When the baby is sick, you need to urgently go to the clinic, especially if herpes sore throat is found in children, because it is the children who endure it very hard. The main thing here is to correctly diagnose the disease, because herpangina can be confused with both stomatitis and purulent tonsillitis. You also need to know that the treatment of herpes sore throat in children can differ significantly from treatment in adults. Therefore, do not self-medicate and urgently show the baby to a specialist.

CAUSES

Herpangina in children occurs on the basis of the Coxsackie virus and ECHO infection. This is a whole group of pathogens of acute childhood diseases. The infection is transmitted by already infected with clinically formed signs of the disease and virus carriers.

The causes of transmission of herpes sore throat in children are many factors. Consider the main mechanisms of transmission of the virus.

The contact path is the communication of a child with a sick person or a virus carrier. Thus, the risk of infection through discharge from the nasopharynx increases.

Airborne droplets – during the conversation of children with patients, the presence next to a sneezing or coughing child.

Fecal -oral route – infection occurs during the general use of household items, through toys, food, unwashed hands.

Close communication with convalescents (patients in the recovery stage). They serve as sources of infection, because the virus continues to be shed for about four weeks.

The virus enters the child’s body through the nasal mucosa and oral mucosa. Pathogens penetrate into the lymph nodes of the intestine and multiply briskly. After reproduction, they make their way into the blood, where the viruses cause rapid development. Due to this, viral pathogens spread throughout the child’s body. They are fixed in various tissues, where the processes of inflammation and dystrophy are formed.

The highest point of infection with herpangina in children is from the beginning of summer to mid-autumn. During this period, the disease is highly contagious. Reduced immunity can also cause infection, especially if the child has a cold and there are people with herpangina around him .

SYMPTOMS

General signs

Herpetic sore throat manifests itself in children almost as well as SARS and acute respiratory infections. There are signs characteristic of a respiratory disease:

general intoxication, weakness, malaise;

severe headache and dizziness;

nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea;

a sharp increase in temperature;

cough and runny nose;

a small rash of bright red color in the area of the tonsils and on the mucous membrane of the palate;

sometimes a small rash may form on the face and body;

babies often have seizures.

Herpetic sore throat in a child still has some differences from other infections in that:

no swelling in the nasopharynx;

no abundance of nasal mucus;

there is no frequent bleeding;

in the summer, herpetic sore throat in children is much more common than any other viral disease.

Timeline of symptoms

The latency of infection is from a week to two. Herpangina in a child begins with a high fever. Weakness, malaise, inability to eat. The head, the muscles of the limbs begin to hurt very strongly, the whole body begins to ache with pain.

These symptoms are followed by a sore throat. In herpes sore throat in children, local changes progress rapidly. In the initial stage of the disease, against the background of hyperemia of the mucous membrane of the tonsils, palate, tongue – against the background of the entire oral cavity, small papules appear, with incredible speed they begin to form into vesicles filled with serous content.

Two days later, the vesicles open, forming grayish-white ulcers, lined with a halo of hyperemia. Or the combined sores turn into confluent defects. The resulting erosion in the mucosal area is very painful. As a result, children cannot take food and even any liquid.

In children with a weak immune system, the rash may flare up every three to four days. In this connection, the resumption of fever and signs of intoxication are accompanied. After five days, the fever subsides, and the defects formed on the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and pharynx are epithelialized in a week.

DIAGNOSTICS

In the early stages of herpes sore throat in children, in order for the symptoms to confirm this disease, it is necessary to contact the local pediatrician. First of all, the pediatrician performs pharyngoscopy – a clinical method for visual examination of the condition of the pharynx.

If necessary, the doctor gives a referral for examinations to the ENT . Also, referrals are given for the delivery of various kinds of tests – a general blood test, a serological blood test, an analysis of the fluid from the vesicles to verify the virus, swabs and swabs from the nasopharynx. Only after a complete medical examination, the decision of the attending physician will be made – how to treat herpes sore throat in children.

TREATMENT

In children, the treatment of herpes sore throat is not accompanied by characteristic antiviral therapy. The disease usually appears once, after which the baby’s body acquires indefinite (eternal) immunity. A single transferred herpangina can mean like – a hard-tolerated vaccination. Nevertheless, symptomatic treatment of herpetic sore throat in children is necessary.

Therapy Methods

In children, treatment is usually carried out in this way:

at high temperatures, antipyretics are used. For this, soft preparations for children are prescribed, such as Panadol, Efferalgan;

with severe inflammation, drugs such as Ibuprofen and Nimesulide are usually enough ;

to reduce the pain syndrome, the safest means are used – this is a decoction of sage for gargling, mouth cavity and Castellani liquid ;

antiseptic agents are used to treat open erosions;

the rest of the therapeutic measures should be used as with ordinary angina.

Care and nutrition during treatment

Also, a sign of a speedy recovery is formed with fairly proper care for a sick child:

the baby needs to provide complete rest;

provide all the conditions for a good, restful sleep;

be sure to ventilate the room;

wet cleaning is required.

Form a proper diet, which consists of:

warm, thin porridges;

warm teas, not very sweet compotes, medicinal decoctions;

broths and soups, which should not be very salty and hot.

However, with what to treat herpes sore throat in children, it is necessary for the entire period of the disease to provide the baby’s body with a complete vitamin complex.

Herpes sore throat in a child should in no case be carried out by warming the throat with various warming agents. These measures can only lead to the activation of the virus and a great risk of the duration of the disease.

COMPLICATIONS

With a low reactivity of the organism or a high level of viremia , generalization of an enteroviral infection with the formation of:

meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord;

encephalitis is a group of diseases characterized by inflammation of the brain;

myocarditis is an inflammatory lesion of the heart muscle;

pyelonephritis is an inflammation of the kidneys;

hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is a dangerous acute eye disease.

The appearance of such extremely severe complications after herpes sore throat in children can lead to permanent nervous and heart diseases. There may also be deaths. Since children with a weak immune system suffer from herpangina , they should therefore be under the supervision of the attending physician. In this regard, the diagnosis is made at an early stage and surgical treatment is carried out.

So, summing up, it must be said that it is better to treat herpangina as soon as possible, this is not tonsillitis or a cold, herpangina can give serious complications. And you need to monitor the child, if you notice a decrease in immunity, then be on your guard, because low immunity can give a lot of serious problems to the baby’s body. But now that you know what herpangina is and how dangerous it is for children, you must urgently show the baby to a specialist.