Chickenpox is a viral disease caused by varicella zoster. It can cause reddish spots that form like blisters throughout the body. The spots can range from the size of a mongo bean to as big as a dime and it is often very itchy. Most kids get chickenpox in the hot season as they play outside with other kids who may have had recent chickenpox.

Chickenpox also known as varicella is a common childhood disease and almost all children will have it before their adolescent years. Chickenpox is contagious just like any other viral disease. It can spread through sneezing, coughing, sharing toys and food with someone who has the disease. Most children who have chickenpox do not realize that they have it because the appearance of the rashes does not come until 2 to 3 days of the active infection. Children are highly contagious 2 to 3 days before the blisters appear and after the blistered have fully healed and crusted off.

What are the symptoms of chickenpox?

• Fever
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Fatigue and body weakness
• Appearance of rash 2 to 3 days after other symptoms are felt

Chickenpox is diagnosed by a doctor upon seeing the symptoms on a child. Medications are usually not necessary as the immune system will fight off the virus over time. Treatment will just focus on isolating the child to prevent disease transfer to other individuals in the household. Interventions to prevent the child from scratching will also need to be implemented to avoid infection. Here are some tips and advices you can do when your child has chickenpox.

• Keep children cool because sweating makes the blisters more itchy
• Cut your child’s fingernails to avoid scratching and skin tearing that can lead to re-infection
• Oatmeal baths can help sooth itchy skin
• Calamine lotion can also alleviate itching
• Do not use aspirin for fever as most children develop Reye’s syndrome, a very serious condition.

In the old days many people die of chickenpox. It’s good thing that now there is a vaccine available given at the age of 1. It may not assure you of not getting infected with the disease in later life but the symptoms and complications will be much milder compared to those who have not received the vaccination.

What is SVI?

Systemic viral infection is a term being used to connote a health condition affecting the whole body. Typically, the virus enters the body leading to a local affectation with increasing chances of infecting the blood circulation and various body parts. The rigorousness of the infection may depend on the individual’s homeodynamic state or body resistance. In addition the strain of virus invading the system can highly influence the client’s condition. The most common types or strains of viruses are as follows:

• Measles
• Chickenpox
• HIV
• Mumps
• Influenza
• Rubella
• Hepatitis
• Rubeola

Viral infection can also be categorized as an acute and chronic illness. The former is usually abrupt and occurs for a short period of time usually less than six months while the latter is composed of activation and reactivation of signs and symptoms, usually occurring more than six months.

Interventions

In general, a virus is usually self limiting which means it will be subsiding on its own. In the event that symptoms remained uncontrolled, antiviral drugs are available to counteract the infection. Other supportive measures which can be of help are as follows:

• Institution of enough rest to reduce the cellular activity of the body.
• Liberal amounts of fluid for hydration purposes-force fluids up to 1.5 litres.
• Good nutrition and balanced diet.
• Symptomatic approaches like if the person has fever, an anti pyretic will be prescribed.
• Decongestants and anti cough medications for respiratory problems.
• Hospitalization which may require insertion of an IV line and administration of IV drugs, anti viral agents to be more specific.

Prevention

Experts suggest the following to maintain a healthy body and be prevented from different diseases:

• Daily intake of multivitamins
• A diet with Vitamin C and other essential minerals. Fruits and vegetables should always be included.
• Avoiding congested places and persons with suspected viruses.
• Daily exercise regimen
• Universal precaution or hand washing

For children with untoward manifestations and deteriorating symptoms, consult to a medical practitioner may be needed for further management and evaluation.

Assessment and Findings

• It is very important to tell parents that children with dengue can manifest a fever as high as 41°C. Fever may begin on the third day of the incubation period which can last up to 7 days. The term saddle back fever is commonly used to connote appearance, abatement and reappearance of fever. To add up, an elevated body temperature is usually preceded by mottling of skin, a flushed face, erythematic skin and chills.
• Headache can be present causing an altered comfort to children.
• Nausea and vomiting may be present in some cases.
• Maculopapular rashes or confluent of the face, thorax and other parts of the body can be seen.
• Myalgia or muscle pain may be reported especially in the major bony prominences.
• Hemorrhagic symptoms may likely to happen from epistaxis (nosebleeding), hematemesis (vomiting blood) and hematochezia (blood in stool).
• Abdominal pain may be reported.
• Drop in the platelet count happens.
• Flu like symptoms can happen such that of nasal congestion and sore throat.

Management

Symptomatic management are provided which means for every manifested symptom, a specific intervention or medical treatment can be done and they are as follows:

1. Anti pyretic like Paracetamol for fever.
2. Analgesics for muscle pain and headache.
3. Histamine blockers and Proton pump inhibitors may be administered to patients with gastrointestinal symptoms.
4. Insertion of venoclysis or intravenous fluids to maintain fluid and electrolyte status.
5. Transfusion of platelet component as necessary to avoid persistent bleeding.
6. Hematinics or drugs preventing hemorrhage for patients with hemorrhagic manifestations.

Other forms of management are supportive in nature to prevent complications and conserve the remaining body strength and resistance.

• Hydrate the child and force fluids as tolerated.
• Intake of multivitamins and other essential supplementations to boost the immune system.
• Provide and allow adequate periods of rest and relaxation.
• Incorporation of fruits and vegetables to the diet.

The etiology and manifestations of dengue fever are very important to prevent the child from developing complications or worst to experience premature death. Parents should take the responsibility in monitoring the soft of their children and provision of a conducive environment free from vectors which can be carriers of the virus. Moreover, if symptoms do manifest, fever and its accompanying symptoms should not be taken for granted.

If you see any of these strange signs in your sick child, it is possible that the culprit is actually strep. It is best to see a doctor for a prescription of antibiotics:

 Scarlet Fever

Your child may initially present with symptoms of fever and strep throat, but the latter may not always be present. Red rashes with the texture of sandpaper will appear on the child’s torso, particularly between folds of skin such as the groin or the underarm. The rashes are in fact a reaction to the toxins that are released into the bloodstream by the strep bacteria.

 Strep Impetigo

Your child can get impetigo when there is a break in the skin (such as a cut or a wound) or in the lining of the nose. The strep bacteria invade the body by entering through cuts or open skin or membranes, and cause a rash. You will most likely notice the rash spreading around the mouth and the nose. The rash develops into reddish sores that rupture after a few days. From the ruptured sore develops yellowish crusts.  

Genital Strep

Getting genital strep is common when there is an outbreak of impetigo or strep throat. Children can catch it and spread it to their peers in school. There may be red rashes resembling a pimple, with a whitish coating in the child’s genital area. It may affect the anus as well. If these rashes grow on the anus, the child may complain of having a sore bottom, and may have a hard time moving bowels because of the pain. If the sores are present around the labia and vagina, a female child may also find urinating uncomfortable because of the pain. Some children don’t like wearing underwear as it causes irritation, warmth and pain in the area.  

 What is a Chronic Ear Infection?

A chronic ear infection occurs when the bacterial infection reaches the middle ear. It persists for more than a week, and when the infection worsens, the ear is filled up with pus. Once the ear drums become severely infected, intense pain can be felt by your child. But most of the time, when children are very healthy, these infections can heal by themselves. But to further make the healing process faster, antibiotics may be administered. The common causes of chronic ear infections are fungal pathogens, bacteria and virus. Statistical records indicate that it is children who are more susceptible to chronic ear infections because of the fact that their Eustachian tubes are shorter compared to adults and they also have weaker immune systems to different bacteria and viruses which causes the infection. It has also been traced that other causes of chronic ear infection include bottle feeding during infancy, diet of the mother during pregnancy, smoking of the mother during pregnancy and certain allergies.

 Occurrence of Long Term Hearing Loss from Chronic Ear Infection

Even if ear infection is most common with children, the occurrence of permanent hearing loss is so rare. This is true even if children get ear infections often. The only chance that a child could suffer from permanent hearing loss is when their eardrums get damaged, as well as the ear’s bones or when the hearing nerves are affected. When children have had a lot of cases of ear infections, but in the end they get treated with medication, the risk of suffering from long term hearing loss is very little.

 What to do to Prevent Frequent Occurrence of Ear Infections

In order for your child to be relieved of the frequent occurrence of ear infections, and to make sure that he or she will be safe from complications of chronic ear infections like permanent or long term hearing loss, a child should be brought to the doctor for some medications or minor surgical procedures. It is best that you consult and expert in the ears like an otolaryngologist. This expert doctor might recommend a procedure called ear tube placement to make sure that the frequent occurrence of the infection does not happen again. In addition to this big comfort that will be felt by your child, he or she will also be safe from the possible complication of ear infection like long term hearing loss.  

1. Insect bites – probably the most common problem in children that plays around the house a lot. Children can easily get insect bites if they aren’t wearing clothes that fully cover their extremities. If children will play outside parents should put a mosquito lotion on their exposed skin to prevent insect bites from disease carrying vectors such as mosquitoes. It will also be helpful to dress them with cotton long sleeves and pants for full coverage of the skin.
2. Sore throat – many children are prone to get sore throats characterized by redness of the area, difficulty is swallowing and fever. Sore throats may be caused by a bacterial infection that is treated with antibiotics. Consult your doctor before starting any antibiotic treatments. For home treatment for children with sore throat make sure they are well rested and offer lots of fluid to ease pain and dryness in the throat.
3. Pink eye – the inner eyelids and the white portion of the eye is reddened. This causes itchiness; swelling and a greenish yellow discharge may be present. Placing a warm clean wash cloth will ease the pain and discomfort and can easily wipe the discharge off the eye for better visualization. Consult your doctor for prescription eye drops to remove any bacterial infection. Make sure that your child has plenty of rest and washes his or her hands frequently to avoid contaminating others.
4. Fever – is not a condition in itself but a symptom of an underlying disease or infection. It is necessary to pinpoint the cause if there are any. Providing care for a child with fever includes limited activities with plenty of rest and sleep. Medication to decrease temperature with the right dosage from the doctor at equal intervals until fever goes away. A tepid sponge bath will help regulate the temperature and provide a soothing feeling for the child.
5. Colds and runny nose – Children are very susceptible to colds and flu with their weak immune system and close proximity to other infected individuals in school. Parents can use a suction bulb to suck out gently the mucus out from the sinuses. Increasing oral fluid intake is beneficial to replace lost fluids from the body and will further loosen the mucus. Serve nutritious foods to your sick child and give them lots of fruits rich in vitamin C to boost their immune system to help fight off the disease.

When caring for a sick child at home remember that they need to rest so give them fun activities that can be done while in bed like watching cartoon movies, reading books and coloring. This will remove boredom while maintaining a resting environment for the child to fully recover.

Children are more prone to pinworms because they don’t often wash their hands and most toddlers still practice thumb sucking which further spread the disease. A pinworm or also known as Enterobius vermicularis, is a parasite that lives in human’s intestines. It grows up to 3mm to 10mm long from sucking the nutrients absorbed in the intestines and can cause intense itching in the anal area especially at night. It itches intensely because the female pinworms get out of the rectum to deposit their eggs.

How can my child get pinworms?

When a child touches soil where the eggs of the parasite can be found it gets dislodged in their fingernails and when kinds puts their hands in their mouths the eggs are transferred inside the body where they grow to be adult parasites which eventually lay eggs and can accumulate into the small intestines. Spread from one person to another is easily done because when an infected person gets in contact with things that are commonly shared among children like toys, beddings and clothes. Although children are more prone pinworms can also affect adults. Pinworm infection rapidly spreads among persons who live in a crowded place such as dormitories, public hospitals, mental institutions and prisons. It can also be ingested through poor food sanitation.

How can you tell if a child has pinworms?

The most common sign of pinworm infection is itching in the anal region which becomes intense at night. This occurrence leaves a child sleepless at most nights and you can see them scratching their butts as the female pinworm deposits her eggs in the peri-anal tissue. For some female patient the itching progresses in the vagina as spread of the worms occurs although this is very rare. In severe infections, some children may show signs of irritability, restlessness and loss of appetite. A definitive diagnosis of pinworm can be obtained by looking for pinworm on the anus at night time or on bed sheets of the person affected. The pinworms are visible to the naked eye. Another method use by health practitioners is to pat the anal region with the adhesive side of a sticky tape in the morning to look for eggs or worms on the tape to be further examined under a microscope. Pinworms can also be seen in a child’s stool.

How to treat pinworms and prevent it from recurring?

The medication of choice for pinworms is a one time dose of mebendazole to kill the adult pinworms. This dose is to be repeated after two weeks to ensure that the newly hatched eggs are also eradicated. It is often advised that everyone in the household needs to be treated to prevent the spread of infection once and for all. Apart from medication all household items such as beddings, toys and clothes needs to be washed thoroughly with detergent and warm water. Parents should teach their children to frequently wash their hands especially before eating and to avoid putting their hands in their mouths.

Here are some of the things that you ought to know about mumps:

• Although mumps seem to be extinct in most countries still your child can still be affected especially when he is not vaccinated. Mumps vaccination is very important for your child to have so that he has protection from the virus especially if you are going to countries who still have reported mumps cases.
• There is no treatment that can cure mumps. Management of mumps includes treating of the symptoms. Like giving fever medications for fever and pain medications for pain. Mumps will just heal by itself without medical intervention and it usually takes 14 days after the body is free from the mumps virus. But aspirin should never be given when your child is either suspected or diagnosed to have mumps because it can lead to a condition called Reyes Syndrome.
• Mumps is not a serious condition unlike other conditions but when not managed well, it can cause lifelong complications. In males it can cause them to have orchitis or inflammation of the testicles especially when they are affected with the condition during their puberty years. In some cases, orchitis can lead to sterility making the child unable to impregnate his partner in the future.
• Aside from vaccination, the best way to be protected from mumps virus is a healthy immune system. Eating fruits and vegetables, exercise, enough rest and sleep, and taking of daily multivitamins are the ways to have your child protected from the virus.

Ear infections in children are categorized in two depending on what part of the ear is affected. As parents it is very important to distinguish what type of ear infection is present and what the symptoms are so that you know how to remedy the conditions when the manifestations appear.

Outer Ear Infection

The condition is also called external otitis media and swimmer’s ear infection. Usually a child catches an outer infection when water gets inside the ear canal thru swimming or just by bathing. The water that is left in the ear attracts bacteria causing them to thrive on the area and infection then begins. But the child can have the infection when he puts foreign objects to the ear canal like cotton buds and pieces of paper which can damage the protective layer of the ear canal. A child affected with outer ear infections often complains on the following symptoms like pain in the affected ear, loss of concentration, decreased sense of hearing on the affected side, and fever. When your child displays those symptoms, see your ear doctor the soonest time possible. Failure to treat the condition can lead to damage of the ear canal and ear drum leading to deafness.

Treatment of outer ear infection targets on killing the bacteria involved. Putting of antibacterial ear drops on the affected ear will get rid of the bacteria. Some physicians combine ear drops ad oral antibiotic treatment to make sure those bacteria are totally busted. Acetic acid drops and steroid ear drops are also used to fight bacteria and lessen inflammation on the affected ear.

Middle Ear Infection

The condition is also coined as otitis media. Middle ear infection is an infection that usually happens when a child acquire infections of the upper respiratory tract. There would be presence of fluid in the child’s eardrums which can be thrived by bacteria causing infection. The distinguish factor that the doctor will find during ear examination is the reddish and inflamed appearance of the eardrum which then makes the diagnosis of middle ear infection. Children who have the condition are often irritable and cry because of the pain and discomfort they are feeling. When left unmanaged, the condition can lead to permanent healing loss.

Treatment of middle ear infection involves the use of both oral and ear drop antibiotics to kill the bacteria causing infection. Analgesics are also prescribed to help ease the pain that the child is feeling.

When a child is having ear infections, parents should not self medicate. It is important that the child is seen by the doctor for evaluation and treatment so as to prevent the dreaded effect of the condition which is lifetime hearing loss.