possible. In the first days, it is better to feed the child broths and soups without meat.
• Wet cleaning and ventilation of the room where the sick child is located should be carried out at least 2 times a day - in the morning and in the evening.

And, most importantly, the disease will probably pass quickly and will not cause complications if you follow all the doctors’ recommendations, do not violate the treatment regimen and treat it extremely seriously and responsibly.

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Scarlet fever is an acute bacterial infection caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. It is a childhood infection. Because it is mostly children who get sick.

The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets or household contact. Through dishes, toys, etc.

Scarlet fever Quarantine and incubation period

The incubation period for scarlet fever lasts 2-7 days. Therefore, in accordance with SP 3.1.2.1203-03, in a kindergarten the group is quarantined for 7 days from the last day the last child with scarlet fever visited the group. During this time, children who have not been in contact with sick people will not be accepted into the group. Daily examinations of the pharynx, skin, and thermometry are carried out. In the 1st and 2nd grades of school, in case of scarlet fever, quarantine is not imposed. However, daily inspections are carried out in the classroom. Scarlet fever Quarantine

Is scarlet fever contagious? From whom can you get infected?

The probability of contracting scarlet fever through contact with a sick person is much less than, for example, the probability of getting sick. In a fairly large number of people, group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus lives in the body (including on the tonsils) without causing illness. Among adults, there are 10-50% of such people, and among children there are even more. If a case of chickenpox is registered in a kindergarten group, the quarantine often continues for a very long time until all the children in the group are ill. With scarlet fever, everything is usually limited to isolated cases of the disease.

A person with scarlet fever is contagious during the first 5-7 days of illness. Especially in the first days. Before starting antibiotics and the first 2-3 days after starting them. After a course of antibiotics (7-10 days), a person with scarlet fever is not contagious. And it does not pose a danger to others.

You can become infected not only from a person with scarlet fever. You can get scarlet fever after contact with a patient with tonsillitis, pharyngitis, otitis, pneumonia, streptoderma, erysipelas. These diseases are caused by the same pathogen as scarlet fever.

Clinical manifestations depend on many factors; a child gets scarlet fever if this type of streptococcus produces erythrotoxin. And the child has no immunity to this toxin. If there is antitoxic immunity, a person, upon contact even with a person with scarlet fever, may get a sore throat or pharyngitis or not get sick at all.

You can also become infected from patients with mild and asymptomatic forms of scarlet fever, from patients with chronic tonsillitis, or from bacteria carriers. But the likelihood of such infection is much less.

Most often, children from two to seven years old suffer from scarlet fever; up to 1 year, the child retains antibodies received from the mother, including through breast milk. Until the age of 2, children have less contact with other children and adults. Children over 10 years of age suffer from scarlet fever less often. Young adults under 30 years of age get sick very rarely. But such cases do occur; scarlet fever practically does not occur in people over 30 years of age.

Main symptoms of scarlet fever

Temperature rise

As a rule, the temperature is high before starting antibiotics, but with a mild form, the temperature may be low or not rise at all.

Sore throat

Severe sore throat is common. In addition, you can see severe redness of the throat (flaming pharynx). As a rule, there are purulent plaques on the tonsils. (In mild cases, the usual redness of the neck).

Rash

A rash is one of the main symptoms on the basis of which a preliminary diagnosis of scarlet fever is made. It appears already on the first or second day of illness, first on the face, then on the body. A pinpoint rash on a hyperemic (red) background. The face looks especially characteristic: red cheeks and forehead and a pale nasolabial triangle. The rash lasts 3-5 days, then slowly goes away. The child's skin is dry and rough. In mild forms, the rash may be invisible to the eye, but dry and rough skin can be detected by touch.

Language

In the first days of the disease, the tongue is covered with a white coating, then it clears around the edges, and the papillae on the tongue become visible. The tongue with scarlet fever is called “crimson.” A “raspberry” tongue can also be seen in mild forms of the disease.

Peeling skin

Peeling skin is the main symptom of scarlet fever. It is when skin peeling appears (in the presence of other symptoms) that the final diagnosis is made. Peeling begins on the seventh to tenth day of illness. On the body there is fine peeling (pityriasis-like). And on the pads of the fingers and palms it is plate-like, clearly visible.

Analyzes

Scarlet fever smear

Currently, the diagnosis of scarlet fever in Russia is made based on the clinical picture. On the 1st-2nd day of illness, a smear is taken from a child diagnosed with scarlet fever for group A beta hemolytic streptococcus. If there are deposits in the pharynx, an additional smear is taken for diphtheria. For prescribing treatment for a patient with suspected scarlet fever, this examination is not of fundamental importance. Since the result is assessed after 72 hours, and the patient requires treatment immediately. There is no point in taking a smear after starting antibiotic treatment. Since streptococcus quickly loses its ability to reproduce. And it dies with the right treatment.

BL smear

There are SP 3.1.2.1108-02 on the prevention of diphtheria, according to which a smear is taken from all patients with tonsillitis (in the presence of plaque on the tonsils) for Corynebacterium diphtheria. Scarlet fever is nothing more than a sore throat with a rash. Plaques on the tonsils are usually present. Therefore, in case of scarlet fever, in the presence of plaque, a BL smear is taken from the child on the first day after seeing a doctor (ideally) to exclude diphtheria.

Urine and blood tests

According to SP 3.1.2.1203-03 about scarlet fever, on the 4th, 10th and 21st days from the onset of the disease, the child takes a general urine test. And on the 21st day of illness - a general blood test. This is necessary so as not to miss the complications of scarlet fever (acute glomerulonephritis and rheumatism).

Antibiotics Scarlet fever Quarantine

• Scarlet fever is the only childhood infection that is caused by a bacteria rather than a virus. Before the invention of antibiotics, scarlet fever was a very dangerous and even fatal disease. Now she is very well treated with antibiotics.
• Prescribing antibiotics for scarlet fever is necessary. Without them, the disease can lead to life-threatening complications and death.
• The drugs of choice are penicillin antibiotics in tablets or syrups. Amoxicillin, flemoxin, flemoklav, augmentin, etc. If you are allergic to this group of drugs, antibiotics of the erythromycin series are prescribed: erythromycin, macropen, sumamed. Parenteral antibiotics are urgently needed only when the child’s condition is serious. Or if your child is unable to swallow medications because of a sore throat or vomiting. In all other cases, the administration of antibiotics by mouth will be quite effective. And the child’s condition will improve within the first day from the start of treatment.
• Antibiotic treatment should be long enough. The minimum course is 7 days, usually 10 days. Improvement in the child's condition in the first days from the start of treatment is not a reason to discontinue antibiotics. If you stop taking antibiotics early, complications may develop.

Duration of illness and regimen

If a child is diagnosed with scarlet fever (in accordance with the same SanPin), the doctor will not allow him into the children's team for 21 days. Parents don't understand why. The child’s well-being returns to normal much earlier; some parents try to register the child for school or kindergarten earlier.

Scarlet fever with its clinical manifestations lasts on average 10 days, in case of timely and correct treatment. At this time, the child requires bed or semi-bed rest and a gentle diet. After 10 days, the child’s well-being returns to normal. The average course of antibiotic therapy for scarlet fever lasts 10 days. After which the child becomes non-infectious and safe for others. After 10 days, patients hospitalized with this diagnosis in the hospital are discharged.

Then the child remains without treatment at home for another 11 days. For what? During this period, complications may develop. Therefore, gentle treatment and medical supervision are required. During this period, acute respiratory infections are dangerous for the child. And, especially, a repeated encounter with streptococcal infection. A non-sick person is dangerous to others. On the contrary, those around may turn out to be dangerous for the patient.

From the 11th to the 21st day of illness, the child is allowed to walk (without much physical activity, in good weather). A fortified diet and a gentle regimen are required.

On the 22nd day from the onset of the disease, subject to complete clinical recovery and normal test results, the patient with scarlet fever is admitted to the children's group.

Vaccination against scarlet fever Scarlet fever Quarantine

Many parents would like to give their child vaccination against scarlet fever so as not to worry that the child will get sick. But, unfortunately, such a vaccine does not exist yet. Measures to prevent scarlet fever boil down to avoiding contact with sick people. Sanitation of foci of infection, ventilation, frequent wet cleaning and quartz treatment of premises, hardening and increasing the general immunity of the body.

Repeated scarlet fever Scarlet fever Quarantine

The causative agent of scarlet fever, beta-hemolytic streptococcus, has many variants that differ from each other; antimicrobial immunity is developed only to one specific variant of streptococcus. Therefore, a person can suffer from tonsillitis, pharyngitis or otitis many times, which are caused by different variants of the microbe.

But, erythrotoxins (toxins that cause a rash in scarlet fever) are similar in different types of streptococci. Therefore, antitoxic immunity is universal - for all variants of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. Based on this, a person can get scarlet fever only once in his life. This was exactly the case before the invention of antibiotics.

But now cases of recurrent scarlet fever are becoming more common. Official sources indicate a frequency of 2-4% of cases. Repeated scarlet fever accounts for that much of the total number of people with this disease, but in fact it is more common. What is the reason?

The reason is that antibiotics prescribed from the first day of illness kill germs very quickly. And immunity to them and their toxins does not have time to develop. Therefore, repeated scarlet fever occurs in children. But, as a rule, it proceeds easily.

Fortunately, today, scarlet fever is not the most terrible disease. With the right approach, it is very treatable. SanPin for scarlet fever can be viewed

I wish everyone good health! This is all about Scarlet fever Quarantine

Is it possible to get scarlet fever again?

Scarlet fever has been known to humanity for decades. In ancient times, it generally stood on the same level as the plague. It’s scary to imagine how many children’s lives were taken by this dangerous disease at that time.

Today everything is much simpler. Scarlet fever belongs to the same category of diseases as the common cold. Although it is quite painful than standard acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections.

Where and how can you get infected?

Scarlet fever is positioned as a purely childhood disease. Of course, cases of illness in adults cannot be excluded, but their percentage is so insignificant that it is not even worth discussing.

So, you can become infected directly from a patient and a carrier of the infection.

Airborne path

Infection occurs during direct communication, for example, through a kiss. Streptococcus toxins enter the oral cavity and begin to provoke the first characteristic symptoms:

 Redness.
 Dry tongue.
 Sore throat.

Contactless communication

That is, by transferring any objects to each other.

Through food

Quite a rare case, but still has a right to exist. Infection occurs through contaminated products.

Through an open wound

The most exotic option. Streptococcus begins its development in a damaged area of ​​the body. Mostly typical for adults.

Children are exposed to scarlet fever in public places. In kindergartens and schools, epidemics break out almost every season, and it is not uncommon for scarlet fever to appear several times a year.

Is it possible to get sick again?

Unfortunately, yes! To scarlet fever, as well as to the flu, after illness, natural immunity is not developed. Therefore, you can get sick at least every year. The child is not susceptible only to those infectious disease groups that he has already had. The rest (mutated) can again attack the child’s body.