Sudden exanthema in babies and children: symptoms, causes and treatment
The sudden rash It is also known as roseola or sixth disease. It consists of one Acute mild condition that occurs with the appearance of spots on the skin that resemble a rash and other symptoms that we will detail throughout this note.
One of the symptoms of a sudden rash is the sudden appearance of a high fever followed by a rash on the skin. The appearance of the rash on the skin occurs once the fever has disappeared.
Sudden rash is a benign disease that is caused by the virus human herpes type 6 and in some cases although less frequently it is produced by the type 7 virus.
This disease affects young children, being very common in babies ranging from 2 months to 3 years, being more frequent among children of 2 and 3 years.
This disease can occur at any time of the year and has an incubation period of ten days.
Symptoms of a sudden rash
During the illness the child is irritable, annoyed, with nasal congestion, a red, inflamed throat, and an increase in the size of the ganglia of the neck is also seen.
The fever in the same way that it appears abruptly disappears in the same way between the third and sixth day of the beginning of the disease.
The rash on the skin are small, flat spots without relief, pink or reddish and appear on the trunk, on the face and arms and legs, and lasts one to three days. These spots do not sting, nor do they cause discomfort.
The sudden rash It is spread from one child to another mainly through contact with saliva and respiratory secretions.
It can be spread by children who already have symptoms of the infection as by people who do not have symptoms or are asymptomatic who have eliminated the virus but who still remains in the latent organism.
Once the patient has suffered from a sudden rash, the disease does not develop again, the disease does not recur.
As we have said before, it is a benign disease that usually does not present complications, some complications are seizures, encephalitis, meningitis and a platelet descent can also occur.
As happens with other diseases as soon as we notice that the child has a high fever without knowing the cause we must go without delay to the pediatrician to make the timely review and follow-up since it is one day later when the rash appears.
Treatment of the sudden rash
Usually the treatment that is usually prescribed are those indicated to reduce fever, antipyretics and keep the child well hydrated and treat the spots with moisturizing and emollient cream to keep the skin also well hydrated.
That is, medical treatment basically consists of keeping the skin well hydrated with moisturizers and emollients, prescribed by the pediatrician
Can it be prevented?
To prevent this disease there is no vaccine, the best prevention to prevent it from spreading is to maintain good hygiene, both in personal hygiene and in the utensils of the child, with frequent washing of hands, and to use disposable tissues for nasal congestion. This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Pediatrician. We advise you to consult your trusted pediatrician.